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Thursday March 28, 2024

Stars and scavengers

By Iftekhar A Khan
January 15, 2016

Fleeting moments

Many cities are known for their peculiar features; Lahore at present has two – a cloud of dust and fumes in the air, and birds hovering overhead. The trees in what is known as the city of gardens are plastered with dust since we haven’t had a good shower of rain this winter. What about the birds?

Environmentalists may protest against the pollution in the air, mainly due to smoke-emitting vehicles and the excavation going on to launch the Orange Train project.

Bird lovers might rejoice at the thought of beautiful birds chirping in the tree branches – until they find out that we are only talking about scavenger birds, which have multiplied manifold and are found in swarms on many city roads.

The new trend in superstition is to feed these scavenger birds to keep evil spirits at bay. It is believed by some that scavenger birds parry the evil spirits in the air before they reach the intended person. The Canal Bank roads and other open spaces present an ugly scene of scavenger birds, like kites and crows, diving to retrieve the entrails and guts of animals thrown at them by the passing motorists and motorcyclists. The human superstition has no limit and it’s doing well on Lahore’s roads.

Often kites swoop down perilously close to the passing cars; they can easily smash the windscreens of the cars and endanger the lives of the passengers inside. Although it is a matter of belief for those who feed offal to the scavenger birds, what annoys other road-users is the sight of entrails scattered on road or flying in the air.

The other superstitious trend on our roads concerns rickshaws. The back of many rickshaws display the pictures of holy saints and their offspring supplicating in deep humility. And you have a wide choice who to follow.

But where have all the beautiful birds disappeared? The Model Town Park, the luxurious greenness of which is comparable to any other park in the country, swarms with birds. But a majority of them are cawing crows, not cooing doves. A particular variety of the dove, the majestic white-grey, is simply a pleasure to watch. It has melody in its coo and grace in its walk – truly a bird of peace and love.

When cars on the roads were few and the pollution level was low, the moonlight during the full moon scattered all over, adding to the serenity of the environment. During moonless nights, stars decorated the sky and seemed to be so near. In the latter part of the night, nightjars sang the song of longing for each other.

The stars now are not visible as distinctly as they once used to be, because of the cloud of smog suspended in the air. And these scavenger birds have replaced the singing birds.

The migratory birds too have decided to bypass our country. The waterfowl that migrated from Russia in winters to temperate climate of our wetlands are found in much fewer numbers now. Maybe all of them have taken a cue from the fate that the Houbara bustard meets when it arrives in our hinterland. The poor bird – with its clumsy flight – can only wonder what it did to earn this kind of royal wrath.

The Punjab government has lately gone after quacks, soothsayers, sorcerers, and practitioners of black magic. These professionals mostly depend on black goats and owls for their practice. Owls are trapped not only here but also in neighbouring India, where sorcery is more established than it is here. Incidentally, the innocent owl, which for many years was the emblem of our defence staff college in Quetta, is capable of swivelling its neck to 270 degrees.

Will the Punjab government rid us of the sellers of meat rubbish on the roads, and close down the shops of practitioners who call themselves ‘professors’ of black magic?

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. Email: pinecity@gmail.com