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.