Showing posts with label puppies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puppies. Show all posts

Monday, March 5, 2012

Really natural !

Nature is beautiful, to say the least.It is always working & the results are magical.It works slowly & steadily -never furiously like us The end result, is that nature continues to stun us with beauty, which refreshes & inspires us.

When I was small,I stayed in a place, where my dad grew a small garden. My dad, found gardening very relaxing & would inevitably be found there, tending to his numerous plants,shrubs,etc.In the backyard,there was a papaya plant.It had grown in the usual manner -having an umbrella like cover of leaves at the top from which hung some fruits.We devoured the fruits often.Once ,our backyard gate, was left open.A calf came & just ate the  the papaya top.Now, the papaya plant looked just like a stick- its umbrella was gone ! We were upset.A few days later ,we saw fresh leaves  & new shoots at the top.Very soon ,it grew into a well built papaya tree ! And then, it bore us so many fruits, that, we had to distribute amongst our well wishers & friends !


After some years,my dad was transferred to a place, on the banks of the holy Ganges river.From our home ,we could see the water of the holy river.In summers,we would head to the river & take a cool & refreshing bath.We also looked  at peacocks on the opposite banks.Whenever we had guests visiting us,we made it a point, to take them to have a  holy dip in the Ganges .After all ,how many get a chance to wipe away their sins in serene surroundings ?

In the holidays ,I would visit my mother's native village, where, we would bathe in the river & then go to the temple for feast.We hardly swam &  the cool waters were soothing in the hot summers ! I visited my grandpa's farms once in a while & we travelled on bullock carts ! The slow winding journey would make us drowsy, till we reached our destination.

When I visited my paternal aunt's bunglow in Vadoadara,I would pick up chamelis & mogras for my aunt's daily puja .The chameli shrub had wound its way towards the bedroom & it smelt superb ! I would water the garden regularly.The smell of  wet earth reminded me of the monsoons which would soon make an appearance.

After we shifted to the metro, for our college education,I thought, I would hardly get to see any natural wonders.I was absolutely wrong.My neighbour grew a small garden downstairs, just next to the building where we lived.She had planted kadipatta plant , some flower shrubs like hibiscus  & others.Her hands were magical & her plants grew beautifully ! She would give me fresh curry leaves & we would use them for rasams & sambhars.Inspired by her,I planted the hibiscus plant, in the  kitchen window, in a pot.It grew magnificently & every Tuesday,I would offer the red flower to Ganpati as I did Ganesh puja.

Again, we shifted & this time, it was a green colony, full of trees & meadows.The walks, we took,  rejuvenated us after a hard day's work.  The tress & surroundings looked, as if we were in a hill station and the temperature inside the colony was  always, below, the average, in the rest of the city.

After my marriage,I always had  a Tulsi plant for company.It keeps the air pure & can be added to tea for that herbal touch .My kid is found of puppies & is the one, who spots them on roadsides,even, when we travelling.A year or two back ,she & her friends found some puppies.They tried to cajole us -parents into adopting them & as we refused,they hit upon an idea! They would carry milk & biscuits to feed the puppies daily.In spite of this tender love & care ,the puppies died except one, which survives to this day.It is now, an adult.My kid always calls it & it responds by running behind her ! My daughter & her friends keep running after a cat, which has made  its home, in the building, where we stay.I tell my daughter & her chums to stay away from the cat which is pregnant most of the time & will therefore, be aggressive.I am glad, in a way, as she is having her own real experience of Nature !

 This blog post is written for the The Kissan 100% Real Blogger Contest on IndiBlogger.Please do share your real experiences which motivate us in enjoying the  nature even as we marvel at it  !

Kissan

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Puppy craze

My daughter 's holidays had just begun.She was excited as there was a stray bitch who was pregnant.My daughter was sure that somehow,I will be cajoled into adopting a puppy.

A week later,she came home with the good news .''Amma, five puppies were born .They are so cuute."I told her," Please stay away from the puppies as the mother will be very protective."But my warning was all just swept aside.

It then became a daily routine.Every morning & evening,she would get up & go & have a look & come back to tell how the puppies were faring.It was also to keep me updated that they had no proper home.They had found a shelter in the shopping centre next door.

I had read about a family being so so obseessed with pets that when their pet passed away ,the family was inconsolable.Whenever I see pets & their masters,I am thinking ,what will happen when the pet passes away.That is why ,I have never tried to keep a pet.I am sure,it is so lovely a relationship that when the pet is no longer there,life gets miserable.This fear of loss keeps me away & I wanted my kid to stay  away from pets.I knew that I would never be able to console her when tragedy strikes.


Since,all this failed to evince any affection from my side,she decided to demand food for the puppies.She would ask for  milk.I told her that I buy  milk for our use & not for charity.So,my daughter decided that she will forgo her share of milk.She would then give it to the puppies as their need was greater  than hers.I also added that milk would be too difficult to digest for the  puppies .So,my daughter devised a solution.She would pour the milk into a bottle .Then she would dilute it with an equal amount of water.This ,she opined was good enough for the puppies to digest.

Next,her friends also joined her in this job,  of  feeding  the bitch & her puppies.Sometimes,they would collect biscuits & feed the bitch while the puppies were fed milk.My repeated warnings about the bitch attacking were never heeded.My daughter clarified that they were trying to care for the bitch as well so that she would be friendly .It was clear that the said tactics were working as there were no untoward incidents .

My kid & her friends named the puppies -Custard,Brownie,Snowflake,etal. My daughter's pet was Snowflake,as it was totally white without any brown spots.My daughter is someone who has  full faith in being discriminatory about colour.She represents the Indian mindset about fairness in colour.

Then the caretakers decided to phone a vet to enquire about vaccination-of the puppies.I put my foot down.I said that I will not pay even a paise towards all this.My daughter stated that since  they were not vaccinated , I was constantly apprehensive about her safety.So,this was her attempt to allay my fears.Since,I was non-committal , my nightmares about kids getting bitten by the bitch continued.

My neighbours & other acquittance had started complaining to me that my daughter was taking too much interest in the puppies.Moreover,they opined that other kids were following in her footsteps.I was elated that she was exhibiting leadership skills at such a tender age .Actually,they did not mind, nah, were quite indifferent to my kid's forays into anything but since this was interfering in their domain ,they were objecting.I tried to reason with my kid but it was useless.

I then decided to join her .No,I did not adopt the puppies. I readily started giving milk & biscuits. One day,I took the photographs of the family .As I took the snaps,I knew why my kid had fallen for the puppies ! I too fell for them -hook,line & sinker. The puppies looked so innocent.They were all so vulnerable.They started following me & my kid as we snapped their pictures. I  posted the snaps on the net.I asked my daughter's friends to look at the snaps I  had taken .I Though the kids wanted to have a look,the parents refused to part with their email ids.They were sure, that I had also gone bonkers like my kid.

Anyways,the care shown by my kid & her friends proved inadequate.Very soon,two puppies passed away.The last straw was when my daughter heard the news that her favorite Snowflake had expired.She felt miserable as she heard about it on her birthday.She has overcome it ...that'w hat I think.And yet any day,she is ready to adopt a dog ! And I am the same....unsure.
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