continuation of Pepito and Bachchu

Now a -day's they have started to sleep together.Earlier both of them used to get up on my sofa and snuggle up to me .But I used to to take them down and place them on a rolled up carpet on the floor and as of late they have started sleeping together on the carpet.
Apart from being affectionate they are also great playmates.Their games start when the cat returns home at 10 pm and continues up to 12 .They chase each other,bite each other affectionetly and dig holes furiously and jump into them.
So all this goes to prove that enmity between any two living things is only a traditional custom.There is definitely more scope for love and friendship in nature but unnecessary prejudices and jealousy leads to the worthless feelings of enmity .The wonderful affection that exists between these 2 animals makes me feel ashamed of us people especially when we quarrel amongst ourselves and hurt each other. If animals which are traditionally viewed as sworn enemies can live in harmony then why cannot we ?
[written by me in 1975-1976]

Pepito and Bachchu .

Books are fond of comparing the fights between two individuals to that of a fight between cats and dogs ,but the behavior of both my dog and cat has fully nullified this general view!

Pepito is a fat little waddling affectionate puppy.Bachchu is a thin and a pretty kitten.When we first brought Pepito Bachchu had mistaken it for a big lazy rat for Pepito never used to move from its place and when it did move Bachchu pounced on it the way it pounced on a rat. But under our vigilant eye Bachchu could do nothing more than to have a occasional swing at the meek little puppy.The idea that the puppy was only a puppy and not a rat seemed to be slowly forming in Bachchu's catty brain when it saw the tiny waddling hunk of flesh and fur drank milk greedily just as it did.The rapid consumption of milk by Pepito puzzled Bachchu and set it thinking! But its thoughts whatever they may have been didnot as yet show any respect towards the new additional member our family.
Being an uncommonly a greedy puppy with an avaricious appetite Pepito in a span of two months out grew the cat and now became the source of new trials and tribulations for the cat.Previously it would attack the puppy by pouncing on it and then run away but now when it pounced the more energetic puppy started to chase it ! The cat remained cool for Pepito still could'nt climb the sofa's and diwan on to which the agile cat could easily jump up on .
Thus in the beginning it looked like as if we made a great mistake in bringing up the traditional enemies the dog and cat together and started doubting our expectations that when they grew up a bit they would live in harmony.So as to remove the enmity that existed between the two we used to bring them near each other and pet them. But it was of no use. We could still hear the short and painful yelps of the puppy and the hiss of the kitten once in a while.
Whilst we were thus worrying and blaming ourselves,nature took her own course.Pepito and Bachchu were slowly becoming pals.The one factor that brought them together was nothing but milk! Both showed a strange unity whilst drinking milk from the same plate. Pepito allowed Bachchu to drink milk from its plate.Slowly Bachchu started to adopt a tolerant attitude towards Pepito and started to bestow motherly affection on this fat little waddling thing although it was only a kitten itself.
Its affection is seen in the way it licks Pepito fully ,like as if it is licking itself up .Cats are very hygienic animals .They spend a lot of time ,after hunting ,eating and sleeping ,to clean their coat thoroughly with their tongue.Adopting Pepito as its junior Bachchu cant stand the way the pup dirties itself with milk and mud and thereby condescends to give it a free bath daily !
Now that Pepito is 3 months old we take it for a walk soon after its meal .No sooner does the sound of our slippers scratching on the floor andthe noise made whist opening the front door is heard than the kitten streaks out and accompanies us for a walk.It is quite strange even to us to see a cat and a dog to go for a walk together so it is not very surprising that the two companions have created a lot 0f excitement amidst the passerby's.99% of them invariably inquire whether we own the cat too as the has a leash but the cat has none and when we say yes they express their surprise in seeing them behave in such a friendly fashion.
Some jealous on lookers predict that they may start fighting once they grow up .But thank god that nothing of that sort has happened,in fact as the days go by the bond between the 2 has become more firm.
to be contd

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Time and tide waits for none.

Every one knows this proverb.So did I.I did'nt give it much thought till the immediate aftermath of my son's departure.I t was then that the truth in that saying struck me fully.

I was shocked and dazed ,my mind completely blank and thought that the world would come to a standstill as my most precious possesion had been irretrievably lost forever. No it was'nt so!.When I went up to the roof top,the sun rose !I had enjoyed the early morning spectacle of sunrise many a number of times before but that day I could'nt bear the sight of the orange ball of fire rising casually and lusciously.My world had crashed and has come to an end , how could the sun rise.But the sun rose and it does so every day.Birds twitter and fly around looking for food, people scurry off to work and in the evening the sun sets and all the pigeons are back in their holes.My happy world was shattered ,yet every thing outside me was and is going on as usual.Time did'nt stop for me.

