A group of racing pigeons. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Once famous for being the original carriers of ‘air mail’, pigeons are being widely used for racing, with the rewards for bettors including cash prizes and Umra tickets.
“The entry fee for betting is Rs50,000 and if you don’t have pigeons you can bet on others,” said 55-year old Ustad Afzal Sanyara, a resident of Magistrate Colony, Rawalpindi, who had lost heavily last time after betting on a pigeon race. This time, he is confident of winning his property back.
Sanyara has spent Rs30,000 on feeding and vaccinating his flock of 200 pigeons in the last six months.
“I give them a special diet of desi ghee, almonds and nuts to increase their stamina and keep them flying through the hours-long race,” he said.
The bookies have formed special committees to schedule matches and usually fly pigeons from the rooftops. Bookies work through agents and cannot be contacted directly. This is done to make them harder to arrest.
The committee members use special stamps or colours for the identification of pigeons.
Every committee comprises two members who monitor the race from different rooftops with the help of binoculars.
“Last time, the award was an Umra ticket and a total amount of Rs600,000 for the winner,” said a bookie identifying himself as Ustad Najo. Betting volume is usually between Rs5 million and Rs10 million.
Najo, who has been taking bets for the last 15 years and is considered an expert by others in his field, has his own flock of 200 pigeons and spends Rs1,500 daily to feed them.
Bettors often call him to get his ‘advice’ on whose pigeons they should back. Every call is recorded to avoid misinformation.
Akhlaq Ahmad, a mental health specialist who has been watching the spectator sport for the last 20 years, said the gambling was going on under the very patronage of influential locals.
“The competitors fly their pigeons for 11 days before the winner is declared,” Ahmad said adding that special binoculars are used to monitor the pigeons which can stay airborne the longest and fly the highest over the last six days.
Special breeds of pigeons are used for the competition. “The gamblers first ask about the breed and then bet,”
said Ustad Kala Khan, a pigeon-breeder from Dhoke Syedan.
He said that Kusuri and Sialkoti were the best breeds — the former highly energetic and the latter intelligent. The winner pigeon is adorned with special garlands and a special gold crown is placed on its head before the birds are resold for thousands rupees.
Gambling on races may not be as widespread in the twin cities as Lahore and Sialkot, but the bookies see bet volumes rising with every passing race day.
Legal entities also exists
There are also registered clubs which organise legal tournaments and donate the money generated to charity.
Among them, the All Pakistan Pigeons Lovers Association and the Rawal Flying Pigeon Association are registered with the Punjab Sport Department.
The entry fees for such tournaments ranges from Rs2,000 to Rs5,000 and at least 100 competitors participate in them.
Ahmad says gamblers have tried to join such clubs but they were not allowed to, as the club owners feared that allowing them in would bring notoriety to the clubs.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2013.
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