“Got a parcel today; no! it was not food!
Just getting a post nowadays feels good!
They deliver happiness and dats a fest!
Those cool people who deliver are da best!”
When we were young (er!) We used to listen to this story of Nala Damayanti! It was one of the stories my grandmother used to tell when she was in the mood and the way she used to narrate it was so nice!
Birds who delivered messages! Seems like a magical fantasy!
Then again if you think the messenger was a pigeon instead of ‘Talking swan’, it may still be possible!
Did you know that one of the biggest secrets in the country and a messenger service are both related to this bird!?
Read on!
So Damayanti was the daughter of King Bhima of Vidarbha (Nagpur region in Maharashtra). She was very beautiful and clever. Nala, King of Nishada, was a brave and handsome person. He was learned in Vedas and virtuous!
He had great skills in arms, management of horses and cooking! In the end he would be recognised by his cooking skills!
His only weakness was addiction to gambling and here the problem was that he was bad at it!
Nala and Damayanti loved each other, though they had never met.
Nala sent a message using swans!
You can read this story or watch the whole movie and series which are so many and in so many languages! My mother used to watch this series in Telugu which was one of the best depictions of this story!
Then again these stories are to inform you or give you wisdom by means of experience! Remember that if you learn from other’s experiences and stories then you will be successful!
So I would assume that the messengers sent by Nala were actually Pigeons who have been used for ages to send messages! Even if it is a swan, it could be many other birds which have been used to send messages all over the world!
The pigeons who act as couriers of messages are called the Homing pigeons! Now homing pigeons are a type of domestic pigeon descended from the rock pigeon. Wild rock pigeons have an innate ability to find their way home from long distances. Today’s homing pigeons have been carefully bred to do the same, including carrying messages over those long distances!
These pigeons can usually find their way back home no matter the distance so If taken away from home, they can find their way back home in a remarkably short period of time!
In fact, homing pigeons have been known to find their way home from as many as 1,100 miles away, and they can travel an average of 50 miles per hour with bursts of up to 90 mph!
This ability has made them valuable as messengers since at least the time of the ancient Egyptians. Homing pigeons were used extensively in both World War I and World War II. Several birds even received medals for their service in delivering critical messages during wartime!
But how do they find their way home over such long distances?
Despite many scientific studies over the years, no one yet fully understands how homing pigeons navigate home across long distances and when no one understands there usually are many theories!
Scientists now believe that homing pigeons have both compass and map mechanisms that help them navigate home. The compass mechanism helps them to fly in the right direction, while the map mechanism allows them to compare where they are to where they want to be!
A homing pigeon’s compass mechanism likely relies upon the Sun. Like many other birds, homing pigeons can use the position and angle of the Sun to determine the proper direction for flight. The map mechanism, however, remains a bit of a mystery.
Though some researchers have suggested that homing pigeons use magnetoreception, which involves relying on Earth’s magnetic fields for guidance. Researchers have found that homing pigeons have concentrations of iron particles in their beaks that would allow them to detect magnetic fields easily!
Some have also suggested that homing pigeons may instead rely upon low-frequency infrasound to find their way home. These low-frequency sounds are inaudible to human ears, but they’re created by nearly everything, including the oceans and Earth’s crust!Homing pigeons may listen to these sounds until they recognize the signature sounds of their home roost.
Finally once these pigeons are close, they have a bird’s view of familiar landmarks just like the Homo sapien and get home!
The courier service using pigeons was established in Orissa in 1946 and was maintained and well used especially during emergencies like flood and quakes. There have been many stories of how these prime pigeons have saved the day!
Now the Orissa police in India had established regular pigeon posts at Cuttack, Chatrapur, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and Denkanal and these pigeons rose to the occasion in times of emergencies and natural calamities!
During the centenary celebrations of the Indian postal service in 1954, the Orissa police pigeons demonstrated their capacity by conveying the message of inauguration from the President of India to the Prime Minister!
Unfortunately though the last of the pigeon post services in the world which is the one in Cuttack was closed in 2008!
In spite of this about 150 pigeons continue to be maintained for ceremonial purposes in Cuttack and at the Police Training College in Angul!
Now that is historical! Historical and amazing also was birthday celebrity M. G. Soman! His smart appearance with the moustache maybe because he was an air force officer before he became a famous actor in Malayalam!
Now admire the birds from your balcony and sleep!
Shubh Ratri!
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