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Doves for peace and prosperity

An exotic variety of doves will be on exhibit at the Cochin Flower Show beginning February 9

It all began not just for a lark but quite literally just for a dove! Sitaram's aviaries of doves of which 20 imported varieties will be exhibited at the Flower Show on February 9 in the city, is a sight to behold. Preening, cooing, strutting, fluttering, the avian beauties will leave you excited at their showing off instincts. From the famous letter pigeon to the rare and exotic nun doves, the American fantail, Jacobean, Pouter, Trumpeter and many others this birdie collection is indeed a feather in Mr. Sitaram's cap. Today as president of Kerala Pigeon Society, he is proud of his collection. "We have 60 members in Ernakulam district who are breeding these birds. We have more than 100 varieties put together. There is a demand for them and it has good commercial value. In India we have 1,300 members of the pigeon association," he informs.

What began as a hobby is today an all-consuming passion with Sitaram who is a successful hotelier, running Vasanth Mahal hotel at Thoppumpady along with his brother Suresh. And together the two have combined hospitality with flora and fauna, birds and animals, infusing excitement into their mechanical city life. Dogs, cats, birds, buffaloes to orchids and lotuses, it is the drove of doves that's the most attractive and interesting of all. And Sitaram narrates incidents about his little pets that strut and bow around on his terrace where he has coops made for them. " Look at this one," he says, his eyes beaming with pride and delight, "This is the American fantail. Notice its cap and boot. In the Indian fantail there are only 28 feathers, whereas this one has up to 42 feathers. The Belgian fantail is pied. It is double coloured. Its tail is red but it is has no boot or cap. Here, look at the Australian red dove. The association has black and gold coloured ones too. We have 20 varieties of pouter which means they are from 20 countries. Like the Norwich cropper is from Norway. The Pomeranian pouter is one and a half feet high. Then there is the Hen type dove, the satnet which is the owl variety." And Sitaram goes on about dove tales and details. " We in the association treat all minor problems the birds face but Dr. Sunil, our veterinarian, handles the rest," says Sitaram on taking care of the doves. The life span of a dove is 15 years.

He then gently cradles out two dove babies on his palm and explains how when the eggs hatch from the imported birds it's the Indian doves that look after the new born. " This helps the mother to get sufficient rest as we have to breed healthy birds to sell them." There is a good commercial angle to the doves, he informs pointing to a pair for which he says there are four buyers waiting. A pair of this variety of dove can fetch anything between Rs.10, 000 and Rs. 40,000. He has imported a few varieties, he says. And about the popular letter pigeons or Homers as they are called, he narrates an incident that warms the heart.

Letter Pigeons

It was two years ago that he bought them from Thirunelveli and of how their wings were clipped. Last month when the wings grew back the two took off and disappeared. The male pigeon came back but the female went missing. "Within hours of its flight I called Thirunelveli, which is 350 kms from here and they told me that it had come back home." It is this homing instinct of the Homer doves that makes them useful in carrying messages and ferrying letters between lovers. " Pigeons and doves make very good pets. They belong to the family of Columbina. They are domesticated and have a calming voice," says Sitaram and you bet he's right when you see his wonderful collection of doves, nodding and cooing, fluttering and staring at you. You can look forward to seeing them at the Flower Show and then at the Pet exhibition planned for later this year.

PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA

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