It was indeed a great feeling to be out of the back yard of a house, to the buzz of an office..however, this was not to be for long, as I soon found my way to the rented home of the Gurungs at Tapovan, Dharamsala.
The home had a furnished dining room, so as an old rosewood table I was not needed there. After much contemplation my mistress shifted me to the sun porch facing the kitchen garden..above all I became privy to all the pigeon chatter and garden gossip. I relate to you now my first hand experience of the courting romance of the Himalayan white pigeon.
"It was the day the children in the house, the little master Chinkoo and the little girl Nunu, were told strictly not to litter the table top with toys and crayons, as my mistress had kept her precious pickle jars for a sun bask..the fragnance of the mango n chilly ripening in the Himalayan sunshine, a golden yellow was a little intoxicating for me. Early morning, I saw the master fix a strange wooden box on the wall of the porch. My curioisity was fulfilled the next day as, two small pigeons, snowwhite and pure, were very gently put inside this box..a present from the master to my mistress.
Soon, there was laughter, cooing, chitter chatter as the kitchen garden played host to a rising number of pigeons. Much to the dismay of many homes around us, the homing pigeons found this pigeon haunt an interesting hop over to an overnight stay. There was Raja n Rani, my initial white chicks, who were now setting new romance tales a buzz and being the focus of much attention ! A lazy afternoon and then the new generation had arrived..!!"
Many many years later in Vidya Niwas, warm with food inside the dining room, I still miss the chitter chatter of those pigeons of Tapovan and the sun basking pickle jars..!!
