The small things in life

Like someone one said “Everyone will have atleast one story to write, and it will be their own story.” This is my story. A part of my life I spent and am still spending by observing and interacting with animals around me.Sharing here are a series of notes about a few animals which came into our life and sometimes filled us with deep emotions of joy, sorrow, regret and like.This series is dedicated to all those who love animals.. Please pardon my poor English as Iam new to writing in prose. 

1.JIMMY

I don’t know when in my life the association with animals began. As far as I remember, the first animal that I can recall is a squirrel on the mango tree of my ancestral home and me in my Father’s arms eating food. My father musically singing “Annarkanna, Annarkanna kaliyaadidaan varumo nee” – or something to that effect. I spent my childhood – till I was 7 or 8 – in my mother’s ancestral home. We had a neighbour’s dog there. His name was Jimmy. He would often come to our house and spend time there. Everyday when my father and me went to the school in the morning in his bicycle, Jimmy would run behind following us till a junction. Then I would say good bye and he would return back to his home. When I think of Jimmy, I still remember a day when he came to our house with a big Aluminium vessel stuck in his head. He had put his head in, for water or some food and got stuck. He had come all the way from there, blindly following, I don’t what senses, to reach our home. My mother still wonders how he even made it. My father immediately sprang into action and with a cutting player, cut off the metal form his neck, freeing him up. He was so relieved and happy. That is all that I remember of Jimmy. But later once my mother told me that Jimmy has passed away. It was not a natural death. It seems he was in a habit of chasing one of the neighbour’s chicken, and the irritated neighbour fed him some food mixed with poison. Thats how he died. 

2.BLACK BEAUTY/ BLACKY

I think I was in Fifth standard or so, when my dad brought home our first pet. She was a dark black cow, whom I immediately named as Black beauty (as I just loved that story,I read somewhere). I don’t remember any antics of Blacky. She was a good calf. One day, she was tied in a field near to our house for grazing. Somehow her rope got loosened and unknotted, and she began to roam among crops. The owner of the field was furious and whipped her. She hastily ran back home. But there runs a road that separates the grazing ground and home. While crossing it, a bus hit her and ran over her. My parents and many others went to the accident site (I was at school).They pulled her out from underneath the bus and brought her home. Her spinal cord was affected and she couldn’t move her back legs and her tail. Then began a long treatment period in the cowshed at the back of our house, which was aimed at bringing her mobility back. My father brought ayurvedic physicians and the place always smelt of kozhambu and thailams. My parents and physicians would treat her with ayurvedic ‘kizhis’ and all. And finally one day the the miracle happened. She walked, came to our front yard and cried an “mbaa” as thanks for my dad. Soon she was walking and grazing in our front yard. But the happiness didn’t last long. Her tail had lost its movement and when she grazed the crows began to peck on her tail. Soon it developed a wound and my mom used medicines and clothes to dress it. But the crows continued to attack her and finally the wound was too deep that her tail was in a danger of falling off any day. Finally with tears in his eyes, my father had to sell her (Rather give her away).                      

3.KAALI AND SHANKU

My father was so aghast at the fate of Blacky, that soon after he brought home another calf. She was also black but with a brownish tinge. She was, but a naughty calf and wouldn’t allow people to pet her. She would shake her horns threateningly and so we named her ‘ Kaali’ – the angry one. Kaali was always a bit restless, trying to break free of the ropes she was tied to, which she succeeded many a times and wrecked havoc in the neighbourhood. On many days, after coming back from school, I would be told to run on some direction looking for her, while my parents will be running in other directions. Once while my father was trying to untie her ropes from the pole, she restlessly shook her head near his face, scooping one of his eyeballs out. He had to be rushed to hospital and had stitches to keep it in. Thankfully, there was no damage to his vision. But his love for the cow persisted. In due time, she gave birth to a bull calf. We named him Shanku. That’s was when my mother’s misery began. There was no one available in the village to milk the cow. My mother was a full time working woman, and mind you, a college professor. Since there was no other option, the job of milking the cow fell upon her shoulders. Kaali was a very caring mother too who wished that her entire milk goes to her child. So every milking session was a tug – of – war between my mother and the cow mother. Finally  Shanku became a very fat and lazy bull, whose strength surpassed ours so much that we were not able to control him with ropes anymore. So we had to bid adieu to the duo, when my father found a seller who agreed to take both the son and mother together.

