PG (Pakshi Ghar) at Ujjain

 

While the nation is justifiably worried about the safety and security of PGs at Bangalore and other cities, Ujjain has just inaugurated a zero-risk PG. A PG for pigeons. Technically, it’s open for all birds, but it is known that the facility would be grabbed mostly by Blue-Rock pigeons with indulgence for a few feisty sparrows, mynas, and parakeets.

In its No-Negative (News) Monday edition on July 29, Dainik Bhaskar carried a heart-warming story: Ujjain city would have 50 PGs to accommodate 1.5 lac birds, making it the only city in the country with dedicated flats for so many birds.

Four PGs are already in place, and the remaining 46 will be constructed soon for which donations from religious and charitable organisations are pouring in. Each PG will cost 7.5 lacs, and each flat a modest 250 rupees only.

An organisation proposes to construct similar PGs in the other Jyotirlinga towns of the country. This initiative is a shining example of our syncretic culture welding together the Hindu respect for all life-forms with the Jain canon of jivo daya - compassion for every life, big or small, visible or invisible. (Didn’t Jain sadhus invent the mask to save insects from being accidentally swallowed and ingested, and practised rigorous fasts and mauna so that the mouth need not be opened at all?)

But are Ujjain birds currently homeless? How many trees are there in Ujjain, and how many nests? Do the birds like to stay in these tiny apartments on high-rise circular towers constructed with pre-fab concrete blocks in the heart of a crowded city? Do certain birds prefer to nest separately from other birds? Maybe, the promoters of this PG project would address these issues in due course.

Pigeon couple’s Twitter Chat

Lady Pigeon: Do you know, a new PG with 3000 flats has come up? Ready to move.

Male: Where?

In our own city, where else, near Muni Nagar Tank, Ward 47, Ujjain.

How do you know of it?

It helps not to doze all day long and keep one’s ears and eyes open. We must move tomorrow morning. Possession on first-come first-served basis. The best lake-view flats are already taken, I am told.

But should we abandon in such haste our present house which has served quite well for years?

Phew! This cramped space under the awning of a window at the back of the house, and the owners often cribbing about the smell of our shit as though theirs is scented; do you call this living? Best to move to a flat we can call our own.

Next morning they inspected the flats. There were more flats than prospective residents, so they were spoilt for choice.

How about the sixth floor? Very airy, and with a panoramic view of the lake and the sprawling city. We can even pay our regards from the convenience of our flat when Lord Mahakal comes out for savari - his periodic city tours.

You and your woolly ideas! Be pragmatic. First floor is the best. Morning walkers would scatter handfuls of grains, and flight time from the first floor would be the shortest. For your ‘sightseeing’ you may go perch on the sixth-floor terrace as often as you want, I got to warm my eggs, raise babies, and have little time for such fancy hobbies.

Before we move in, should we not read the fine print for hidden costs, if any? Which other birds will be our neighbours?

Pigeons only. They call it Pakshi Ghar because that is politically correct, knowing fully well that we will grab all the flats and make it a Pigeon Ghar. Don’t you worry about cost? I’ve done the due diligence. Automatic ownership upon occupation, free food, and water, too. Zero-risk from snakes, predator birds, and humans.

There never is a free lunch, is there?

Why doubt the pious people eager to earn religious merit by feeding us? They also feed bulls, relatives of Lord Shiva’s Nandi; cows, who mothered those bulls roaming the streets; peacocks, descendants of Kartikeya’s vahan; and ants who are not even aligned with any deity. All for free.

Maybe, they remember with gratitude the outstanding services we have rendered as messengers since king Vikramaditya’s times, and as spies fitted with mini-cameras during the World War. Our success rate was 95 per cent, way better than any other man-made messaging system. Wonder why they now use those expensive drones forgetting us pigeons, the original live-drones, equipped with capability for navigation using the Earth’s magnetic field, and the sun and the stars?

Ahmedabad’s Chabutros

In Gujarat, PG is called chabutro; the word derived from kabutar (pigeon) or chabutara (platform). Ahmedabad boasts of at least 120 such bird-feeders.

One of the oldest and most exquisite chabutros in Ahmedabad is the Karanj Chabutro which was constructed about 140 years ago.

Here's the story behind it:

A saint was traveling from Dakor to Dwarka when he felt very thirsty. He stopped at Karanj, near the Bhadra Fort gate in Ahmedabad. Bapalal Modi, a local grocer, offered him water and food. Pained to find no trees in the bustling town busy in dhandho, the saint wished for a chabutro where birds could come, feed, and rest. When the sadhu returned after a few months, he was pleased to find that Bapalal had built a beautiful chabutro for the city birds.

