Light Within: Party with Squirrels

Party with Squirrels
Saturday, 13 November 2010

It's easy to love a place where residents make efforts to feed the squirrels. In the Shalimar Garden, a few senior citizens party with the squirrels every morning.

When my friend Hussain Qazi who is naturalist and a photographer told me about people feeding birds and squirrels, I planned to skip my ‘ritual morning walks’ and decided to visit Shalimar Garden instead; hopping to find more about the party with the squirrels.

The care and feeding of squirrels in Shalimar Garden is a recent phenomenon. Long overshadowed by heritage talk (it is on UNESO’s world heritage list), Shalimar Garden is overcrowded during day. Whether or not Shalimar Garden ultimately can maintain its past glory - and with it, an influx of foreign and local tourists - it's a surprisingly satisfying open space during early hour of the day.

Every morning, two charismatic old men, loaded with biscuits, rice and pluses came to the waiting population of birds and squirrels in the Shalimar Garden. They sit on the same benches and start throwing grins to the birds. When this is happening, one can see squirrels coming down from nearby trees for their breakfast and then those gentlemen dig deep down their satchels and take out biscuits and start feeding the squirrels. The tiny winy animals are so use to those caring hands that they jump to take the first bite.

One of the old men Fazal Karim – a retired primary teacher who lives in nearby Daroge Wala – explained me this phenomenon and said, “I am coming here for my morning walk every day for a long time now. I feed the bird population and squirrels and find them very friendly. I miss them and look forward to meeting them every day. I think they miss me too.”

Labels: Environment, Lahore, Shalamar Garden

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Saturday, November 13, 2010,

3 Comments:

At 11:44 AM PKT, jalalHB said...: Very moving - yes people are of the like are still there, mostly from the lower brackets who still have a loving and caring heart. Me and you dont fall in this category.
Dont you think so?
At 11:26 PM PKT, Maggie Allen said...: This picture of the squirrels being fed is so endearing, in a world where everyone seems to rush about going about their business. We need to take time out to get back to nature and the way we were intended to be towards the animals on this earth.
To see these little creatures eating like this is amazing to me, this trust between man and small animal, in the UK (England) where I live squirrels especially grey squirrels are looked upon as vermin, almost like people look upon rats in the UK. There is apparently one rat for every person living in London. That`s about seven and a half million rats, scurrying beneath the tunnels and sewers. Imagine!!!!
But back to the squirrels here, they are not tamed like these little squirrels in the picture seem to be, and although we see the grey squirrel in the south of England every day, climbing around the trees, swinging from one branch and tree to the next. I have yet to see anyone actually feeding one, that indeed, would be an awesome sight.
At 10:38 AM PKT, Shirazi said...: Thanks Maggie Allen and welcome to this part of the world where squirrels are considered sign of serene environment (in a way). Unlike rates, squirrels live in trees and in pollution free environment.

Thanks for leaving your informed comment. Wish to see you more in bogsphere.