4.MEGHA

One day I was strolling in the backyard of my home, when I noticed a crow pecking something in between the bushes. Curiosity took over and I began to observe what it was. Suddenly something green jumped from the bushes and moved to the other side, from where another crow started attacking it. It was a parrot. I went to my parents crying for help and they rescued it from the crows which were trying to murder it. I brought it home and called it Megha. But Megha had a problem, she couldn’t fly long distances .She could flutter her wings and fly small heights though. So we built a wooden cage for her and kept her in the house. We used to feed her different fruits, of which grapes was her favourite and it was an absolute delight to watch her eating them with her red beak. One day we kept the cage outside home, just so she can get some sunlight and fresh air. But later, when I checked the cage, she was gone. Either she opened the door with her beak or someone else did. A day later, I was standing at the threshold, when I saw a crow carrying something in its claw. When I went near to take a look, it dropped the thing and flew away. I saw the lifeless body of Megha with her throat cut and hanging from the body. I took her and gave a proper burial beneath a tree in the courtyard. Megha flew beyond the clouds.

5.KANNU & CHIKKU

I don’t exactly remember when and how Kannu came to our house. She was a stray and had come to stay with us somehow. She had beautiful eyes because of which we named her Kannaki ( Malayalam song – karineela kannazhagi,kannagi), and later nicknamed Kannu. Kannu had and kept most of her kids at our home. She would carry her children in her mouth from place to place and would find safe places to hide them. Mostly in our home it was on our sunshades, beneath our almirah, inside the cupboard etc. Sometimes she would come in the midnight with her kids to my Father’s bedroom to hide them, often disrupting our sleep. Once amidst one of her ventures, as she was shifting her newborn kittens from the ceiling to ground, carrying them one by one in her mouth and jumping from a height, one of them accidently fell on the ground. Me and my Mom immediately went to the scene hearing the newborn’s cry. We were at a loss as to what to do as the kitten was too small to be handled by us. The mother cat seemed unflinched by the whole incident and lay down nearby and watched the rescue attempt. My mom, not knowing what else to do, thrust a few spoonful of milk into its mouth, which it gulped down thankfully. Finally the kitten seemed alright and ready to go. After that incident, we did not see the kittens or their mother for a few days. Then one day, as I was visiting my aunt who lived in the neighbourhood, we saw the cat once again. With her was this cute kitten that was pure white with two black rings on her back and bewitching eyes .I tried to take him in my arms, upon which he hissed at me, scratched my hand and ran away. Later the duo themselves came and settled in our home and Chikku soon became a favourite of all .I still remember this time when my friend who once came to my home saw him wake up from his usual nap on the TV and wonder “Is that a real kitten? I thought it was a soft toy.” He was so handsome and so loving too. He would follow me everywhere I went, meowed till he got all the attention he wanted and made me put my textbooks down and played with him. It was the time of Pooja. I was going through a family crisis and no one was home.I would go to college, come back, clean the house, feed the cat, do the chores and go to my aunt’s house for the night. One such day, when I came back from college, I sensed a dirty smell. Going inside the bedroom, I found the remains of a rabbit or something, over the floor, on the blankets and all. Mother and son were having a feast when we were away, that too at the time of Pooja, when we are not supposed to bring non veg  food inside home.  I couldn’t come in terms with that. More than that, I didn’t have time to cleanup everyday if this continues. So I shut him out in the working area outside the kitchen. He meowed desperately, but I told him there was nothing that could be done about it. The next day when I came back from college, he was not there. But it was usual for him to go out on rendezvous with his mother. So I did not worry much. But few days later, he was not back yet. His mother came to our house and began searching her son. She would look at our face quizzically and meow at us, as if asking where he was, we had no reply for her. We never came to know what happened to him. His mother Kannu stayed with us though, till her last days.

