A Good Samaritan to Pigeons? Dinesh Yadav Feeds 100’s of Pigeons Daily
You could call him the ‘Birdman of Kudla’ or ‘A Good Samaritan to Pigeons’? Dinesh Yadav an origin of Bihar, now employed as a night watchman at ‘ Vanita Vana’ (Women’s Park)- atop the Hat Hill- Mangaluru Feeds 100’s of Pigeons Everyday in the Morning, Afternoon and Evening- and he is doing it all for the “Love” of birds.
Mangaluru: In our day-to-day lives, how many of us stop to look at that frail man sitting at the entrance to the railway station or at a bus stand who hasn’t eaten all day? Or for that matter, that kid, peeking in through our car window and selling glass cleaner and toy planes at the red light, how many of us give him a second thought? We don’t show love and compassion to our own, to fellow human beings. Animals and birds, we don’t even register. We might feed our pets with the expensive specialized food and shower them love but who cares about other stray animals and birds on the streets who roam around hungry all day, fishing food from garbage?
But meet Dinesh Yadav, aged 52 hailing from Madhepura-Bihar presently employed as a night watchman at the newly constructed MCC “Vanita Vana Park” at Hat Hill-Mangaluru, exclusively for women (to be inaugurated within a month or so) who doesn’t have pets of his own, but loves hundreds of birds, especially the blue rock pigeons, just the same. And as a good Samaritan for birds, he feeds these pigeons every single day- morning, afternoon and evening. Just like we humans have breakfast, lunch and Tea time- similarly is the case with these pigeons who come flying by to the Park around 6-7 am in the morning for breakfast; between 12.30- 1 pm for lunch; and between 4-4.30 pm for tea- they skip dinner, because they go back to bed early at the canopy of Bharath Mall, located nearby to the park.
At around 1 pm today ( 29 July) I made a visit to the park to get the glimpse of the pigeon feeding by Yadav. He was all ready with a bag full of bird seeds. I could see his hands dig into a bulging paper bag. The pigeons kept his time even better than me and their eyes would be trained on the same thing at the same time. From no where they all came flying from the roof top of Bharath Mall, their resting den, on to the park and close to Yadav’s feet. I could watch the birds arriving in droves, at the patiently waiting man’s feet. As the avian crowd gained in number, an unconscious smile would start twitching on his face and it would finally break into a beam when a stray wing would scrape him in the hectic fuss of descent. The seeds rained on the fanning tails as the birds picked up with the speed of pecking till the paper bag had nothing more to offer.
Throughout the feast, a profound satisfaction fleeted across his face lighting it up till it positively glowed. He would become blissfully oblivious to everything but the sated birds. Probably since happiness is akin to laughter as they are both infectious in the same way. Not to forget that there’s a thing called crazy laughter, of course. The glee in the air was multiplied by the shared feelings of the birds. As they stuffed their beaks, they gabbed some too. I suspect I once heard a pigeon brag about how many people with newly washed hair had their days ruined. Once they were done with their food, they all took dips in nature made water pond nearby, the privileged feathered rascals, and showed off their plumage glistening in the sun. The man than patted a few downy heads and wish them a very goodbye when it was time to leave at half past one.
Narrating the story as to how all this feeding of pigeons happened, Dinesh who speaks only Hindi said, ( luckily a man from next door Air India Office who was kind enough to help me in translation some of hardcore Hindi words) ” It all happened eight months ago when I got this job as a night watchman, hired by MCC. First, only 3-4 pigeons came by at my resting room- I started feeding them with Bajra (Pearl Millet) which I had bought from my home state, Bihar. From four, the number of pigeons that came flying looking for their favorite Bajra rose to over hundred of them. Since they all look alike, it has been hard for me to keep the count-but for sure they are over 100 of them.”
“Funny is that if I don’t come out of my room, these pigeons keep knocking at my door either early in the morning or afternoon or evening. Just like us the birds too have their snack time. So far the last eight months the pigeons now knock at Yadav’s door for food and it is open for them, everyday without fail. He says that he might miss his meal, but his pigeons never have to return with an empty stomach. “It’s all love,” says Dinesh. Spreading love and kindness keeps him happy and that’s his message to everyone.
“Even though I don’t earn much, only Rs 7000 from premium monthly, out of which I nearly spend Rs1200- Rs 1300 on bird feed. What are we going to take back even if we earn a lot? This is just a service for these living creatures. This gives me lot of spiritual satisfaction. I even avoid traveling out of the city for the love of these visitors. During unavoidable circumstances, he returns on the same day. Once, I had arranged my friend to feed the birds. But they just did not land to eat. They are sharp and they know me. Since then, I hardly go out- and if I do I come back soon”, added Yadav.
“Some of the morning walkers have tried to become friendly with the pigeons. But these birds are very picky-they don’t go to every person. They have to first make the liking, then only they will come to you for food, if not they fly back in no time. If the bird feeders are lucky enough, these pigeons will come and sit on your palm or shoulders, and wait for their turn to peck. For many of the morning walkers, these birds keep them entertaining and happy. Bird lovers enjoy the company of these lovely birds, which are harmless and very lovable” added Yadav.
“I am indeed lucky to get this job at this beautiful park, when I came here after I lost everything in the drought in Bihar. And with these birds I am happy since I have no one to share my love and feelings. Even though I have to spend part of my earnings, that’s okay, because I know God will give me more in future. It’s always good to share, either with human beings or with animals. Both have life, and both depend on food and water. Many of the locals are following in my footsteps showing love towards the birds, which is a good sign, and everyone should adopt it too”, said Dinesh Yadav.
Indeed an interesting story- and if anyone of our readers are willing to contribute towards the bird feed expenses of Dinesh Yadav, you can meet him at the ‘Vanita Vana’- a park atop the Hat-Hill-Mangaluru.
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