This may be a strange day for meโhow, for example, does one Instagram a cockfight? But for Galwa, the two-year old rooster in the arena, this day determines his future. Galwa is making the transition from being a pampered pet to a cockfight contestant.
He works as a cook in Karachi and claims he is 29, even though he appears to be in his mids. The whole thing feels ominous. Shahabuddin lets Galwa out of his coop and gives him his breakfast of bird feed. The burly trainer sits outside the kitchen door with Galwa, holding him in a somewhat loose grip. The house cats are playing around Galwa, but the rooster is used to their meows and endless games of hide-and-seek.
The cats seem unfazed by the rooster as well. Shahabuddin starts prepping Galwa, kicking off the proceedings with a massage of mustard seed oil. Galwa weighs about two, maybe two-and-a-half kilos. Most fights take place in the winter, and during the season roosters dine on pistachios and almonds, egg yolk, and silver foil, which is traditionally put on sweetmeats.
During the summer, they feed on soaked bread and their usual fare of birdseed. Shahabuddin wipes Galwa down. Shahabuddin sits with Galwa in a grassy, sun-soaked patch so the rooster can warm up.
The men are bringing along their roosters so Galwa can match his witsโand beakโagainst them. Shahabuddin seems confident, but there is an edge of uncertainty to the proceedings. Anything can happen. His beloved pet could injure its neck or its beak, or lose an eye.
