Seven pigeons across Punjab fly up, and the seven pigeons in Punjab fly back down. Seven pigeons across the Emirates fly up, and the seven pigeons fly back down. This orbital path is set for the birds by their owners, starting from the cages on the roof (chhat), up towards the sky where they fly high.
These are the high flying Pakistani pigeons. There’s a hierarchy set for the practitioners of the sports. There’s the master (ustad), and there’s the student (shagerd). It takes years of practice and education under a ustad for someone to reach a senior position. In the UAE, many fanciers have
The pages in this book offer a small insight into that world.
Illustrations by Sachal Rizvi
Urdu translations by Deena Rashid, Rashiduddin, and Alia Mehjabeen