6.NEENU

That was the day after my father’s death. The funeral was over by afternoon and most of the friends and relatives had left. We were not in a mood for dinner and there was a lot of left – over food. I just went outside home to find this white dog lying in the courtyard, seeming tired and hungry. So I brought the food and gave him. From the next day, he was stationed in front of my home greeting the visitors. My uncle, who had come for the mourning, found the funny side of the whole thing and cited a few anecdotes from his life. He said she reminded him of a senior employee of his by the name of Neenu ( Courtesy: Arvinda Mama, now no more). He began to make jokes of the dogs, which quite helped us to overcome our grief. Neenu  came to us as  a stray and remained so. We never tried to adopt any dog. Just gave him food and he would come and rest in our courtyard when he felt like. A turning point in his life, perhaps, was when Naga and Indu came. Naga and Indu, now doctors by profession, had come to stay in our house for a brief period, at the time of their rural practice. Naga liked Neenu very much and Neenu too had a special bond with Naga. She would visit our upstairs, which was rented out to the doctors, in meal times to get a few titbits.After the doctors left, she was a stray again. We came to know later that Neenu had been brought up by another family nearby from the time she was a puppy. Once her owner had become angry at her for something and whipped her .Her pride was so that she left home that day and never went back. Probably that was the day I saw her in my courtyard. Her end was when she got hit by a truck as she was trying to cross the road.But before we could reach the spot,her former owner had took and buried her.

7.KAAKKA

It was after my grandma passed away that the routine of feeding the crow became a norm in my family. My father would spot a crow on the nearby tree and tell my mom “See, Your mother has come.”(Popular belief in Hinduism that the spirits of the dead come back as crows to accept feed from the family members). And my mother would come with some food to feed it. This continued even after my father passed away. Although it is difficult to distinguish between the crows, there was this one crow that would come and just sit on a branch or in front of the house somewhere. It wouldn’t crow or make any other sound to attract attention but simply sit and stare at the house or anyone outside the house. Even if someone is there outside the house and fails to notice him, he would sit and watch patiently until that person takes notice. So we used to call him “Muni Kaaka”- The silent one. Sometimes he also used to come up the doorsteps and stand at the threshold looking into the house .If someone takes notice, we are supposed to fetch the food. We have been  raising a few generations of them till now, I guess.

8.BUNTY

I was doing Phd at the time when Bunty came into our lives.He abandoned outside our house by someone. On a day when one of my cousin’s children visited, my mother spotted him and brought him home to entertain the kids. The kids left, but he stayed. He was also a very cute kitten, but not as much as Chikku. And he had a bad habit. He would chew the clothes we left without washing. That is anything that smelt of us, including the bedsheets. We lost a lot of clothes during the time he stayed with us. But then due to some personal reasons, we had to shift to Trivandrum for an year. So there was no other option than to leave him with family friends, who too loved him and agreed to adopt him. The day we went to leave him at their house, he somehow understood we were leaving him behind and followed us back for a long distance. But then we couldn’t do anything about it. By the time we returned, the family told us that one day he accidently got bitten by a dog just outside their house and soon afterwards he left their house.

