A corner of the sidewalk was set aside for pigeons to gather

While walking through the streets of Mumbai, I stumbled upon a remarkable sight—a section of the sidewalk completely covered by an astonishing number of pigeons. It was as if the pigeons had formed a living, breathing "carpet" that stretched across the pavement. Curious about why so many of them had gathered here, I approached the scene and quickly found my answer. The ground within a designated area was littered with feed, and the pigeons were busily pecking away, seemingly in paradise.

But one question lingered: Why does this "pigeon heaven" exist on a random stretch of sidewalk in the middle of a bustling metropolis? It was clear that the feed didn’t just appear there naturally; someone was deliberately scattering it. Intrigued, I paused to observe.

After a while, a man approached a nearby tent. He handed over some money, purchased a bag of feed, and proceeded to scatter it across the pigeon-filled area. It became evident that this was a kind of attraction—people could buy feed and enjoy the experience of watching pigeons swarm around.

In Japan, places where you can feed animals—like the deer in Nara or carp in parks—are not uncommon. But this pigeon zone in Mumbai seemed to take the concept to another level, offering a bolder, more spontaneous version of the idea. Taking place right on the sidewalk, this spectacle perfectly captured the chaos and charm that coexist so uniquely in India. While the pigeons likely see it as a haven, the sheer scale of the "pigeon carpet" left me with a slightly surreal feeling.

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