Man is lord of creation. All living creatures animals, birds, reptiles and crawlers occupy a secondary place in the grand order. ‘Animals provide many benefits to man, and they are a show of life’, says the Holy Quran. Nobody can deny the importance of animals and birds in life.
Sometimes these creatures – animals and birds are kept and looked after in a place called zoo. They amuse and divert visitors to the zoo. Karachi has a small zoo. It is called Gandhi garden. At the time of partition, the zoo was on the outskirts of the city; but it has now come in the centre due to quick extension of the city. First admission was free. Now the visitors have to purchase entrance tickets for two rupees each.
There is a great rush of visitors from morning to the evening. Children especially enjoy casual visits. The area is fenced with barbed wire. Hedges and plants have made it secure. There are gates on their sides. On the eastern side there are shops and offices instead of fence. The animals and birds are kept in cages and enclosures of thick wire. The zoo is managed by KMC. It is close to Aga Khan ground.
My family members once visited the zoo in the afternoon, on a holiday. After purchasing the tickets we entered the zoo by the western gate. On the right-hand side, there were cages for wild animals-tigers, lions, leopards, wolves and chiragh. They were strolling in the cages with iron bars. After seeing them, we moved to the left side reserved for monkeys and apęs. A pair of fat bears was kept in a concave well. Children were mimicking and teaching the monkeys. I threw some snakes to a black one and also shook hand. Nearby, Pakistani swings and merry-go-round attracted the children.
[the_ad id=”17141″]Deer, stags, wild cows and zebra enclosures on the north side, attracted a large number of visitors. The animals were walking up and down or munching. Visitors offered corns and grams to them. I was greatly impressed by a miniature Mogul Garden in the eastern flank. Running fountains and tall Cyprus tres looked attractive and graceful. We rested on the benches under green canopy. After some light refreshment, I enjoyed an elephant ride.
The tame elephant Sultan saluted the visitors and shook hands with me. The small lake in the centre with a hanging bridge across it was the main charm. Aquatic birds-ducks, swans, storks, herons and pans swam in the shallow water. I also enjoyed a boat-ride and walked across the bridge. The most gorgeous creation of God is birds. Tall exclosures covered with wire nets were a repository of birds, multi-colored parrots, white and coloured peacocks, pheasants, Turkeys, pigeons. In an open enclosure, I saw a pair of ostridge. Some snakes were kept in glass houses. A beautiful nursery in the corner delighted us.
It was getting dusk. Loins were roaring; birds were chattering, peacocks were peahooring and bettles were chirping. It was a signal for us to return.
