Doggone!

I am a nut for dogs. All my friends know I am canine-crazy. It's no surprise if you look at family. In fact, I was showing pictures from my India visit to a friend and she remarked that all of my relatives have dogs. And it's true. Every 'family' picture I took with my nearest extended family had a tail in it :) (And sometimes more than one).

My first 'pet' was called Dafli. I was about 2 years old when my family expanded to include her. She was barely a couple of weeks old and her chances of survival were pretty grim then. (It's family tradition to refer to our canine additions with gender-specific terms) But I guess she had something going really strong for her, in fact, it kept her going for the next 14 years. She was a healthy, sensible and beautiful white pom. Except that she probably never respected me too much. Not that I blame her. I was too little to not pull her tail or tweak her ears, and she was too 'bitchy' to forgive me. So she chose my sister to be her first love. But she did love me although I wasnt allowed comparison to her bond with my sibling.

We were shattered when she passed away (of old age). My sister was living in Pune for her education then. And I was very upset at the loss for a long time. Both my parents were too. And we wouldnt have got another dog had we not found it unbearable to not have a wagging tail greeting each of us everyday. We were just addicted to having someone who showed unconditional joy and rewarded us with affection for only just entering the house. That was hard to let go off. So in just a few weeks, kulfi came in.

This time I had no competition. Kulfi was also a white pom, but how different. Larger, more defiant, very stubborn and stupidly loving. She had the most compassionate large round eyes. And there was no question about whose companion she was. I dont believe I have loved anyone or anything beyond my first family as much as I have loved her. In fact, I have also never been as forgiving of anybody else. I would have probably murdered someone else for having eaten up my Engineering textbook, not once, but twice. So kulfi slept in my bed, hid her biscuit in my blanket and thought it was her birthright to treat me like I was her pet. And considering we were all mellowed down from Dafli's passing, we were slightly less eager to discipline kulfi too strongly.

Her passing remains in my mind as one of the worst things that could happen to me. For months I did not forgive her for leaving me that way. Only when my mother talked to me about it did I consciously let her go in my mind. My best fantasy is to be running around, playing with her in an open ground in some life.

My parents had got a little pup, a boy this time, some months after kulfi left us. But he didnt survive for too long. I had already moved out of my home for work, so I didnt really know 'Phulka' that well. But my parents had grown quite fond of him in his tiny lifespan.

We havent had any housepets since. We are too jittery about the pain of losing a pet now. But all of us foster pets in other ways. My parents have about 6 stray dogs who they feed and treat. 2 of them are actually blatantly flaunting their right to enter the house these days. Laalu, one of the strays, has been outside the house for the past 11 years actually. (He just followed kulfi home one day and they made a case for him to make our place his home... kinda :) ). He has expanded his gene pool and ably propogated his genes further, thus resulting in the 6 dogs we currently take care of.

In Pune, I adopted two stray puppies. I got them vaccinated and took good care of them, sometimes at the expense of my neighbours' affections. But unfortunate things happened to them. After having moved to the US, I currently just dream of one day having a house of my own, if only to have and care for a dog of my own.

Living on the Edge! :)

