these photos may not win any pigeon photo contest but they are significant to me personally. on our 15th anniversary my wife and i revisited the place of our marriage, Puskar in Rajasthan India. the holy lake is almost completely surrounded by hindu temples with their ghats. in particular, the only Lord Brahma temple in India is located here.
while many pilgrims from afar journey to this ancient city to pay respects to Lord Brahma and bathe in the holy water, cold january is offseason and more relaxed. the resident pigeons and cows add serenity to the ghats and walkways around the lake.
it is a tradition for pilgrims, and especially newlyweds to climb to the top of this steep hill to receive blessings at the temple dedicated to Lord Brahma's wife Devi Savitri.
the walkway extends almost completely around the lake and one is likely to encounter pigeons anywhere along the way
obviously there are flocks of pigeons countless other places around Rajasthan. here we have stopped at Man Sagar lake on the way back to Jaipur from a visit to the Amer Palace. while there are no cows here, the familiar pigeons are joined by cormorants and egrets
not all pigeons prefer to make their homes close to people. many lesser known species of pigeons keep to their original natural habitat. so before i say goodbye i would like you to say hello to these yellow-footed green pigeons. no wait- maybe they are green-footed yellow pigeons. no no, clearly one has yellow feet so they must be green pigeons, you know, the kind with yellow feet, not so green body but indeed very yellow feet. anyway these were the first birds to welcome us upon entering the amazing Keoladeo National Park in Bhararpur and despite the official name the species has been assigned by the appropriate international authorities they are indeed rather fine feathered friends.
