It’s a misty April morning at Signature Bridge, Delhi. Three men opened 26 trained domestic pigeons kept in two rectangular cages on an empty ground. Two more men are holding a banner with the words Karnataka Homing Pigeon Federation written in English and Kannada. As soon as both cages are opened simultaneously, the birds slowly let out, flap their wings vigorously, and fly away. From this starting point, where they have never been before, they need to find their way back to their respective scaffolds more than 1,500 kilometers away. Once they reach their destination, the birds’ distance and velocity are measured to determine the winner of the race.
Among the participants is Red Rocket, a three-year-old gray-headed pigeon with white and brown plumage. Like his competitors, he, too, has a red seal on his wings and two rubber bands on his feet with a number hidden for identification. After nine days of flight, on April 24, 2022, the pigeon reaches its loft on the terrace of Shankar V’s residence in Henoor Gardens, Bengaluru. Shankar, who is fond of pigeons, immediately removes the band from his bird’s feet to reveal the identification number. He then clicks a photo and WhatsApps the organisers, who, after verifying the numbers, measure the distance covered by the pigeon and its flight speed.
The Red Rocket, they declare, has flown 1,741 kilometers at 251 meters per minute, making it the winner. The pigeon had never been so far away from its nest. Yet, astonishingly, he does what he always has: find a way back to his home.
This extraordinary ability is the result of magnetism, in which animals and birds orient and navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field. At one point, humans selectively bred pigeons for their extraordinary ability to find their home over long distances. This led to the creation of a breed of domestic pigeon, which was used for communication and later for racing.
Many Indian cities have thriving, active pigeon racing fraternities. Chennai is today considered the capital of the country for pigeon racing. According to 38-year-old New Madras Racing Pigeon Association founder K Palaniappan, the city has around 5,000 fans, of whom at least 1,000 are into racing. Among them is popular filmmaker Vetrimaaran, who has participated in international competitions like One Loft Race.
The pastime has been popular for more than 50 years, says Palaniappan, due to the efforts of early fans. “Fans like Boldry, Jimmy Diaz, and Pat Casey imported breeds like the Strassert, Paulcian, Logan, and Catricey from different parts of the world,” he says.
Bangalore is also not far behind. The current chairman of KRPC, Y Suresh, estimates that 800. are more than Fans in town, although there is no official count. Hyderabad and Pune are the other cities in the country with at least 100 fans. Many associations and clubs are spread over different cities and are not integrated under a single national body. So, races are held independently. The racing season in India usually starts in December and lasts till April. The rest of the year is used for rest, breeding and training.
decades of flight
Modern pigeon races in India began to become popular in Kolkata in the 1940s. Established in 1953, the Calcutta Racing Pigeon Club (CRPC) is one of the oldest pigeon racing clubs in the country. Its founder, PS Lee, and Organizing Secretary, YS Chin, are considered the pioneers of modern pigeon racing in India.
“Calcutta has a rich history of pigeon racing. Pigeons were bred and used for racing in military service during World War II,” says Sonjoy Doss, a 60-year-old fan and member of the CRPC. “However, the popularity in the city is declining. Now we have just two clubs and about 50 fans.”
The Madras Homing Pigeon Association (MHPA) and the North Madras Homing Pigeon Association introduced pigeon racing in Madras in the 1970s, and popularized it in Bengaluru as well.
a scaffold race
Unlike traditional pigeon races, in which the end points differ, a loft race has the same starting and ending points. Pigeons, usually less than six weeks of age, belonging to a separate clade, are taken to special lofts to allow them to hatch before they can take off. Then, the birds slowly learn to fly and recognize this scaffold as their home. Training, feeding and conditions are the same for all birds. With the use of an electronic timing system, the winners of the One Loft Race are decided by at least 100th of a second.
how do they run
Racing pigeons, when they are only a few days old, are made to wear a permanent ring with a four-digit number around one of their legs. This ring will also contain the birth year of the bird and which club it will belong to.
Before the race, which ranges from 100 km to about 2,000 km, the pigeons are put on rubber bands with numbers on either side. Only the organizers will know the inside number.
Once the bird reaches its loft, its fan removes the band and tells the organizers the number inside. After verifying the number, the organizers calculate its distance (in kilometres) and its velocity (in meters per minute).
Recently, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is being used for more accurate measurement, especially abroad. In this method, an electronic chip is attached to the bird and a corresponding electronic clock with antennas on the scaffold automatically records the relevant information.
birds of history
Pigeons have played an obvious but important role in shaping human history from the skies.
From the conquest of Genghis Khan in the 1200s to the revolution of 1848, pigeons were important agents of communication. In the 1850s, Paul Reuters, the founder of the Reuters news agency, used a fleet of more than 45 pigeons to distribute news and stock prices between Brussels and Aachen. During the devastating 1999 cyclone in Odisha, when other forms of communication were unhelpful, the police extensively used their pigeon service to disseminate information. Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage, recently organized a ceremonial flight of these pigeons from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack in 2018.
According to encyclopedia britannicaThe modern form of pigeon racing began in Belgium in 1818, and quickly spread to Europe and other parts of the world.
In India, pigeons were used for entertainment since the Mughal period. In what form are the remnants of this history still found in Old Delhi? pigeonhole (pigeon guard).
personal investment
Five months after Red Rocket’s incredible journey from Delhi to Bengaluru, he is 65. rests on his loft with other pigeons. It is difficult to distinguish him from others. But his admirer, Shankar, has no such problem as he deftly picks up the award-winning bird and displays it as a pride.
Shankar’s fascination with birds began five decades ago. His mother rescued a small white pigeon one afternoon, on her terrace in Benson Town, Bangalore. 12-year-old Shankar gave her some water and seeds. a few days later, He released the pigeon. To their surprise, it returned to their home. Shankar was thrilled. He along with his friend took the bird a few kilometers away from their home and left. It returned once again. Thereafter, the boys traveled 50 km away from home and released the bird from Nandi Hills. By the time they returned, the bird was back in its nest. Then Shankar started getting more pigeons.
V Shankar, a pigeon lover. photo credit: Sudhakar Jain
Shankar’s love for pigeons grew so much that when he built his two-storey house in Henoor Gardens in 2011, a pigeon loft was part of the building’s plan. Those interested in racing view their pigeons not only as pets; They regard him as an athlete. And, making a good athlete requires work. Shankar, who runs a local cricket and football club, knows this very well. When birds are young, they require training (to identify their nests), vaccinations, and care. For two hours every day, he cleans the loft and feeds them a 21-seed mixture, which includes green gram, brown gram and groundnut. He spends more than a million every year for his birds, in addition to a lot of time and energy.
Fans also need to constantly keep an eye on their counterparts’ pigeons for breeding. For example, Shankara found his pigeon a companion all the way from Tiruchi.
‘They always return’
According to the fanatics, the return of investment in the pigeon race is not much. There are no glamorous cash prizes. The winners mostly receive certificates and trophies; Rarely a motorcycle or a car. Fans also vehemently denies the betting allegations.
So, if not for the money, why are they in it?
“More than prizes, winning or losing, more than anything else, you feel some kind of pleasure watching your bird return from a distant land,” says Shankar, “many children in my cricket and football clubs, when They find better opportunities, they leave the club. But these pigeons – they always come back to me.”