On a Wing and a Prayer
A flock of cattle egrets takes flight from the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India’s capital city. They arc in unison above the sluggish river, enshrouded by dust from the labyrinth of bridges under construction across it. Beneath them, a truck has caused traffic to jam on the narrow street leading to the riverside locality known as Wazirabad. It’s a concrete jungle of small-scale businesses, half-constructed houses, and alleys — and an unlikely address for my destination today, a rescue and rehabilitation center for birds. When I first visited the center over 10 years ago, it was housed on their terrace overlooking Old Delhi’s iconic Jama Masjid. Having expanded, it has since shifted to this location. I ask a fruit seller at a roadside kiosk for directions.
“Do you mean the place run by those crazy brothers who treat ugly black kites? They spend all their hard-earned money buying meat for the birds,” he says, pointing me in the right direction.
The fruit-seller’s comment about hard-earned money is on point. Wildlife Rescue has been running, quite literally, on a wing and a prayer for almost two decades. Founded and largely self-funded by brothers Nadeem Shehzad (45) and Mohammad Saud (41) who share the belief that every living thing has the right to live, receive treatment if injured, and at the end, die with dignity, the center treats between 10 and 25 injured birds a day, and more than 3,300 annually.
Journalist Geetanjali Krishna has been following brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud’s efforts to save raptors in India’s capital city, Delhi, for nearly a decade. In this Summer 2023 feature, she writes about how recent fame hasn’t made their job any easier.
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