The intricately designed Karanj Chabutro is a wooden structure with copper cladding at the top. Recently restored to preserve the city’s cultural and architectural heritage, this chabutro stands as a testament to Gujarat's tradition of coexistence between humans and nature.

PG at Raigarh

As far back as 1900 AD, a trader constructed a PG near the railway station at Raigarh, Chattisgarh. He believed that his morning ritual of feeding birds contributed to his prosperity in business.

Decades ago, I was Collector, Raigarh for two-and-a-half years but had neither noticed this PG nor was told about it. Struggling to deal with a deluge of petitions from harassed and hopeful humans, I had little time for avian welfare.

On my request, Dr Arati Mund sent me a few photos of this PG. She tells me that the Marwari Yuva Sangh provides grains for the pigeons.

(Pakshi Ghar, Raigarh, Chattisgarh)

Housing for Birds

Approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing, and experts predict this number could rise to 3 billion by 2030. To accommodate these individuals, the world needs to construct 96,000 new affordable homes every day, according to UN-Habitat.

There is indeed a global housing crisis for humans, but not for birds. No bird has ever petitioned humans to arrange housing for them. They build their own nests, find shelter in the hollow of a tree, in swamps, and some even burrow holes in the ground.

Most birds prefer to live on trees. Are there enough trees to provide shelter to all the birds? More than plenty; for about 50 billion birds (not counting the chicken population of 26.56 billion as in 2022), there are 3 trillion trees. That’s 70 trees per bird!

The cities and towns have fewer trees, so why do so many birds choose to live in cities? Plenty of food, and tasty, oily, spicy meals including processed and packaged food?

Planting Trees

Along with the proposed PGs, the charitable organisation should consider planting more trees in urban habitations. How much does it cost to plant a tree? Nothing, if you have a little space, dig a hole, find a seed, and plant it; 14 to 250 rupees if you buy a sapling from a nursery; and up to 500 rupees if a professional tree-planting organisation or agency is hired. An NGO offers to plant and provide life-time maintenance at a cost of 80 rupees a tree.

Given 7.5 lacs (cost of a PG), this NGO can raise 9375 trees; and with 3.45 crs (cost of proposed 46 PGs), it can raise 431250 trees which can offer nesting facilities to 20 lac or more birds (one tree would comfortably host five or more birds, it is presumed)!

If that happens, would Ujjain citizens consider pigeons and other urban birds as pests, and take measures to relocate them like London civic authorities for Trafalgar Square?

Resources

·      Dainik Bhaskar

·      The chabutros of Ahmedabad are architectural marvels - The Hindu

·      Chabutaras - Where birds feed and rest (mathrubhumi.com)

·      Statista

·        Co-Pilot

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Postscript

Dainik Bhaskar (19 Aug 2024) reports that GoMP has issued fresh orders prohibiting construction of concrete Pakshi Ghars.

Comments

Ashok Phadtare

In Mumbai, particularly in south Mumbai there are a number of Kabutar khanas which are century old. However, as Kabutar (pigeons are considered a pest, carriers of infection) municipal authorities  have banned feeding kabutars. The ban is hardly implemented, though. Pigeons are very aggressive and don't allow others like sparrow, mainya and even crow, to feed. As they get easy food, they have become urban-centric. In contrast, other common birds like sparrows and crows are now rarely seen. 

I remember in early 70s when I came to Mumbai there was an article in TOI stating that 30% of the garbage of Mumbai was cleaned by crows. My balcony is visited by six Maina and crows every day. But the pigeons are so smart   that when they notice these birds in my balcony they know I will be feeding them and they just rush in big numbers and try to drive them away.

Here's a link for Dadar Kabutar-khana:

https://youtu.be/AezzdXRIXgs?si=UtJjYpws2wiyBNEi

Abhilash Khandekar, veteran journalist & environmentalist

I had got issued a state Govt order against building such pakshi ghar ( birds towers) three years ago. Urban administration Deptt issued it after an EPCO expert panel of ornithologists from Pune, Indore and Udaipur suggested to GoMP this is not the right way to provide shelters to avian species.

Only the robust rock pigeons would capture them...

This species is growing very fast and is also dangerous for humans. Their droppings cause lungs disease.

Abhilash has shared Commissioner, Urban Administration and Development department's orders dt. 16-12-2021 in this regard.

Prof. Malashri Lal, Academician & Author

Prasanna. Another delightful piece, somewhat tongue in cheek, but also serious about planting trees rather than concrete lodging for birds. Kudos to your diverse interests and lively writing.