The Marriage of Mujeeb Rahman Moideen - Part 2

As we reached late from the night of Mujeeb Rahaman Moideen’s marriage, we over slept for some time on the Thursday, 19^th of May. Almost everyone woke up in the afternoon. We had a little time before it gets dark, so we decided to go to the Sims Park nearby. The time would be around 2PM when we reached there by bus. I’d proudly say that the bus system and expense in Tamil Nadu is way better and much cheaper than anywhere in India. We paid about 3 rupees a head to reach there. The park was a bit crowded. After all, it was summer time. Everyone would love to come to Ooty!

So, there we were – I, Thiru, Vinodh, Ranga, Yatin, Brabin and Shyam. The park was full of flowers. Variety of them and we were soon taking snaps. We saw some trees – their origin and ages written on. Most of them were from Australia and were more than 100 years old. Some of them were attractive while some of them just stood tall. Newly married (or lovers may be) were seen almost everywhere in the park. We mischievously took some of their photos without their knowledge – considering our willingness to see those girls later! It was fun, with a lots of jokes cracked, some specific insults (not the one which hurts) and so on. The park was soon boring and we came out of it. It was around 3:30PM when we finished our little lunch – some chilli bajji, tea, Mango etc.

Yatin Singh Bhabal.

We still had a lot of time. We were busy talking about where to go and about the time to get there and suddenly it was 4:30. So, it was ultimately decided that we just go to our room, and shut ourselves up! So, this time, since it was down the hill, we decided to walk down. We got a call from one of our buddy – Uma who has just reached Coonoor. We called him and gave him directions to reach where we were. Once he reached, I realized that it was almost 2 years since I met him. Warm hellos and welcomes were there and then we moved down the hill, talking, talking and talking only. It was when Thiru, Vinodh and Brabin insisted that they take some more snacks, we left them there and went down to see the surprise that was waiting for us.

Uma Shankar Rajagopal

We all had our cameras and were busy taking some snaps down the hill. Then, we saw some nice doves. The pigeon family birds were all over there and we saw a man who should be in his early sixties. All his hairs were white, including his moustache and beard. He saw us with a welcome smile, so till Thiru, Vinodh and Brabin finish their little snack, we decided to have a small chat with him. So, we asked him if we can take some snaps, he said, sure.  We went inside his little ‘zoo’ and saw all colours of doves, some nice little Finches, love birds and a parrot. The surrounding was good with all the sounds these birds make and we were busy taking snaps. After this, we had a talk with him. He remembered me of the person ‘Pettaikaaran’ in the film “Aadukalam”.

We initially asked him if this route takes us down to Coonoor, to which he agreed. Then, we asked him about the birds and he said that he uses these birds, especially doves, for racing. “Racing” with doves? That’s the question we asked him immediately. He said yes, racing with doves. We asked more about it and he said there are still races between doves from various part of Tamil Nadu. The race would eventually start from Chennai and at around 6 in the morning, the doves are set free and the one which reaches the destination (Coonoor) quickly, declared winner. Prize money will be there, of course. We asked him about the time taken by these birds and he said, usually it is about 12 hours.


When asked like what happens if the dove, set free at the race, doesn’t return to you at all? He smiled and said they usually do come back. If they don’t, he still doesn’t get angry or worried about it. He said out of the 10 birds in the race, one may not come back! Normally, after 6 in the evening, they will not be able to see. If more time takes for them to reach the destination, they stay somewhere before it gets dark and fly back in the morning to the destination. He said he’s happy feeding them and participating in these races. These many years in Tamil Nadu and still, I have never heard about the races on doves. That was a surprising story that we heard from a person who’s a lover of birds.

We turned our attention from the doves towards the only parrot in the cage and she started to yell at him. He consoled her and asked her to talk to us – to which, she yelled again. He said, she’s not in good mood today, sorry guys! Every finger that we tried to insert into the cage to try and touch the parrot, she tried to bite every one of it. By this time, the snacks eaters came back and we bid adieu to him and walked down the hill. We reached our room with Uma and it started to rain. Summer rains may be rare in the other part of India, but not at Ooty. It was cool and we stopped for some tea. Rain and tea – a very good combination, especially at the place where tea’s were grown.

We played some cards to kill the time and it was good to have an old chap back. We enquired a lot about Uma and then we shared some of ours. In the evening, we had calls from some of our other folks who were making to Mujeeb’s reception. Venki, Ravi and Bijith came on the night of 19^th May. The Reception was on 20^th May. And it has already been a very good trip for us. All the old friends were back again under the same roof. Fun was unlimited, as always!

Dedicating this to the bachelorhood of Mujeeb. Happy Family man!