Pakistan's pigeon racers

[ghazi52]

Pakistan's pigeon racers

A caretaker releases racing pigeons from their cage on the final day of the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.— AFP


LAHORE: 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,” says Akhlaq Khan, a famous octogenarian pigeon-fancier and author of the only book on the subject in Pakistan.

A pigeon race official checks the stamps on a racing pigeon's wings during the pigeon race.— AFP


“You don't see anything there, no difference between the birds,” he says, 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.

A pigeon race official notes the landing times of racing pigeons after a day of flying during the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP


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.

Owners look as their racing pigeons sit in their cage on the final day of the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP


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.

A caretaker releases racing pigeons from their cage on the final day of the pigeon race national championship.—AFP


The Bold and the Beautiful
Millions of fans across the country are enthralled by low and high altitude flying competitions, and races in which opponents attempt to distract each others' birds, etc.

It is a rare pastime that brings together people from different social backgrounds — experts are often illiterate and the owners are rich.

A good pigeon can be valued at hundreds of dollars, equivalent to several months salary for many Pakistanis.

A racing pigeon owner feeds his pigeon after a day of flying during the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP

A racing pigeon prepares to land in a cage after a day of flying during the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP


Bird cages and enthusiasts can be found on rooftops in the old districts of cities across the country. Pakistani pigeons and experts have also been taken by Arab royals for tournaments in the Gulf.

For so-called “high-flying” pigeons, the rules are simple: at dawn, each team of seven or eleven pigeons take off from their perches, spend the day flying out of sight, and when they return at nightfall, the flight time of each pigeon is added up and an average is calculated.

The winning team is the one which has the longest average flight time after a total of seven or eleven flights held every two days.

 

[ghazi52]

Pigeon fancier Akhlaq Khan speaks during an interview with AFP in Lahore.—AFP


“We fly pigeon around 5 in morning after stamping them, and if the pigeon comes back around 4 to 5 in the evening we consider them good,” explains Syed Mehtab Shah, a participant in the Bahrain Cup, one of a number of tournaments organised in spring and autumn.

“I love beating my competitors, it brings me joy and fame,” explains the pigeon-fancier from Islamabad, surrounded by several friends who have come to see his pigeons land one evening following an endurance flight.

The conversation halts as two birds, which spent the day flying at 3,000 metres and are recognisable by the pink paint daubed under their wings, come in to land.

Grabbing binoculars, the audience admire the birds' precision landing, which was guided by flags.

Competitors, spectators and officials watch racing pigeons fly overhead during the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP

A caretaker holds a pair of racing pigeons after a day of flying during the pigeon race national championship.— AFP


Whisky and steroids
The best champions, capable of flying for more than 12 hours without food or drink in exhausting heat, are showered with luxurious treatment often reserved for humans. The pigeon masters, known as “ustads”, give their birds long massages with a damp towel and special concoctions to boost performance.

In his book, Khan reveals his diet plans for the winged athletes: crushed almonds, cardamom and Indian lotus seed powder, as well a “water of life” — laced with cumin, pepper and other spices.

He speaks too of the benefits of port and whisky, illegal in Pakistan, precious saffron and ginseng.

A caretaker feeds a racing pigeon after a day of flying during the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP


There is no governing body regulating pigeon racing, so other less natural ingredients can creep in to the diet.

“Anabolic steroids, calcium tablets and sometimes sedative tablets are used”, says Waqar Haider, a student of Akhlaq Khan, from Rawalpindi.

The victors can take home mobile phones, motorcycles and even cars — proving a winning bird in hand can be worth more than several in the proverbial shrubbery.

In this way, the story of love became a story of money. “It fell into disrepute because people started gambling,” explains Khan.

And it has become necessary to deal with the inevitable jealousy.

A pigeon race official stamps the wing of a racing pigeon before the pigeon race national championship in Islamabad.—AFP


Haider's wife spends long hours peeling almonds and cooking for her husband's guests during each competition.

