Parava gives wings to Mattancherry’s pigeon craze

Post the release of Soubin Shahir’s

Parava

, there’s been a remarkable change in the attitudes of friends and families of pigeon fanciers at Mattancherry.

Those who had once looked with contempt and said, “The jobless boy wastes his time flying pigeons” are now enquiring about the well-being of the birds.
Dinesh Cletus Xavier, a pigeon flyer from Thoppumpady, says, “Since the release of the movie, my family and those around me are actually encouraging me. They are eager to know about what is happening with my pigeons and the competitions I attend.”

Dinesh has been crazy about pigeon flying and participating in competitions since Class 10. His parents always had an issue with him rearing the birds, even though he makes his living by working as an AC mechanic.
“Every time I tried explaining to them how serious I was about taking care of pigeons and how interesting the training process was, none of my family members bothered to listen,” he says. “However, now they know about these high-flying birds and what it takes to train them to fly for the longest duration.”
Dinesh says her friends too are getting the same encouragement. “We are happy that after years of contempt, we are finally receiving some recognition,” he says.

The rising interest is not just limited to the families of pigeon racers as even children across the State are now calling to check where they could buy the best breeds of pigeons, says Arshad P A, who was the runner up at a recent pigeon-flying competition in Mattancherry.
“Though people in Kochi knew about the annual pigeon flying contests, because of Parava those across the State too have become aware.

A lot of school children have been asking me for pigeons. They even know what homing or tumbler pigeons are,” he says, adding that most enquiries have come from those studying in Class 11 and 12.

The most in demand is the breed of birds used in the movie. Arshad says, “We do not actually give them from the collection of the rare breeds. Rather, we give them pigeons which can fly continuously for four to five hours.” Apart from the birds, the students are also imparted training tips including how to increase the flight duration.

The training has to be a persistent process, says Arshad. “It should start by 5pm, so that they fly till it is dark. Once they stay airborne for three hours, the training can then start an hour earlier and can be increased depending on the bird’s endurance,” he says.
In the recent competition, Arshad’s bird flew for 16 hours and 17 minutes while the winner’s pigeon clocked 16 minutes more.
Anil Kumar, a movie buff from Perumpadappu, is one of those who bought pigeons after watching Parava. “I bought eight birds and have built cages for them at my home. They can be trained only after taming them and I am waiting for them to recognise me as their master,” says the KSRTC employee, who is planning to train the birds to enroll them for competitions from next year.

Despite the demand, Arshad says that he has no plans to turn it into a business opportunity. “I raise the birds out of love. So all I do is share my knowledge with the next generation,” he says.
The number of spectators for the competitions in Mattancherry too has increased. Pigeon fanciers say that people across the State came down for the event.
“There were pigeon flying enthusiasts from Kozhikode, Kannur and Coimbatore. Compared to the past seven years, the crowd was definitely more this year,” Dinesh says.

Agreeing with him, Arshad says the rooftops of competition area were full by 7 pm. “It is delight to watch the birds flying for hours with halogen lights,” he says.

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