Sep 1, 2011 - LUDHIANA: Thirty-one horses, 45 buffaloes, 20 hens, eight quails, five turkeys, six pheasants, 10 white doves, 8 budgies, 10 pit-bulls and one Pakistani bully dog, 20 Australian love birds, 10 goats, five sheep, two rams, a camel and a bull. All these animals constitute Jatinder Pal Singh Mangat's farm at Noorpur Bhet that also houses about 300 fish.
The Ghumar Mandi resident recently added two Marwari horses to his small village of animals.
Jatinder, 41, said his interest was inspired from his grandfather Kehar Singh who was an animal lover himself and used to tame horses. During his childhood, Jatinder grew up admiring his elder brother Bhupinder Singh's kindness towards animals. The desire to have a farm materialized in 1995 when Jatinder established it with just five horses. It was then that he started looking out for rare species.
Jatinder feels the hobby keeps him connected to his culture as Punjabis had been known for keeping animals in the past. "The practice had been abandoned in the modern age but I am determined to preserve it," he said.
Having travelled to numerous places in search of rare species, Jatinder knows many animal lovers across the state and the country, who communicate frequently with each other to share the hobby. Jatinder's dogs brought laurels to him many a time when he took them for competitions.
A builder by profession, Jatinder said, he has employed about 10 people to look after his animal farm and spends around Rs 30,000 a month on its maintenance. He uses the wheat, maize and rice grown on his fields his animals and prepares their feed too. Jatinder is content that even his children have picked up the interest and is proud about the fact that the younger generation shares his concerns. His son, Jai Inder Singh and daughters Gurnoor Kaur and Jasnoor Kaur show keen interest in farm animals and love to play with them. Jai Inder, 6, said he loves to play with dogs and to ride on horses. The animals greet him as well when he goes to the farm, Jai Inder disclosed.