KARACHI: It is around 5pm. A grandfather with his three little grandchildren, one of whom is in a pushchair, stops by at the roundabout across the Sindh High Court building to feed and admire the pigeons. The place is also known as ‘Kabootar Chowk’ because of the many pigeons who flock there in huge numbers to feed.

The two little boys run around making the pigeons hop and flap their wings to fly up a few feet before settling down again to eat.

Meanwhile, the grandfather gently speaks to the child in the pushchair telling her to notice how beautiful the pigeons are and what a nice thing it is to feed them.

Across them in one corner sits Mohammad Shafiq Sarhadi, who after having run various successful businesses most of his life has now handed it all to his children while he himself sells bird food here. “I have been selling bird food here for some 15 years now.

I feel so much at peace doing this work, I have dedicated my life to it,” he smiles saying that feeding the birds is considered a popular and humane pastime all over the world.

“Trafalgar Square in London is also known for its pigeons and here in Karachi we have our own places where people come to feed these birds,” he adds. They are not all pigeons. There are a few sparrows and crows, too, in their midst.

“People buy feed for as little as Rs100 and as much as Rs500 here. Parents teach their children the basic lessons about doing good deeds and charity while feeding the birds here,” says Sarhadi.

“The birds come here to feed the entire day but they start to leave between Asr and Maghrib time as it gets dark after that,” he says.

To feed them the whole day, Sarhadi buys the lentils, pulses and grain in bulk from Jodia Bazaar. “I have a warehouse nearby, where I store 15 days worth of feed,” he says.

He is right. Kabooter Chowk isn’t the only place where this happens. At some places people have placed big clay dishes to keep water and birdseed in.

There is a place at Numaish where you can buy different variety feed from the men selling it out of pushcarts. At Hyderi in North Nazimabad they have encroached upon a portion of the footpath to sell out of different sacks. People buy from them and feed the pigeons in the parking lots. Clifton, Defence, PECHS, Saddar ... you name it ... the trend has picked up just about everywhere.

Meanwhile, the pigeons have their own preferences about what they eat. Gram lentils are the most popular choice followed by black chickpeas, mixed pulses, red rice, corn seed and birdseed.

“Yes, with everyone feeding them, the pigeons, too, seem to have developed preferences,” says Mohammad Yousuf at the Hyderi commercial area. “But it is not that difficult to figure out what they like best as you can see them eat the favourite food first,” he adds.

The men keep specially-prepared plates of various pulses and grains for people to buy for Rs30 each. “But besides buying for the pigeons coming here, people also buy from us for their pet birds at home,” he says.

Published in Dawn October 9th, 2016