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Like diamonds in the sky… Fanatic Pigeon Racers of Dhaka. Have you ever watched racing pigeons zoom out from their cage as soon as the doors are opened? Just imagine the scene that happens after the cage doors are opened! You will be surprised to observe the birds are no where to be seen! They are all gone within seconds after they were released from the cage! Where have they gone? Just look up overhead! You will see the pigeons flying in circular formation in the sky! The fanatic pigeon lovers of Dhaka, the city where I live in now, call these flights of the pigeons as exercise flight. And they follow the routine almost daily if the weather is perfect for such flights. Pigeon racing is a hobby. We know what hobby means! A hobby is regular activity done for pleasure during one’s leisure time. But breeding and racing pigeons is an interesting as well as time consuming hobby! It is an integral part of everyday life of a pigeon lover! It is a passion for them. A pigeon lover could never be either a racer or a breeder unless he is ready to give it countless hours of his time! And that may create problem for the enthusiast if he has no regular source of income! These men, obsessed to race or watch their pigeons in flight, simply can not spare times for their dear and near ones! However, while pointing out the difficulties to pursue pigeon racing activities, I do not like to say that such hobby should be pursued by people like the Queen of England who has a large number of racing pigeons looked after by her stuffs trained for such job. People like us can also afford to indulge in such activities if the number of racing pigeons is within a manageable limit, say twenty or less! I may mention here that the pigeon lovers of Dhaka house a large number of pigeons in the cages built on the rooftop of their houses where they live. Usually, they are the owner of such houses. The number usually may exceed hundreds of birds. Cages for small number of pigeons can easily be built on one's rooftop and the cost is bearable too. But for those who have large numbers of such pigeons, the cost is very high—both for building the cages and for their subsequent maintenance! The cages are needed to be built-in waste removal system. The pigeon lovers use wrought-iron cages as living quarters for the birds. Old and sick birds are housed in different cages. There are a few dedicated pigeon markets in Dhaka where both buyers and sellers come to buy and sell the birds on a particular day of each week. The pigeons are not necessarily cheap. They are rather costly. But the cost does not discourage the fanatic pigeon lovers of Dhaka. They would not hesitate to spend more than one hundred thousand taka for a pair of fast flying rare pigeons. Fancy and high flying pigeons are in demand now and as such they are comparatively costly. Previously, the pigeon lovers used to live in the old part of the city. Now many of them have shifted to an area of new Dhaka known as Mirpur. They have clubs for organizing pigeon racing and other activities related to it. Mostly, the traditional Giribuzz and Homer pigeons are mainly used for Pigeon Races! They prefer now Homer pigeons for the racing as this kind of bird can “fly longer and faster, reaching altitudes where tailwind pushes them”. The record holder Homer pigeon flew from the island of St. Martin, located in the Bay of Bengal, to its Dhaka home in two hours and forty minutes. The distance between Dhaka and St. Martin is approximately 510 kilometers. To be a successful pigeon racer in this city of mine, one needs to be a passionate lover of pigeons, very patient, and own a house having enough spaces on its rooftop. Above all, such a person would need a regular source of income and a family who understand him!           |
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A Passion for Pigeons
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Fossil,Hello, Thanks for your analytical comment posted in response to the text of my blog! In reply, I would like to tell you that the distance mentioned in the text between the two places is not the distance measured as the crow flies! The pigeon was supposed to take this route while flying towards Dhaka after taking of from the Island! It was not supposed to follow either the road route or the water ways! I was told about the record by an owner of Racing Pigeons. The Bangladesh Racing Pigeon Owners Association also likes to publish race results from time to time. Hope, the matter is clear to you now
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Mary Ann, Thank you so much for stopping by my blog even when you are busy watching the ever changing political scene of your country! I would always like to be in the good list of all who reads my blog that I write for my as well as for the satisfaction of my readers. However, I would not like to be bullied by anyone also at the same time! Perhaps, you will agree with me that we all are supposed to be friends here irrespective of our cast, creed, political views and religious belief. Hope you are keeping well. Take care and remain cheerful always!
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Thank you so much for your passing by my blog and for your response. I appreciate. Have a pleasant time!
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