‘Chabutaras’: A symbol of Ahmedabad's ancient birdfeeding tradition

livemint.com:

Chabutaras are 11-22ft tall structures made of wood, stone or concrete, designed specifically for birds. These traditional bird-feeders, though slightly outlandish looking, are an intrinsic part of the city’s visual and cultural lexicon. Ahmedabad is a city with an admirable population of sparrows, mynas, pigeons, old world babblers and purple sunbirds.

The chabutara is where locals place water and seeds for the feathered itinerants. The structures enable the birds to seek refuge from harsh sunlight or battering rain. “There are said to be over 300 chabutaras in Ahmedabad, of which 120 come under the walled city," says Ahmedabad-born city enthusiast Mohammed Ali Turner, who conducts heritage walks under the Walkipedia banner.

One can’t quite trace the origins of the word “chabutara". Turner speculates that it emerged from the word, “kabutar". “The closest explanation is that it was derived from ‘kabutra’, which means pigeon in Gujarati," he says.

However, Ashish Trambadia, conservation architect and former director of Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trust that focuses on preserving heritage buildings and landmarks, contends that the word finds its roots in “char-rasta" or crossroads. “Earlier, at each junction or at the intersection of crossroads in the city, a small pavilion with a bird-feeder on top was installed," he says, suggesting that the chabutara’s raised stone plinth was where locals would convene. “It was a meeting point where people could sit and chit-chat.