Kabootarbzi: A Royal Sport

In the Delhi that belonged to the Mughals there are people who carry on the tradition of a sport that might be considered an activity of the idle. But there is lot of hard work and training that goes into training the pigeons to fly long and then return back to the master without losing way. The Day After finds out in the lanes of Jama Masjid and Lal Kuan people who continue to organize a competition that was the pride of the royals in the past.

by ANUPMA JAIN

A flock of pigeons in the sky that respond to the commands of their masters on a terrace! That is the walled city of Delhi, a city that was

the envy of the world and where the rich and the famous indulged in sports and pastime that are increasingly losing their relevance.

One look at the sky and you would know what one is talking about. Our Nawabs and Sahibs might be long dead and gone but their kingly tastes are still alive. Kabootarbazi has always been part of the culture here. However, the ‘Kabootarbaz’, this breed of ‘shaukeens’ are no way royals by birth today but in their love for the sport of flying pigeons they are no less.

This art needs a pack of pigeons and the skill of domesticating them till they begin to “follow your orders” which includes primarily is what they can do best - fly.

Flying means doing so in a flock. Also, they have to respond to the master’s commands. “We train them mostly to go round and round and also in waves,” says Mohammad, a follower of this game since childhood. A proud owner of 40 pigeons, he says those who take to training are not the grey birds but the white ones. Apart from this, there is no way to make out that one bird is better than the other.

Continuing since the days of royalty, the hobby has even today kept alive shops selling pigeons, ‘bajra’ as feed for the birds, spiced up with regular gossip about who took hostage of whose pigeons and most interestingly, two city-wide annual pigeon-flying competitions.

“The summer competition is in June-July and the winter one is in October-November. Participants are now also come from areas like Lajpat Nagar and Patel Nagar,” informs Salem, a third-generation pigeon seller near Jama Masjid.

Pasted on the walls of many back lanes of Jama Masjid and Lal Kuan area are the rules of the game, which says not more than 11 pigeons in a flock can fly at the same time. “Since there is lack of space now, we go up to the competitors’ terrace anywhere in the city and watch the pigeons fly. The winner is the one whose birds remain in the sky for the longest time,” he tries to enlighten.

Tying the wings of untrained pigeons for a couple of weeks, they are accustomed to particular sounds and gradually brought into the flock. But apart from the sounds, what keeps them tied to their masters is the free flow of food. Petty traders like Mohammad and his friend Jamal spend about Rs 500 a month to buy bajra.

There are mainly four types of pigeon’s Kabuli, Gola, Madrasi and Fahrukhbadi are used in this competition. The kabuli is white colour pigeon, Fly very high. The Gola make attack to the other pigeons. Madrasi pigeon also fly very high and can not see easily in the sky. Fahrukhbadi pigeon are also available in many colours.They prizes around Rs 350 to Rs 15000. These pigeon owners gave them a chilkoja and dry fruits as a special diet

A winner pair of kabootar can be expensive but kabootar do not really need much expect food and water. The lowest bet is started around Rs 1000 per kabootar and many win up to 5000 Rs in one round.

Though mostly it is a fun game, there are instances when a pigeon from a flock attacks another. Many of these pigeon owners claim that they offer these birds a special diet with dry fruits and nutritious grains to ensure the birds’ strength and endurance.

These pigeons are trained to fly from a specific release point to their home loft or a sheet of cloth spread over the ground. To differentiate one team from the other, at least one feather is marked with a specific colour or many others pigeon have rings and ghungroo in their paws. Some people even have specific names.

The winner team is the one whose maximum pigeons return to their respective piece of laid out fabric sheet after covering the longest distance in the sky. In this competition catching pigeons is not an issue. Actually, the winner is considered to be the one whose pigeons fly to the farthest and come back to him.

Many may find this sport a little quaint and a relic of the past but then there is no shortage of them in Delhi. Afterall they all constitute the rich heritage of this proud city.