FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
Pradeep Lawande
Last week the Supreme Court said that because of the time taken by the postal services there are agonising delays in releasing of accused persons even after grant of bail. Furthermore the Apex Court commented, “In the age of information and communication technology and Internet, we are still looking at the skies for the pigeons to communicate the orders”!
A pigeon is a wild as well as domestic bird. Before the advent of postal services, pigeon post was popular especially during war times and was actively used till World War II. The pigeon courier service in India dates back to 1946. This bird has one innate skill. It is able to return home from a great distance. It’s speed is more than that of telegraph. Pigeon post is still in use in countries like Iraq, France and China.
In Hindi, pigeons are called ‘Kabutar’. In this language, a female dancer as well as a beautiful woman is also called Kabutar. In English pigeon also means a gullible person. Besides, a hole to the door for putting letters and other documents is called pigeon hole. This shows the relationship between letters and pigeon.
Like pigeons, there are other birds that are familiar with humankind from times immemorial. In the Epic Ramayana, there is mention of one big bird named Jathayu who was Sri Rama’s friend. This bird tried to stop Ravana from carrying out his evil deed of abducting Seeta. This made Ravana furious and he killed Jathayu by cutting its wings.
Another bird is eagle which has long and broad wings and keen eyesight. In accordance with the Puranas, one eagle named Garood is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu and it is also king of all birds. In English language a sharp sighted and very observant person is called eagle-eyed.
One more familiar bird of mankind is peacock. This is a large male bird with long pretty blue and green tail feathers. Peacock dances beautifully by opening its plumage like a fan. This bird which is said to be the vehicle of Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, is also the national bird of our country, India.
Parrot is a wild as well as domestic bird with brightly coloured plumage and a hooked red beak. It mimics human speech. Repeating of something without thought and understanding is called parrot fashion.
Cuckoo is a grey and brown bird with a two note call. This bird does not build nests. It lays its eggs in the nests of other birds! A female singer with a sweet voice is often compared to this bird. In English language a crazy person is also called cuckoo.
The most familiar bird to human beings is crow. It is large, black and has harsh call. It is a friend of children. Hitherto numerous stories and songs are composed on this bird. In Goa, if a crow cries near a house then it is believed that some guests would visit that house on that day. There are many proverbs and idioms on this bird. The meaning of one such Konkani proverb is “would a crow turn white even if it bathes for a number of times in a day?” In the above mentioned language, “crow’s mother” means a woman who loves talking about other people’s private lives. In Hindu religion, this bird has respectful place. Hindus believe that crows represent their dead ancestors.
