The curious history of pigeons in colonial India
The Gujarati community took care of pigeons and animals at the Animal Home, or “Panjarpol”, which was founded in 1854 in Shaniwar Peth from subscriptions raised by the chief city merchants. The immediate cause of the founding of the home was a police order to catch stray bulls and kill stray dogs.
PUNE
On September 11, 1930, a car driven by a European crushed more than a hundred pigeons on Surat Street in Bombay. The car fled the scene, and attempts to chase it by hawkers nearby were futile. This created a furore among the Jain community in the city. They immediately approached the Municipal Corporation and the Police Commissioner to seek action against the culprit.
The Jain community considered feeding pigeons as an act of compassion. The bird was seen as a gentle creature that primarily ate grains and did not pose a threat to other living beings, aligning with Jain values.
The Gujarati community took care of pigeons and animals at the Animal Home, or “Panjarpol”, which was founded in 1854 in Shaniwar Peth of Poona from subscriptions raised by the chief city merchants. The immediate cause of the founding of the home was a police order to catch stray bulls and kill stray dogs. The Gujarati inhabitants of the city formed a committee and took charge of all stray cattle and dogs, and made the home a permanent institution. In the 1880s, the home had cattle, goats, sheep, deer, horses, black buck, antelope, peafowls, monkeys, foxes, hare, rabbits, turkey, fowls, and pigeons. They also supported the pigeon house, or the kabutarkhana, built during the reign of Bajirao I.
Animals and birds play a significant part in the mythological and religious ideas of every religion. In the Vedic ritual, the pigeon or dove was used as an ominous bird to ward off ill effects from the sacrifice or his entourage. In the Ashvamedha sacrifice, it was offered to the goddess Nirrti. However, several religious manuscripts, like the Baudhayana Dharmasutra, mentioned pigeon or dove as one of the birds not to be eaten.
In medieval India, kings reared pigeons for amusement. Travellers like Monsieur de Thevenot, Fr. Monserrate, and Manucci described in great detail the love of the Mughal kings and noblemen for the bird. Emperor Akbar was a fervent pigeon fancier and kept thousands of pigeons at his court.
Abul Fazal, Akbar’s biographer, mentioned the Emperor’s special love for the Green Pigeon, or Harial. He described the Harial as having green plumage, a white bill and crimson irides and being smaller than the ordinary pigeon. According to him, it never settled upon the ground, and when it alighted to drink, it carried with it a twig which it kept beneath its feet till its thirst was quenched.
The Harial was found all over the Deccan plains, frequenting Peepal and other berry-bearing trees. They loved to feast on figs. They flocked from afar together to the tree while it lasted, and gorged themselves twice a day. They were flushed out of the tree and shot as they darted out. It was difficult at first to see them, for they were verdant like the foliage among which they sat strangely silent and motionless, but after much peering among the leafy boughs, the shooter might catch sight of a tail oscillating slowly like a pendulum. Quite decent bags could be made of the Harial by two or three guns when the Peepal trees were bearing fruit. There were several good spots for these birds on the Poona – Satara Road and on the Poona – Paud Road.
The Blue Rock was one of the commonest birds of Poona. They were found breeding on cliffs, or in the sides of wells, or under bridges. They were attracted to Bombay and Poona by two things: plentiful house accommodation and the benevolence of pious grain merchants.
Major WB Trevenen wrote in the article “Shikar near and around Poona” (The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Vol XXVIII, pp 1075, 1886,) that in one place in particular, within fifteen miles of Poona, where there was a collection of old disused wells, he had several times had a most enjoyable hour or so, four to six birds (the Blue Rock pigeon) coming out of each well as soon as a stone was thrown in, and affording excellent practice.
Then there were the large, pale grey Ringdove that swarmed in open fields, and the little Turtle Dove that frequented gardens. The Spotted Dove was also found in plenty in the city. The doves were shot at, but rarely eaten.
Pigeon shooting was a well-followed sport at the Old Gymkhana and later, at the Poona Gymkhana. The birds were thrown by a person when called upon. But most men preferred to go some distance by train for the sport. The Blue Rock and the Green pigeon were preferred for shooting and eating.
Shooting pigeons, doves, and quails for the pot was a favourite activity of the British in India. Edward Hamilton Aitken wrote in “The Common Birds of India” that pigeons appeared to have been designed in a special degree for the food of other creatures; being strict vegetarians, their plump bodies were both wholesome and tasty. And having no means of protection and no resource in danger, except their swiftness, they were fair game.
Frederick G Aflalo, one of the founding fathers of modern sea angling, wrote in “The Sportsman’s Book for India” that both the Green and the Blue pigeons made a “most succulent eating”.
A pigeon was just enough for the Sahib and the Memsahib for breakfast. Six pigeons were considered sufficient for dinner for a group of four.
Pigeon pie was a favourite dish of the British in India. The bird was also roasted and served with vegetables. Aflalo mentioned that in the western parts of India, several cooks made a mean pigeon curry.
Europeans and Muslims in Poona bred pigeons for shooting. They were bred chiefly in bottle-necked wells of a depth of about eight feet, but also in cotes constructed either just outside the doorway, or even within the dwelling of the poorer Muslim fanciers and pigeon keepers.
In the early twentieth century, pigeon shooting became rampant in the Bombay Presidency after the shooting of several birds was banned during certain months of the year. According to the rules to regulate hunting, shooting, poisoning of water, and setting of traps or snares in the Reserved and Protected forests of the Bombay presidency, excluding Sind, notified in August 1903, shooting birds like Sand-grouse, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Spur-fowl, Partridge, Rain-quail, Bush-quail, Bustard-quail, Bustard, Lik-florian, Whistling Teal, Cotton Teal, Comb duck, and Spot bill duck was prohibited between April 1 and September 30.
No such prohibition existed for shooting pigeons. As a result, European men set out in trains to shoot pigeons. They camped in fields and farms where pigeons were known to thrive. They often brought their cooks and bearers with them, who roasted and curried pigeons.
Some simply stepped out of their homes and shot a pigeon or two for the pot. Freshly shot pigeons were available for sale in local markets. An advertisement appearing in a Bombay newspaper in June – July 1905 mentioned the availability of squab in the European stores of Bombay and Poona.
Pigeon shooting was the sport of elite upper-classmen in Britain, but was widely abandoned at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the country banned it in 1921. It continued to be practised by the Europeans in India till they left the country.
The Jain community continues to take care of the bird.