She concedes shyly: "He spends more time with his birds than with me."

 

[war&peace]

A beautiful bird but, unfortunately, Pakistani pigeon can scare crap out of Indians . Now just wait a few days, the "able" indian media makes a documentary how ISI is training pigeons to use against India.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan pigeons fancy

PIGEONS OF JAVED USTAD

Pakistani Tipplers Pigeons

 

[ghazi52]

Dab Walay Pigeons (kabootar) Pictures

White Racing Pigeon

 

[Arsalan]

Giving goose bumps to the neighbor?

@Horus @Irfan Baloch @Imran Khan @Windjammer @Slav Defence @WAJsal @RAMPAGE
(sorry for the trolling sirs, just couldn't resist, sorry )

 

[Vapnope]

So which ones are being trained by ISI? Gotta keep any eye on 'em

 

[Slav Defence]

Giving goose bumps to the neighbor?

@Horus @Irfan Baloch @Imran Khan @Windjammer @Slav Defence @WAJsal @RAMPAGE
(sorry for the trolling sirs, just couldn't resist, sorry )

Lol, I was expecting "tataiyya" response from @Windjammer and heaps of chicken fights in here.However, it's quite a good surprise for me to see silence from both sides.
Anyways, pigeon breeding for sports is really good activity as people will get a refreshing event to enjoy.

Regards

 

[Windjammer]

Lol, I was expecting "tataiyya" response from @Windjammer and heaps of chicken fights in here.However, it's quite a good surprise for me to see silence from both sides.
Anyways, pigeon breeding for sports is really good activity as people will get a refreshing event to enjoy.

Regards

Shhhh....the ones we train to attack the Indians are kept in separate camps where they are constantly made to watch Indian movies to distinguish between ordinary folks and Indians.

 

[Arsalan]

Anyways, pigeon breeding for sports is really good activity as people will get a refreshing event to enjoy.

Regards

Yup....
Not to mention the recruitment
Some of these pigeons look so "professional" and "well drilled".

 

[Arsalan]

Thank you @ghazi52 for not threatening anyone any further.

 

[ghazi52]

شوقین حضرات پسند کرو

 

[Imran Khan]

they are very dangerous people they force Indians to work

 

[ghazi52]

......................................................

The life of a racing pigeon in Pakistan:

Raja Iftikhar Ahmed breeds rare pigeons on his farm in Jhelum, Pakistan.
(Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times)
By SHASHANK BENGALI



Outside an old farmhouse nestled among green fields, two men lay on a cot. With their feet propped against a teal-painted wall, they stared at a sky speckled with clouds, occasionally pointing upward and aiming a pair of binoculars.

The dark figure of a bird would suddenly be visible at a great height, gliding across the heavens, then flying out of view just as swiftly as it had appeared.

Bird watching is no idle exercise in these parts of Pakistan. Aloft that afternoon was a rare breed of racing pigeon worth hundreds of dollars – more than either man observing it earned in a month.

The pigeon is part of a stable of prized high-fliers belonging to Raja Iftikhar Ahmed, a businessman whose farm on the placid Jhelum River has become a rearing ground for big-time birds.


More than 300 of the winged specimens flap and flutter inside a series of custom-built, walk-in coops on the roof of Iftikhar’s farmhouse. Tall and broad-shouldered, with an enviably thick mustache, Iftikhar welcomed a visitor into the enclosure, its royal blue paint spattered with droppings.

“To your eyes they look like normal pigeons,” he said, pulling down one bird with a gray-blue crown and white feathers. He held it by the claws and lifted a wing to reveal a deep streak of indigo dye, applied as a sort of marathoner’s bib for the endurance races popular here.

People train pigeons all over the world – there are believed to be thousands of “pigeon fanciers” across the United States – but in Pakistan the niche pursuit boasts a particularly rich history. In the Mughal era, beginning in the 16th century, legend has it that carrier pigeons carried secret messages from royals to their men on the battlefield, or to their women in harems.

