Anupam- The Dreamer

When you stand in your balcony, amongst other beautiful things like greenery and gardens, you can’t help but notice one peculiar thing always without fail. That is, the presence of a ubiquitous species called pigeon. More specifically, it is the blue rock pigeon. Even if you do not recognize any bird species, you cannot deny that you haven’t seen this beautiful (ugly) bird in your daily life!

This species has become so omnipresent in every urban landscape, that hardly there is any building which has not become the home of pigeons. You come in Delhi, and you can find them everywhere. Even there is a song dedicated to the pigeons in the movie “Delhi-6” called “Masakali”. When I came in a rented PG in Old Rajinder Nagar of Delhi for civil services preparation, my arrival was greeted by none other than dozens of pigeons. My landlord’s home housed more than a hundred of them! And during my short breaks from the study schedule, when I looked outside the window, I could see only the buildings and my friend/foe pigeons.

Friend, because I used to notice their unique behaviour and wonder how come they have sort of adapted to this urban concrete jungle in the cities. I even observed the mating dance performed by the male pigeon, who on seeing a female pigeon, would first make circles in clockwise direction, then immediately switch to make circles in anti-clockwise direction! And almost 9 times out of 10, his efforts vent in vain. Still he did not give up and continued this idiotic dance to entice female pigeon. And I wondered, what a sheer waste of time is this by him. Then, I thought what else could this idiot male do, as he doesn’t have to study like me for the civils, so it’s better that he engages in this activity for his entertainment. And there was a bird lover, who was about 4-5 homes away when I saw through the window of my top-floor room, who used to come at a fixed time of the day to spread the grains on this rooftop, to feed these pigeons. Again, the flock of pigeons would arrive, and make clockwise/ anti-clockwise circles in the air together, before landing down on the rooftop to eat their bounty. Sometimes, you feel that such things should be done for the sake of altruism. So, once out of mercy, I saved the life of one crippled pigeon which landed in my balcony somehow by taking it to a bird shelter and getting it treated.

Foe, because they were such a nuisance at times with their irritating noise they would make, their invasion into human spaces and their droppings everywhere. The pin-drop silence during my study sessions was disturbed by the intermittent idiotic noises made by them and their repeated flapping of wings. I would hate them for that. Later I learnt that their droppings are a major source of pathogens, which case multitude of diseases in the humans. The pigeon numbers have surged so much in the cities that virtually, every home and every public building, like government offices, railway stations, traffic signals have been infested by the pigeons. Hats off to their adaptability in the urban landscape, which is unparalled as compared to the other bird species! They have virtually become the king of birds, and wiped out the biodiversity of other birds like sparrows, which couldn’t survive the deforestation in the urban areas. Credit also goes to the people, who in their altruist spirit feed the pigeons with quintals of grains at the traffic crossings.

The change in urban landscape by the pigeons is so perceptible that hardly there is any home or any building, which hasn’t put on some mechanism to ward them off. Like the nets over the balconies, the spikes over the boundary walls, over historical monuments etc. But, still the pigeons make a way and enter the prohibited areas. Sometimes, they lay eggs in your plant pots and destroy other plants with their droppings. And their population is multiplying faster than the rabbits, you see. The municipal corporations haven’t developed a counter mechanism yet to contain their population. The Departments in Delhi are fighting over the jurisdictional issue over pigeons. The MCD does not have a policy to check the rise in population of pigeons and the Forest Department is happy to conclude that they are wild species, so doesn’t fall within their ambit. Whatever is the case, one thing is for sure, that gradually the pigeons will turn into a huge urban menace, if not contained.

Earlier, they were atleast used as communicators of letters (you must have heard the song “kabootar ja ja ja….” as part of folklore). Now, I don’t see their much utility, other than to tarnish the beautiful buildings and the tourist sites. I hope ornithologists, wildlife enthusiasts, nature lovers and policy makers, will come out with some solution, otherwise a new song will have to be made which should go like this “kabootar aa aa aa…. and **** the whole humanity!” 😀