9. RUMI/TOMMY

Rumi was his original name.He was a police dog and was owned by an ex police officer who lived in our neighbourhood. He was a cross between the local and the Alsatian  breed and was maybe the tallest dog in the entire neighbourhood. Me and my mom are in the habit of going for regular evening walks.  We used to see him standing just outside the gates of his house exactly at the same spot looking at the passersby with somewhat dispassionate eyes. Once we decided to give him some titbits and watch his reaction. Even though he appeared friendly, he never allowed us to touch or to pet him. Slowly, we befriended him and he would follow us for some distance in our walk and then fall back when he reaches his house. One day my mother had to go in the same route alone, late in the evening. When she returned, it was almost dark and she was feeling a bit afraid. Suddenly Tommy appeared from his house and began to escort her, which he had never done before. Usually, the dogs being very territorial, wouldn’t leave their boundaries and if they did, the dogs from the other side would chase and may also hurt them. But that day Tommy crossed all the limits and came with her. Other dogs began to bark in protest, but where afraid of coming anywhere near him, owing to his huge size. He left my mother safely back home and went away. A few months later, his appearences became irregular and we often wondered why. One day we came to know that he was very ill and immediately went to his house to see him. He didn’t (or maybe couldn’t) eat the biscuits we offered but wagged his tail lightly on seeing us. He looked pathetic and we asked the owners why they wouldn’t take him to a vet. They said that the man of the house was out of station and so they had to wait until he returned. Tommy did not survive to see the next day. Later we came to know that he had some kind of tumor on his head, maybe because of which he refused to be touched.

10.JIMMY2

After Tommy’s death, there was no one to feed the biscuits to, until Jimmy came into our lives. Jimmy is owned by a neighbouring family. But once get got infected with some virus, after which he cannot control the nodding of his head. His head is always nodding, whether he is eating, sitting or lying down. People say that the dogs that get infected with that virus usually die within a week or so after the infection. But Jimmy survived and maybe as thanksgiving, spends much of the time in the nearby temple where we usually go in the evenings. From there we saw him and taking plight of his condition began feeding him biscuits. Now, he is perhaps one of the biggest consumers of the Parle G biscuits. He usually waits at the temple and keeps an ear out for us as we open the gate of our house in the evening. He at once recognises the sound of the door opening, and comes running towards us for the biscuits. Some devotees who come to the temple are also fond of him and feed him with biscuits. But many people are against the idea of a dog lying near the temple premises. They feel he should not be allowed to roam freely in the temple surroundings. Anyway, for now, he is happily a resident of the kavu.

11.KUNJIKILI

I was going through a painful phase when I first saw kunjikili on the branch of a shrub outside my house. I was strolling in front of my house one night, when I saw something in between the branches that appeared like a ball of cotton. When we shined light on it, two little eyes sparkled in the dark. It was a wonderful night to have discovered something so small and so beautiful, that you didn’t know even existed until then. That night he was alone and we didn’t see him for a few months, maybe an year. But he came again, this time with his partner and settled on another tree. They will come in the evening, sit next to each other, sometimes with their head buried in their feather and take rest. In the morning, just after sunrise they will leave, to return back at the exact same spot in the evening. The partner gets scared easily and would fly away if we tried to approach them before sunset. But once it is dark, they are perfectly still until it is morning. Now we see them almost every year on one of the trees nearby our home, every winter. Once it starts to rain, they go somewhere else. But we have never seen them making nests or laying eggs. But whatever they are, they are a perfectly happy couple, or so it seems

12.HALO

Halo is one among the pack of four stray dogs that dominate our village. He was a normal dog ,until an unfortunate accident happened to him. It was a very hot summer and maybe he was very thirsty. He put his head in the water container made of plastic and the rim of the container got stuck in his neck. He tried everything, but couldn’t pull it off and he began to carry it everywhere (like a halo around his head).  Soon the people and even his own pack began to look at him like some alien being .Halo is an extremely shy dog, and maybe he had experienced some bad treatment in the hands of human beings. He was, and still is, mortally afraid of any human coming near, much less, touching, him. So as much as people tried, both in single and in groups, nobody could get near him, much less pull the plastic container off. Halo began to spend much of his time alone, even when his friends were busy roaming on the roads. He would just come and lie down in our yard all day. He couldn’t even eat food properly as his head was stuck inside the jar. Thankfully, the bottom of the container was open, enabling him to breathe. Some days, he would just come and stand in front of our house with tired eyes, and we would know that he was hungry and feed him food. He went through this plight for almost 2 – 3 months, when somehow he by himself broke free of the container .Now he is a happy dog, free and reunited with his pack.  Halo’s story has deeply inspired me. It showed me how flaky all the relationships are. The friends, the society and everything else is so pointless when a real mishap occurs in your life. The only thing one can do is to brave through it, with the hope that tomorrow will be better than today. At least that’s what Halo did, and he didn’t die, when he could have.