Nowadays, pigeon breeding, or kabootar parwar, is more of a hobby, though a serious one for men like Iftikhar. In the endurance races popular here, pigeon enthusiasts train their birds to stay aloft for as long as possible – usually for more than 12 hours at a stretch – before returning home.





There is no starting line: all the birds in a competition take off at the appointed time from their own perches, often many miles apart. The breeders watch from the ground with binoculars, but often the pigeons are out of sight. The moment one returns to its perch, the clock stops; landing anywhere else can mean disqualification – if the bird is caught.

Judges circulate among the breeders and perform spot checks, but the competitions are based largely on the honor system. Each pigeon wears a silicon band around one leg with its owner’s phone number, to help track strays.

“They are trained not to land anywhere else,” Iftikhar said. “This is a matter of respect for our sport.”

Three times, he has won an annual tournament here in the eastern province of Punjab. Five years ago he was runner-up in an international competition hosted by the United Arab Emirates, when his birds flew for a combined 1,082 hours over 11 days.

Pakistani racing pigeons are fed nuts, grains and sometimes steroids to help them fly longer.
(Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times )

Once someone asked Iftikhar to part with one of his best fliers, a blue-headed female Sialkot pigeon named Topiwali (“the one with the cap”), in exchange for a new Toyota sedan. Iftikhar declined.

“This is more than a game for us,” he said. “It’s a tradition.”

Iftikhar, 44, learned the pastime from his father, who picked it up while working for a royal family in the Persian Gulf. When Iftikhar moved to Britain about two decades ago, he tried to breed pigeons on the roof of his home outside London, but he found the wet, gray conditions less than ideal.


His flock seems to do better on the rooftop in Jhelum, a farming area two hours outside Islamabad. On Iftikhar’s 10 acres of land, where he grows wheat and raises cattle, a staff of several men rotate through the farmhouse to tend to the coop or let the birds out for practice runs.

The afternoon before a recent race, his best birds – including three that he said were gifts to him from Bahraini royalty – were resting inside the wire enclosure under a hand-painted sign that read, “Alhamdulillah,” or “Praise be to Allah.” Later, as part of the pre-race routine, they would have their wings massaged.

This is more than a game for us. It’s a tradition.
PAKISTANI PIGEON ENTHUSIAST RAJU IFTIKHAR AHMED
Downstairs, an elderly man in a fraying white kurta ground up food for the birds in a large pot. Here was the secret of a successful pigeon breeder, Iftikhar said: If you fed the birds well, they could fly for hours and hours without feeling fatigue.


He was circumspect about the exact composition of his prize-winning formula, but it was a mixture of gram, millet, almonds, cardamom, herbs and, at times, enhancers that have been banned from other sports.

Unlocking a metal cabinet, he pulled out a sheet of white tablets that he said were steroid pills. They would be ground up into the mixture, which would be shaped into pellets the width of an index finger and fed to the birds.

“The steroids keep them from getting thirsty, so they can fly for 10 or 12 hours,” he explained. “It’s allowed. So are muscle relaxers. You can do anything you want in this sport, really. I’ve even fed the pigeons Viagra.”

Iftikhar allowed that to settle in for a moment, then broke into a grin – a subtle acknowledgement that the diet might not exactly be healthy for the birds. Pakistan doesn’t have much of an animal rights movement, but a constituency closer to home fervently opposes Iftikhar’s peculiar, expensive hobby.


“My wife hates it,” he said with a laugh.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com


Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia


https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-pakistan-pigeons-snap-story.html

 

[Pakistansdefender]

شوقین حضرات پسند کرو

The man never thought that while he was in ac during winters, his birds are in hot sweltering sun of lahore at 50 c.
Even the green covering is of no use.
Atleast if you are an enthusiasts atleast, make their cage in shade of trees or someplace shady.