One of the very few things I did this summer was White Water Rafting. A lot of fun it is, I'd heard. The outing was duly planned and reservations were made at the White Salmon River close to Portland, and two brave cars spanned the distance worth 4 hours to the place. It was good fun, with a mix of level 4 but mainly level 3 rapids. And a very small patch of 5+ as well. It was great fun, surely. But then fun is just not enough for the likes of yours truly. The kinds who like it 'thrilling' and who are always creating ripples (quite literally) and memories!
So there was this patch of 5+ rapids, a 4 feet high water fall from which we were to descend. Our guide Brady showed us how to respond to a few commands and even made us practise before we went on to the real thing. He shouted commands and we (read Tulsi, Abhijat, Atul, Sumithra, Gautam and Jalpa) ably demonstrated our ability to respond to them... Row forward, Paddle right... xyz! So we were ready to literally take the plunge! We were looking forward to the excitement and were aptly rewarded. What a leap it was through the water. We were ACTUALLY completely immersed in the water for 1..2...3....4...5 secs... an eternity... OH MY GOD. It was Astounding!!!! The breaths were knocked out of our lungs, the cold water was all inside the body suits, we were gasping and laughing. And exclaming. Wooow! It was some experience. The raft came outta the water and we were back on slightly stable ground...er water... and excitedly exchanging how it felt... and who was watching the next rapid that came along? Obviously, no one. And who was sitting on the wrong side of the raft, and not careful enough? Obviously, I. Next split second, I was off. Out of the raft and into the water. And it wasnt a bit like diving. After you dive, you stop. You dont go swiftly zooming far far away. I was trying hard to remember the instructions that the head guide had given for 'emergency situations'. Dont struggle, dont panic. Dont try hard to swim. Well, I wasnt in panic. But when u are flowing away with no control over your body, the mind does tend to wander a bit. A bit far actually! And I know to swim, but I didnt know how to not let the water go into my nose and mouth when my head was constantly bobbing up and down. And then as I was whizzing further away, I caught a glimpse of Sumi's face in the raft... white with terror. Gulp... am I a goner or what? I could hear some shouting, but my entire effort was concentrated on somehow trying to stop my motion away from the raft. Stay put against a large rock or something. Wham! Not so easy! And then... wow... the biggest thing happened. Before I knew it, I was under the water and there was something hard over my head... and it took a split second to realise that it was the raft!! I was under it! I was alternating between guessing whether this was a ploy to stop me from moving further, or an accident, or whether they had just given up. :( I learnt later that it wasnt meant to go over my head, and no, they werent trying to kill me and erase all evidence of the incident. :) I could hear my best friend's voice above and realised from it's tone that I was safe. :) I actually smiled a wan smile at him at he pulled me up. He laughed and said, "You poor thing!" and all was well again! :) And BTW, I forgot to curse the stupid hat that had covered my face - my eyes and my nose and almost had me drowned! And BTW, just in case someone wonders, this lasted just about a minute, and no, I didnt see my whole life pass in front of my eyes :) Guess I was sure I wasnt dying! :)
It was fun, and it's been even more fun to recount the incident to all others with more vigour each time! :)

Matter of Faith?

Are we actually moving backwards? What can explain all those well dressed and educated (even fluent English speaking) people who were seen at the Mahim beach, actually sampling the sea water that had turned sweet. They were literally considering it a miracle of a god man. One look at the water, and you would safely assume that the so called god man would have at least made an effort to filter the water of the floating solid waste when he made it sweet. It is incredible that people actually deigned to take a sip of that water after seeing it's colour and contents. On any other occasion, I am sure they would not even use it to wash their clothes!
And then there was the case of the idols drinking milk in temples... this time, not just ganesha idols. And the only thing you are left thinking is, "Not again!"
And if that was not enough, I just saw the news report of a particular building whose residents are feeling blessed. The reason? The moss growing on one side of the building has taken the shape of the face of Sai Baba. Unbelievable. That's all I can say.

Substandard Expectations

I had been warned about several things that strike a 'returning' Indian. The noises, the throngs of people everywhere, the stench of human excrements, the general hum and buzz of everyday life in a country alive with diversity.
True to these expectations, I did realize many of these things to be true, but no, they didnt come out to strike me. They were not hard hitting and they didnt unduly bother me. In fact, I soaked up the feel of the city of Bombay, pulsating with urgency in every stride. The humidity was the only thing that struck me as soon as I got out of the air conditioned aeroplane interior.
But the other thing that did become painfully noticeable was the level of expectations from this country. It's surprising that each and every thing seems to be rid with a kind of mediocrity and substandard-ness. The quality of roads, services, products, in fact, of time and value... I am still trying to figure out why there is so much discrepancy between the amount of talent in this fertile nation and the output or infrastructure it bears. Agreed, populations are so large that it is but natural that sustenance goes beyond available means. But does this mean that we will forever operate only at a certain percentage of our possible potential? When and how will this change?