Birds of the courthouse: Legal ‘pariahs’ enjoy the best seats in the house

The black kites, also known as pariah kites or 'cheel' in Urdu, are often seen on the walls of the SHC’s building.

KARACHI:

From morning till evening, the birds at the Sindh High Court (SHC) enjoy the best seats to all the legal drama that unfolds at the courthouse. The cheels, known as black kites or pariah kites, watch from atop the SHC building, through the courtroom windows and at times from their nests as people rush in and out with papers amid a sea of black coats.

As the courtrooms shut down, the birds also make way to their nests. The historical building, established in 1923, is one of the few places known as a sanctuary for the predatory birds. As the evening stretches its arms, the walls of the building can be seen dotted with the big birds.

“In this commercial city, every inch of the land is expensive. The space for residential units for humans may be expanding, but for birds it is shrinking,” a gardener at the court told The Express Tribune with a smile. “Since there are a lot of trees on the court’s premises, they provide an ideal shelter as a natural habitat to the eagles and the crows,” he added, pointing towards the lush green lawns of the court.



According to the gardener, the court lawns house multiple types of flora, including those producing eatables, such as Jamans, which leave the bitter seeds for the birds. The trees found at the SHC include populus ciliate, syzygium cumini (Jaman tree) and ficus religiosa among others.

Circle of life

Right in front of the court building is a small roundabout, commonly known as the Kabootar Chowrangi, where dozens of beautiful pigeons can be seen every day.

Although people don’t share the same affection for the black kites as they do for the pigeons or colourful parrots, but every Tuesday the cheels get lucky as people throw scraps of meat to them to ward off evil spirits. “Many people are seen throwing meat to the cheels on Tuesday but the birds also prey on the pigeons and other small birds everyday,” said the gardener.

A part of history

No documentary about Karachi seems complete without the mention of the historic court building, also known as the former Chief Court. The two-storey U-shaped building built with red stones stands intact with the fortified walls and strong pillars. While the potential earthquakes and storms seem to have had a less impact on the curvy structure, the presence of the birds has had more, said architect Yasmeen Lari.



The walls, windows and the balconies are covered with white marks the eagles and crows have left behind, which might be an eyesore for the visitors, particularly the art-lovers.

Architects, such as Lari, are however not too worried.

“All the old buildings need to be protected. At the same time, it is nice to have the birds in a city like ours where people pay more attention towards making money than loving and conserving nature,” she said, while talking to The Express Tribune. “If the birds are, however, damaging the beauty of the building, then it needs to be cleaned up properly.”

According to a former official of the court, earlier there were some proposals to use techniques which would rid the court of the birds but a difference of opinion among the then judges barred the authorities from taking such a step. “Perhaps some of them felt that when they can look after the rights of human to live freely, then why not birds,” said the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2013.