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How true! Only the reason changes. Flashback…Last year i was fortunate to experience the incessant and heavy downpour which lashed Mumbai city and its Suburbs. i say fortunate because i have seldom come across an event in recent times to which i can associate hordes of adjectives at the same time. Awesome, Relief, Thrilling, Surprising, Chilling, Heart rending, Heart breaking, Sorrowful, Awful. And on that fateful day, emotions followed exactly the same order.
In 12 hours i experienced it all. After scorching heat and humidity, getting wet in the rains had never been so refreshing. New college, new friends, new course only eased the initial reluctance and pushed the crescendo to the next level. The atmosphere was eclectic. It seemed everybody was celebrating others birthday one-by-one on the same date in the naughtiest possible way and surprisingly getting bumps made one got more energetic. Friends started making others bakra in the quadrangle of the college and then after becoming one, the person joined the herd only to find other bakras. It was all fun and frolic. Then a chain of events takes place in the next 12 hours difficult to describe here. Next day the tide disappeared, the sea looked silent again but the Juhu beach, which was so beautiful just the other day, looked devastated with dead bodies of small and big animals scattered all around and the air filled with decaying smell.
3/7 /2005
26/7 /2006
26/7 got revisited today and whole Mumbai is in waters and tatters again. It was once in a life time opportunity to be present at the thick of the things last year, but it never occurred to me that it would happen so soon, within a year. Everybody is worried about the well-being of their near and dear ones. But has any one thought about the stray dogs on the streets.
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i admire Mumbai because it’s a place where we can see the Raja and Rank (Hindi phrase for king and minister) walking side-by-side sometimes arguing, sometimes helping each other, but seldom showing false egos or diffidence. i always believed that i possess the rare quality of knowing a person in the first meeting but soon found out in untested waters where it was required the most. It’s almost impossible to predict how a dog will behave, even after meeting the same again & again. This unassuming friend is the most mysterious, unpredictable terrestrial creatures with the potential of giving a 'girl' complex in this aspect.
Now some would say it’s not true with the domestic dogs. With due apologies to all the pet lovers, i beg to differ. The situation is more dangerous with them. Remember the last time you saw a “Beware of Dog” signboard and your body becoming the best conductor of electricity within a second. Even after you are guided inside you are left to the mercy of the pet-lover and you are no more your own-self and imagine all tricks to rush back to see the same signboard again. The point is you can’t arm yourself and the anxiety period only gets extended.
i have never seen so many dogs living in the one lane, (where my room is) and mind you all of them are stray dogs, in healthy conditions. This picture was in complete contrast to a documentary shown one year back on TV. The program said that the dogs in Mumbai are in awful condition and a young MBA donned the mantle of taking this as a full time job of caring them under some banner.
There are two kinds of charity one that is done as anonymous and one that is done for popularity, though it’s damn difficult to demystify the distinction between them in practical life.
This is the regular feature at six in the evening in the lane leading to my room.
All the dogs assemble at one place as if all of them had sensed a single cat, at the same time. Before i get a clue, a car stops, a complete family alights, and also some of their relatives come out. They have a number of bags of food, biscuits and milk-packs. They play with them while the dogs are enjoying the sumptous meal. Both the parties involved are busy while this unoccupied soul is trying to figure out the reason for this chemistry. Is it because of pure love for the dogs or just a show-off? If it’s the former, in that case why don’t they keep one or two or more dogs in their house? Also if the case is latter, then why not in their own colony as i am sure they come from some far off place. Or is it that they are already popular where they live in some other way and wanted to increase the domain of popularity. So discovered some new reason and fitting the examples in my colony to justify that reason. Hail Peter and his principles!!!
Before i can figure out mental peace, the car leaves and i am left to bear their high energy levels. Slowly i start taking my feet back but i am dead sure that they can’t do anything as it's still not 12 midnight. Yes, we Indians know the significance of 12 and how it affects whom in what way. But Brethren! this is no joke. If i return before 12 they give me a warm welcome by wagging their tails and making hissing sounds with gloomy eyes. i also reciprocate with confident steps towards my room. But if it’s after 12, then my reaction is completely contrast as they greet me in the most forgettable way and all of a sudden my room seems a long mile. And their love-hate relation with me had a bearing on other important things but as a good boy, i am neutral.
Then came this day. Its 12 midnight and its dark everywhere because of the power cut. Its raining cats and dogs from the morning and cats are safer than the dogs. Everywhere there is knee deep water. Even being stranded in my room for whole day feels a better position to be in when i see these moist friends strolling here and there to find a dry place. i m returning with an umbrella in my hand after buying pav and eggs. When i am closing the compound gates, in the torchlight i see this wet friend looking at me wagging his tail and looking straight into my eyes with the gloomy eyes. i m a little surprised to see this reaction? Had his body clock failed!! i open the gates and guide him in the car shade which is still dry. And smile sheepishly,
Har kutte ka din aata hai!
Someone said " Rain is a great equaliser" How true!
2 comments:
Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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