Commonwealth Games: Don't mess with this monkey

Langur-wallah Gul Khan keeps a tight grip on Kundan Singh. Photo / Supplied

Gul Khan and Kundan Singh rub shoulders with the rich and famous - and are part of an unusual security force near the Commonwealth Games.

Gul Khan is a langur-wallah, attached to the Press Trust of India in downtown Delhi. A langur is a monkey - that's two-year-old Kundan Singh - and Gul Khan is a langur-wallah doing very nicely, thank you, with his monkey business.

Monkeys are a pest in Delhi. Langurs frighten other monkeys and keep them away. If that all sounds a little comical and low key, monkeys are a genuine menace. In 2007, the city's deputy mayor was killed when he fell from his balcony during a monkey attack while 25 people were wounded when another went on a biting rampage.

Gul Khan and Kundan Singh's normal job is to ensure there is no monkey in the vicinity to pester people or scratch cars. A favourite trick is to rip out the rubber surrounding vehicle windows - the texture apparently intrigues them.

Khan earns about 5000 rupees ($150) a month and does the odd bit of moonlighting. Earlier this year a former actress-turned-politician in the southern province of Tamil Nadu recruited him on a short-term contract.

The 29-year-old has worked with langurs all his life, learning the skills from his Dad, who also had a penchant for training dancing bears. He literally keeps Kundan Singh on a tight leash and barks commands at him, but there is affection between the two.

Khan strokes his workmate throughout our chat and gives him the odd welcome scratch under the chin. He keeps Kundan Singh on a strict vegetarian diet of raw potatoes, roti, bananas and peas.

"It took me two months to train him," Khan says. "He needed to learn my language and do what he's told. Normally in the wild he would attack people but he's learned not to."

He keeps a firm foot on the rope around his neck just the same. Still, Kundan Singh was willing to shake hands, but always kept a firm eye on the surrounding trees to make sure his patch was clear.

Using the langur remains a reliable method of monkey control. Other techniques such as chasing them away with ultra-high-frequency loudspeakers, deporting them to neighbouring states or transporting them to a monkey jail, north of Delhi, have failed.

Monkeys are a common sight in streets, parks and trees and are known to make cameo appearances scampering through hospitals and government offices. The problem with their presence is twofold. As Delhi's nearby forest cover shrinks, monkeys migrate into business and residential areas.

Their survival is boosted by the devout Hindu belief the animals are sacred. As a result, they are fed which means they frequent public places and can end up biting people while carrying diseases like rabies.

Cue the langur - and the langur-wallah. Langurs' bigger size and fierce nature means your average monkey has limited opportunities for mischief in their presence. They don't kill their smaller relations but scare them away.

Their bodies are about 75cm long and their tails are longer. Fortunately for them they are more revered than the average monkey in Hinduism. They have a black face and hands which are thought to resemble the warrior Hanuman, who helped to rescue the deity Rama's wife from a fire.

The New Delhi council has put dozens of langurs on duty outside venues to guard against a potential riot if a troop of monkeys invades.

Monkeys are not the only animals to have caused difficulties pre-Games. Stray dogs loiter on the streets, even within the grounds of the main press centre; a four-foot cobra was found at the tennis venue and another snake was caught in a room at the athletes' village. Sacred cows can be found roaming free which causes the odd traffic snarl-up.