VELLORE: No GPS. No maps. Yet a three-year-old pigeon from Vellore recently navigated its way home from Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), nearly 1,460 kilometres away, securing first place in a long-distance pigeon race organised by the Royal Pigeon Society in Chennai on May 6.
For 42-year-old R Manikandan of Pallikonda in Vellore, the achievement marks the culmination of a hobby that began a decade ago. What started as a pastime in 2016 has now brought him recognition among pigeon-racing enthusiasts across the state.
An employee at a private vehicle finance company, Manikandan currently rears around 70 pigeons. Despite his work commitments, he spends much of his free time caring for the birds and training them.
"I have always had an interest in pigeon rearing. When I learnt about these competitions, I decided to give it a try and started taking my birds for training," he said.
To prepare them for races, Manikandan takes his pigeons to the Avian Pigeon Society in Walajapet, Ranipet, around 30 kilometres from his home. This was the first time his birds participated in such a long-distance event.
"I took two of my pigeons to Chennai. From there, officials of the Royal Pigeon Society transported them, along with other birds, to Gwalior, the starting point of the race. Each bird was fitted with a numbered identification band. Once the bird returns home, we remove the band and inform the organisers," he explained.
Of the two pigeons he had entered in the race, one returned 99 hours after being released on May 6, becoming the first bird in Tamil Nadu to reach its home loft on May 13 and securing the top position. The second pigeon, however, did not return.