13.SH group

SH group, or Self Help group as we named them, are a group of six goats that come to graze in the fields near where we go for evening walks. We began to notice them because they were not accompanied by any human being, which is the norm. These goats would come alone by the side of the road, cross the road careful of the traffic, graze alone and go back all by themselves once the sun sets. They have a leader amongst them, who wears a black rope around his neck. The others follow his lead and move. We were amazed at the discipline and punctuality of the group. So called them Self Help.

14.VELLAPOOCHA

He has come recently to our house. And like the saying goes “He came, he saw, he conquered”, he just casually visits our house. Even when we are sitting in the drawing room with TV in full blast, he would casually enter through the front door and go straight to the bedroom. We would then follow behind and shout at him but he heeds no attention. Later he looks back, sees us following, gets scared and scampers out of the room. That is when I told my mom, He is deaf. But of course she wouldn’t believe me (Who does?). It took her 3 – 4 more similar occurrences to confirm that he is indeed deaf. So on most days, when it is sunny, he comes to our house early in the morning waits for some squirrel or rat to show up and if nothing turns up, takes rest in the shade beneath the stairs until it is evening. Sometimes he jumps into our bedrooms through the window and creates some havoc. But as of now he is behaving himself. So we have let him free to his will.(Dunno when he will make mom angry and gets kicked out)

15.HUG DOG (Fb excerpt)

I was walking to the temple,I occassionaly visit. On the way,my eyes abruptly fell on him.He was intendly looking at me from his threshold.I hesitated for a moment,attracted by his innocent gaze.Slowing my pace, I asked him,"Hi,Whatsup?".The moment I spoke those words,he leapt at me with joy, hugged me(my legs,as a matter of fact) and wouldnt leave. A cute puppy,that knows only love and wants only to be loved.A few pats and gentle coaxing didnt work.At last the owner had to come and drag him away. Owner is worried of the dog's behaviour as he is always stalking the passersby. But that one hug left my mind dancing.And now I go along that path more frequently. Just for the sake of an innocent hug

16. PLUTO

Pluto is my Mom’s colleagues’ dog. Their family is like a second family to me and hence Pluto too. Pluto was always there as a relief at the time I wrote my Ph D thesis. One could always look at him and play with him and borrow some of his energy. That is, if he is in a good mood. If he is not, he can bite and hurt you too. But don’t worry, he will apologise later. And you will surely fall for his black eyes and playful gait. Even if it is months or a year after, he remembers me and comes to greet me when I go there. Love you, Pluto

17.SHANTANU

Shantanu is a dog who belonged to one of our neighbours. She is a dog literally with a smile on her face. Everytime I look at her, she seems to be smiling. She ardently follows her mistress, Shanta wherever she goes. That’s how we named her Shantanu. Shantanu was a very quiet dog. She would just sniff us when we walk past her house, which is located in a less traffic zone. Later her family shifted to a house in the roadside and the last thing we heard she died in a road accident.

There are many more pets to write about, the turkey Jasmine that lost its way and came to our house; the lonely Neelakkili (The Indian roller) that sits on the electric line; The bird that used to build its nest on the fluorescent light outside our lab at RGCB, The woodpecker that would peck on its own image on the glass wall of DCB, the peacocks and peahens that arrive in the ploughed field, the seven sisters and the squirrels and their antics and it goes on. But for now, this is where I must stop.