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The gentle and peace loving people of Gujarat are
well known for their concern about the welfare of all life forms.
Perhaps putting bird feeding tables—commonly known as
chabutras—in their homes and gardens is a reflection of their
benign attitude.
Some years ago when we
came to live in Ahmedabad the chabutras was among the first things to
arrest our attention. The type to be seen most commonly is the
ek-dandia chabutras which is essentially a platform covered with a
dome or hood and mounted on a 5-6 feet high pole. On the platform a
dish of water and some food is put for the birds.
Gujarati chabutras can be
of various shapes and sizes, as we learnt later, while discussing the
folk art forms of Gujarat with Esther David—an eminent art
critic, columnist and author of a book on Ahmedabad. Some can be as
large as a room. Built from stone and bricks these are elevated
platforms which provide refuge to a variety of birds, ranging from
the small sized sparrows, mynas and pigeons to large ones such as
peacocks.
Chabutra is a popular
colloquial terms derived from the world ‘Kabutar’, for
pigeon. Interestingly enough, in some illustrations on Gujarati arts
and crafts done by artists during the British period chabutras have
been referred to as ‘pigeon houses’, as Lalit Kumar,
Curator of the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum of Indology in Ahmedabad
informed us. The word chabutras itself may have been kabutra for some
time before it finally became what it is today.
Although chabutras are
commonly seen all over Gujarat, similar bird feeding tables are also
to be seen in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Indeed, the hood of the
chabutras is believed to have been influenced by the ‘chatri’,
so commonly seen in Rajasthani architectural design. According to
Lalit Kumar, there has been a significant amount of fusion between
the design forms of Rajasthan and Gujarat over the centuries and the
chabutras is a manifestation of this rich ‘Maru Gujarat’
cultural tradition.
According to Kirti Patel,
a well known artist who has also documented local art forms in
considerable detail, the chabutras has a deep sociological and
religious significance in Gujarat. Although the form of the chabutras
incorporates the influences of Hindu, Muslim and Jain architectural
designs, the practice of putting up these bird feeding tables is
undoubtedly linked to the Jain faith which preaches non-violence and
humanity. Like the ancient Egyptians, many communities in Gujarat
also believe that after death a persons soul assumes the form of
birds and animals. So by caring for birds by putting food and water
and providing shelter in chabutras they are also caring for the souls
of their departed ancestors.
To known more about
chabutras we interviewed a variety of people and came across some
interesting explanations. According to one view, originally chabutras
were meant to be the destination of message carrying pigeons in the
royal households. It is well known that long before the day when
wireless and telephone existed, messages were carried by trained
pigeons. In India too pigeons were widely used for carrying messages
from one point to another. It is believed that, at least in Gujarat,
chabutras or similar structures were the logical destination point of
all birds, including the message bearing pigeons.
Even though chabutras may
have been of some use for message carrying pigeons in earlier times,
there is bound to be much more than this, as far as their
significance and evolution is concerned. Yatin Pandya, an architect
in Ahmedabad and the Director of Sangath—an organization working
for the preservation of the cultural heritage, interpreted chabutras
to us from the perspective of town planning and architecture. He
opined that in earlier times chabutras were an important element of
urban design and served to enhance the utilization of space
judiciously and aesthetically in pols i.e. traditional urban
settlements in Gujarat. Even now, old chabutras in villages and pols
are located very prominently in the centre—the place where most
community interactions and the celebration of festivals take place.
One can imagine that in
the days when community life in the pols was much more vibrant than
it is now, chabutras would have had great relevance. But now, as
human population size is increasing more and more, people are living
in box shaped housing colonies in the newer parts of the town.
Naturally, everything which was in vogue traditionally is now also
going out of favour including chabutras. During our rambles in the
countryside and in the city of Ahmedabad we noticed chabutras
everywhere—in villages, in housing colonies and in the midst of
the busy bazaars of the city. Although many chabutras in the old
parts of the city looked in bad shape—having being encroached
upon or plastered with bill boards and loudspeakers—those in the
new colonies appeared different. So the questions is then do
chabutras have any relevance today?
Judging from the fact
that they are to be seen all over Gujarat, the chabutras does seem to
have some contemporary relevance. Many houses in the localities where
the well-to-do people live, chabutras can be seen in gardens and
terraces. Obtained from antique furniture shops or from the local
Gurjari shop these chabutras are often gaily decorated with
Rajasthani style designs and wood carvings. In a certain sense these
are ‘brand’ chabutras—more of decorative items
adorning the gardens and terraces in fashion conscious homes.
However, in the rural areas—in village squares and in the lower
and middle income group housing colonies of Ahmedabad—we get to
see chabutras which appear more functional than ornamental. These are
fabricated from steel, bricks and stone. The tall ones have a small
ladder which can enable a man to climb up and put food and water for
the birds.
About a year ago a local
newspaper carried a photograph of a traditional chabutras in the
Karanj area of Ahmedabad. The photograph had an interesting caption
which said. “A dilapidated chabutras meant for feeding birds in
Karanj has became the centre of a controversy. The corporation wants
to remove its parts for repairs while the locals want it repaired on
the spot”. Intrigued by this report we decided to visit Karanj
and find out for ourselves what the controversy was all about. After
taking to some locals we discovered that the area was rife with
rumors that the corporation had planned to remove that chabutras and
transfer it to an upcoming museum on the crafts and history of
Gujarat, in Ahmedabad. But what had angered the locals was that all
this was in the guise of taking the chabutras away for repairs. The
attempt had been strongly resisted by the local residents who could
not bear to see their beloved chabutras being taken away.
The above incident
clearly indicates that people can offer resistance when it comes to
removing such nondescript objects as the chabutras from their
localities. But sadly, popular support alone may not be enough to
save beautiful and traditional chabutras. The growth of population
and the resulting congestion in the city is obliterating all
traditional artifacts. During our walks we discovered many beautiful
chabutras dying due to neglect and with strange and discordant
structures having grown around them. Some had even become fused with
modern buildings—a sad testimony to the horrific changes taking
place in the urban environment, in total disregard to traditional
relics. The chabutras were once symbolic of man’s concern for
weak and helpless life forms but, in today context, many of the
traditional chabutras in the city are victims of urban decadence. But
still, in the midst of the hustle and hustle of congested city life
or in the middle of villages, they stand tall and majestically
silently in their stoic grace and elegance—beautiful to look at
and a refuge for the little winged creatures.
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