We had been dealing with a pigeon problem in our balcony for months and every time we would install a net to block their entry, they would find an entry point eventually. It was the day after the Halloween party at our office and I was sitting in the living room at my home sipping on black coffee.
Pigeons are a nuisance in Mumbai, people can’t seem to get rid of them from their homes. They poop everywhere, they break things, make weird noises that wake you up and fight a lot. When I woke up on Sunday, I saw that there were 4 pigeons who had made their way onto the balcony and they were fighting one another, I initially ignored it.
I planned to watch the movie: The Extraordinary Journey of a Fakir. You can also check out the book here. I noticed outside my window that there was a pigeon who looked different than the other three, its body was completely black and it looked quite old. The remaining three pigeons were constantly attacking it, pecking it brutally, it was a merciless assault. They couldn’t seem to let it go. I tried interfering the confrontation and used a deodorant to fend off the attackers. While they did leave the poor thing alone for a few minutes, they kept coming back. I realized that it was unable to protect itself and it was highly likely that these three would not stop until they killed the poor soul.
So while I was watching the movie, I made sure that I had an eye on the window and would protect the bird from the attackers. The biggest problem was that the bird had no place to escape, it was confined and defenseless. If I opened the window for too long, I would have to deal with pigeons entering my home.
Finally, I decided to remove the black pigeon from the equation. I chased off the attackers to the other side of the balcony, arranged an empty basket. The poor thing was so exhausted that it could not keep its eyes open and barely moved. I opened up the window and slowly approached the black pigeon. I tried to maintain distance while gaining trust, as I did not want to surprise or hurt it. It took me at least 20 minutes to win its confidence and slowly it came closer to my hands. I used the back of my finger to gently pet it and it helped me break the touch barrier. Finally, I was able to bring it to my windowsill and carefully nudged it on the empty basket. Since I had gained its trust, it did not panic or try to flee, instead, it just sat there, trusting me with its well-being.
I took the basket with the black pigeon in it and opened the window of my bedroom, I set the basket down and closed the window. I was tempted to observe it while it was finally free, but I know about anxiety better than most people, so I left it to figure out the mechanics. It did end up flying away, free from captivity and I felt amazing having saved a moot living being from potential death.
It reminded me of an old Bollywood movie I saw years ago titled Awarapan. There’s a scene where the hero, a ruthless gangster, meets the female lead for the first time. She is a simple girl from a small town who earns money by convincing people to release pigeons from captivity. She says that a person who frees a soul from captivity is rewarded by the Almighty by forgiving their sins. Since he had done plenty of bad things in his life, this was his chance at redemption. It’s a great movie with a profound message.
Cleaning up my Karma
I’m a firm believer in karma, I have always been inclined to make this world a better place. Though one may try their best to live their lives without hurting anyone. There is a high chance that we would end up causing unintended hurt to others. I took this incident as an opportunity to heal my own karma while helping someone in need.
I hope to inspire some of you to help people, animals and other living beings in need. If every one of us can help at least one living being in our lifetime, it would be worth it. I later read online about how Buddism encourages the freeing of animals from captivity and in some part of the world, it’s a yearly occurrence.
I would like to conclude this article with a quote I read online.
“Always leave people happier than you found them.”
Until next time,
Karan
