PUBLISHED
: Thursday, 14 July, 2016, 8:00am
A
flock of pigeons take off from a Lahore roof top at dawn, rising above the
city’s Mughal-era minarets before disappearing out of sight.
Rather
than being viewed as pests, these birds are champions of endurance who evoke a
passionate following across Pakistan.
It
is a love affair ... I can tell the worth of each bird by looking at the eyes
and feathers
“It
is a love affair,” says Akhlaq Khan, a famous octogenarian pigeon-fancier and
author of the only book on the subject in Pakistan. “You don’t see anything
there, no difference between the birds,” he said, cradling a plump bird with a
white body and coloured head. “But I can tell the worth of each bird by looking
at the eyes and feathers.”
On
his rooftop in a leafy district of Pakistan’s cultural capital, hundreds of
birds are cooing in massive light blue cages in the sweltering Punjabi summer.
In
film and folklore, pigeons, or kabootar are associated with love
letters destined for harems and for military orders sent to champion warriors
by kings of yesteryear.
“Flying
breeds in India were introduced by the Mughals,” says Khan referring to the
Muslim dynasty that ruled the subcontinent from the early 16th century till the
mid-19th.
Pigeon
followers broadly class the birds into those known for their competitive flying
ability, and those prized for their looks.
Akbar
the Great was renowned for his pigeon passion, and, according to one scholar of
the court “had 20,000 birds of different types,” said Khan.
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