{"id":6193,"date":"2026-04-21T09:35:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/mughal-era-pigeon-training-survives-in-heart-of-indias-capital\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T09:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:35:16","slug":"mughal-era-pigeon-training-survives-in-heart-of-indias-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/mughal-era-pigeon-training-survives-in-heart-of-indias-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Mughal-era pigeon training survives in heart of India\u2019s capital"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pigeon-keeping remains a therapeutic and communal escape for Delhi residents amidst the city\u2019s chaos and demands.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Mohammed Rashid, alias “Rambo”, a pigeon keeper, feeds his birds as he trains them, on the rooftop of a restaurant in the old quarters of Delhi, India. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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In the bustling heart of the Indian capital, a handful of devotees continue the ancient Mughal tradition of pigeon-rearing, known as kabootarbaazi, preserving skills passed down through generations by training birds to navigate vast distances.<\/p>\n

Daily, amid the crowded lanes near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, just kilometres away from the affluent neighbourhoods of New Delhi, 30-year-old Azhar Udeen gathers with his younger brother and friends on his terrace. There, they release more than 120 pigeons of various breeds from their cages.<\/p>\n

These birds are fed and trained to fly in precise formations, sometimes participating in races as their keepers enthusiastically cheer them on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw my grandfather doing this when I was a child, and after I grew up, I watched and learned from my ustad [teacher],\u201d Udeen, a pigeon keeper, told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n

Kabootarbaazi, derived from the Hindi\/Urdu word for pigeon, flourished under the patronage of Mughal rulers who governed India. Men would maintain flocks, teach them formation flying, and employ them as messengers.<\/p>\n

Training these birds to fly directly against the wind and return from long distances requires nearly four months of dedicated work. The process involves creating loud noises by striking a whip against hard surfaces, frightening the birds into flying farther away, according to the trainers.<\/p>\n

For many practitioners, the rooftop gatherings hold as much significance as the flying itself. They describe kabootarbaazi as a therapeutic practice that creates a sanctuary of peace and fellowship amid the city\u2019s chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sit with our friends and students, and all the tensions from our work or homes, all of it disappears, and that\u2019s what the main intention behind pigeon keeping is,\u201d explained Khalifa Mohsin, another dedicated pigeon keeper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

A pigeon keeper sits under a net as he feeds and trains his pigeons on the rooftop of his house, in the old quarters of Delhi. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Azhar Udeen, 30, prepares a mixture of pearl millets to feed his pigeons at his home. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

A pigeon sits on a rooftop in the old quarters of Delhi. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

A pigeon keeper calls his birds back to the rooftop using distinctive sounds as he trains the flock at his house. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Azhar Udeen shows a pigeon marked with pink colouring on its feathers to differentiate it from other flocks. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Pigeon keepers and spectators watch the birds in flight as the flocks are tested for distance and their ability to return against the wind, as part of pigeon flying competitions, which, according to the keepers, are held annually. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

A pigeon keeper scares away birds as he trains them on the rooftop of a restaurant. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

A kabootarbaaz stands with a handmade racket used to scare away pigeons while training. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Abdul Wahid, a pigeon keeper, looks up while searching for pigeons flying overhead outside a house. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Azhar Udeen covers his terrace with a net before he lets out his new flock of pigeons to train and familiarise them with their new home. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"Mughal-era<\/p>

Pigeons fly over the rooftops of buildings in Old Delhi, India. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Pigeon-keeping remains a therapeutic and communal escape for Delhi residents amidst the city\u2019s chaos and demands. Mohammed Rashid, alias “Rambo”, a pigeon keeper, feeds his birds as he trains them, on the rooftop of a restaurant in the old quarters of Delhi, India. [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters] In the bustling heart of the Indian capital, a handful … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}