Clay pots still survive as pigeon nests in the Barind region. Flocks of pigeons once perched in pots under the eaves of mud houses, filling the air with their cooing. With time and modernisation that sound is seldom heard now, but Nachole in Chapainawabganj tells a different story.

In several villages of Nachole, a number of enthusiasts still keep pigeons, both as a hobby and in hope of extra income, and it is thanks to them that the clay pot survives. Clay pots hang from the eaves of two-storey houses in the area, with cattle kept below and pigeons above.

Azim Ali of Hatbakal village in Nachole upazila said: "Some 15-20 years ago my mother brought home a pair of pigeons for Tk 15. We have had pigeons ever since. Now there are about 100 pairs. Every month I sell 25-30 pairs of squabs, at Tk 200-250 a pair."

"Two hundred clay pots are tied in a row under the eaves of the upper floor of our mud house," he said. "Long bamboo poles are tied beneath the pots so the pigeons can get in easily."

Another villager, Alamin, said: "You don't have to feed the pigeons. They go to the fields and find their own food, so they are very easy to keep. Kept this way, though, they dirty the roofs of the houses. I have Gola, Gobindo, Giribaj and Shiraj pigeons at home."

Anarul Islam of Islampur in the upazila said: "I have about 70 pairs of pigeons. My household expenses are met by selling squabs, and I save my earnings. The pigeons feed in the fields on mustard, foxtail millet, akhri and broken rice. But many pigeons die because of pesticides on the crops and outbreaks of disease."

Hossain Ali of the Tikoil area said he had first bought pigeons for personal needs. "But once I made a lot of money selling squabs, I kept adding to them. Now my household runs on the money from pigeons. There are about 150 clay pots under the eaves of the upper floor of my house, with about 90 pairs of pigeons of various breeds."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.