When I visited Elliots beach soon after ,I was shocked to see the waves pounding the shore furiously as ever! I cried at the waves ,how dare you flirt around and wash the beaches when my son can no longer enjoy the thrill of dipping his legs in you .The waves crashed at me and seemed to say mockingly 'we have seen 1000's of bereaved mothers like you before and will do so in future,we donot stop for any body or for any thing.The tides continue to flow and ebb ceaselessly.It did'nt pause even for a moment !

Should I have been made to realise the full meaning of this proverb which is casually bandied around in such a terrible manner ?

True love .

What is true love? Feeling another persons problems and miseries as your own and getting fully immersed in it without any thought to the ethical questoins of right and wrong and the comfortable companionship and bonding during happier times .A state of One'ss.

True love is full of trials and tribulations.Without it one's life is free but arid .

True love can exist between man and woman, or between mother and son or between father and son or between mother and daughter or between father and daughter or between siblings or even between friends.It has no boundaries.

Believe it or not!

With the disdain of youth I had dismissed Ripley's Believe it or not claim that the medieval I ndian emperor Shah jehans hair turned white overnight when his beloved wife died of child birth,[14 th child]as a figment of some dreamy historians imagination .
People especially close relatives on seeing me after a couple of months after the departure of my first born son Vidat comment with undisguised surprise that I have become old.
Yes my once jet black hair has turned white, my body has lost its contours ,my face has lost its charm, m y walk has lost its spring,my heart has lost its spirit.
Believe it or not Sujata has aged too .

Heavenly hymns of yore.

Show me a composition as ancient,the use of words so sincere and beautiful that its rendition leaves a sweet taste and as expressive of the unsullied human hearts appreciation of nature and their awe of the being that has created this known world and several unknown worlds, galaxies and universes and I shall bow to it as I do to the Vedas.

Patience

Why is it that I take air which I breathe to exist and sun which I need for heat ,light and the sole reason for food on my plate for granted whilst I feel sorry for mother earth for having to bear my weight each and every time I tread my way .Is it for her patience for letting so many living things trample on her and defile her and yet nourishing one and all time and time again with green shoots, roots, grains ,vegetables,flowers and fruits?A true mother ,she repays our indifference with kindness !

A son dies twice.

A doctor couple donated the organs of their 16 year old son when he was declared brain dead after he fell down on the road whilst driving his new motorbike a year ago .
His mother received a state award recently for her noble gesture.In her interview to the media she had said that she often visited the 2 year old young girl to whom her first born son's heart had been transplanted the very day he was declared brain dead.
I wonder whether the highly publisiced and trend setting donation of organs was really a sacrifise or tragically the desperate attempts of a mother to keep the memory [life] of her son alive by letting his heart tick in another body. To the doctor' s heart is only a muscle, then why should Hithendran's mother who is a medical practitioner fly off to Bangalore from M adras every now and then to see a child who was a stranger till now?
Yesterday themedia reported the death of that child .My first thoughts were 'oh my god a mother has to face the finality and reality of her son's death!May god give her strength to do so '.I have been in her place probably still am , living in a illusory world of denial and then the confrontation with the harsh reality.
As a bereaved parent it is my heart felt advise to other such parents who lose their offsprings owing to accidents ,illness etc not to donate their child's organs .Because it is tough to bear the emotional and phsycological trauma.If I had donated my late son's organs I would definetly wonder on and off how the recepient is faring and will not be able to control my urge to visit such persons and keep a tab on their lives .An unnecessary emotional see-saw to the donor parents and an unwelcome intrusion into the private life of the recepient.
When a child dies it is best to accept its finality and not to embark on such tragic and futile exercises.
Yes lives are saved by organ donations,but for heaven's sake let the offsprings donate their parents organs and not the other way round.

Outwardly living inwardly. ....

I am walking ,talking,cooking,eating, cleaning, shopping,watching t.v,reading,writing and sleeping.I own a flat and my bank balance is decent. My health is good. Every thing is there ,even more than before,yet something is lacking .The zing thing 'the zest for life has gone missing.I have aged.

The final exam.

Vidat was always giving exams and passing in all of them. No failures.He also passed the final exam. The only difference was that the earlier one's were determined and set by his peers and the final one was set and executed by himself.

The inescapable law of existense

All my life I have broken man made customs and conventions with ease and without much compunction .But now I am badly broken by the divinely injunction 'death' the inescapable law of existense executed by the creator with ease .

The ascent of a pure soul .

Why did the sky pour gallons of water and light up with brilliant lightenings and explode into waves and waves of ear shattering thunder on the fateful night of 27.7.07-28.7.07 especially from 12-1 am onwards?In all probability it was an announcement to all and sundry that a pure soul was shedding its mortal sheath and was taking leave of foolish and petty people who did'nt and couldn' t understand its unembellished pristine nature and was ascending to' moksham '-to eternal peace and happiness!

succor

Religion is the opium of the masses.How true ! Before the catastropheI seldom visited temples ,but now I visit them often and when I don't I seem to suffer from withdrawl symptoms!