Pets

(In memory of Simba & Chuti )
 

Pets, they are wonderful. Sometimes you can watch them & forget all the sorrows in your head. They don’t hurt you, they don’t cheat you even you do hurt or cheat on them. So often you will show something as if it is something to eat & you will cheat them just to bring them closer to you & catch them. Also you will show something like fish or meat & make them stand in feet or jump. You take them on your lap & touch them to make yourself comfortable with their fur knowing that they would like it too. Watching their funny works, you can laugh for hours. They are wonderful & cute.

“Sindy “ / “Kitty Glow” / “Elder cat “ he was cute when he first came to our house with his bigger ears. He used to play with “ Blacky “ when both were small. As he grew, he became different , quiet , coward & thin too. When I was studying for SLIM exam, I kept him on my lap & he used to disturb me with his paws. We could not understand Sindy most of the times. Whatever we give, he wouldn’t eat, he doesn’t show any interest. He would spend most of the times in a dark corner. Of course this made him to be scared on the outer world including vehicles, people & animals.

 “Blacky “ as I remember first came home in 2008 when it was the monsoon period. He was dark black , fat & chubby. I used to watch him & sindy as I study for the exam. Their little quarrels brought us smiles. Also “Sindy” used to provide “Blacky” the required warmness as if he understood that Blacky was younger than him. As time passed, they used to sleep close to each other sharing the warmness & we called them “ brothers from a previous birth”. But as they grew Blacky seemed to be forgotten about his childhood brother.  May be as he got a new brother “ Ricky” who belongs to same species he had to let go ‘Sindy” . Their younger days , Sindy & Blacky could share the same meal & they used to eat from two corners of the plate. As time passed, Balcky grew up & had to eat more. He would not like Sindy to come closer. When Blacky is upset, he would make a sound to show that he is crying. He would shoe that he is sad. He wants other to know that he is sad.

“ Ricky” although when I was not there when he was brought home, of course he was a wonderful doggie. His eyes & face with fox look made  my brother to give him a name “ marusi pala “ . He would hide his face & body in a corner when we take a stick just to make him scared or if we wanted to see his actions. Also as he is not very much big in his body , as he is still young & growing up when he sees a bigger dog, he would not try to bark or quarrel. Instead he would start peace talks by wagging his tail & go closer & speaking in his language. I would not touch Blacky or Ricky as I don’t want them to lick my hands & to avoid their saliva. So I would give a quick pat on their foreheads. They liked even that pat & they would wag their tails. Pets or animals should be loved equally as my friend Mano does. She would love animals including wounded dogs & cats wherever she sees them. My brother once told that it is the proper love & said my love for pets are so artificial & selfish. Yes, It can be. Wherever I see a cat, I can touch it & take into my hands. But it would be difficult with dogs, but I would care for them, do whatever I can do. But difficult to take into hands. But  love cats. I can’t recall a single day that I took Ricky or Blacky in my hands except when Blacky’s small days. I loved them little less than “Simba” , “Sindy “ & “ Chuti”.

“Simba” , my family named him after the name of the great lion king. He was with lot of fur which gave us a comfortable feeling as we touch him. He never liked to stay in our hands. Even our mother, who does not like pets, liked Simba as he was cute & also different. He reminded us our old , beloved pet “Chuti” with same fur color. But his eyes were brown & lower side of the body like tummy , neck & legs were yellowish brown. He was not scared. Often he goes & fights with bigger cats like a little lion cub. His tail would become larger & if see him going to start a quarrel, we would bring him home to avoid him getting hurt.  But he was about to become the next gangster or the kind in the area. Also when we call him to offer meals, he would come from insides of the neighbor houses. Nobody shouts or hits him as he was so cute. He was little cunning too. When he was hungry, he would not cry. He would let Sindy to cry when Sindy was there, so that we won’t get mad at him, but we would get mad at Sindy. So we shout “ This one never eats , but he is the one cries for food every time”.  Simba was very clean as my brother would take him to showers. He & also two doggies would get kings & queens treatments with shampoo , brushing & then food. Simba was like a feather with his clean fur. His silky fur become straighten as we touch his neck downside. Of course cats like it. We would hold him in our hands & make him irritated, he tries to avoid them like a small kid. When he is on the floor, my brother would keep his feet on his tail & just give a little pat ,so that Simba becomes easily angry. With his angry voice, Simba tries to hit us back with paws with long pointed nails & once he is annoyed , he would go & hide himself under a table or a cabinet. He was so proud & would avoid us touching him as much as he can. He would change his path & take ninja paths to the kitchen to avoid us touching him. He knows if we are there, there won’t be any escape for him. He was such a smart cat. And it is still unbelievable that he is dead.

“ Chuti “ means “ tiny” & he was my childhood friend for 13 ½ years. The name was given by my sister after her childhood nick name. For a cat, it is quite a long age to live. But he lived for 13 ½ years. I would bring my school time small small problems to him & I used to tell them too him. He would listen ,of course he does not understand, but he would listen. His forehead was having 3 lines just like a squirrel. I used o call him many names. “ Squirrel “ because of the three lines, “carrot “ because of his bright brownish orange color , “Shindey “ becase of his rowdy look when he goes to fights with other cats, “Sudu chute “ as his lower body was snow white & so on. As I goes to school & college, he would wait in the front of the door. I would give him a kiss on his forehead. His eyes were yellow & lower neck, legs & tummy were snow white. If he can’t be seen , we always knew where to find him. He would sleep on my shoes , or on my table & under our beds. He was a kind of cat. He gets up in the morning & stares at father as he prepares tea. That was when we were schooling. That was the time, I started dubbing first for Chuti. He was requesting milk as he stares at father . When I was studying for exams, I would keep Chuti in my lap. Unlike Sindy , he won’t disturb me. Unlike Simba, he won’t try to escape. Instead he sleep nicely for hours. I would cover him with my own bed sheet, so that even mother appears she won’t see him & tries to chase him. He sometimes used to sleep on my table, on my books. But I won’t care. Of course my brother & me cried , when he died. He was one from my two kids. Still I see him in my dreams , the bond is strong.  After all he is our first childhood pet & also one & only “Chuti”. No pet can take his place. He was different with his qualities. Very much different having human qualities.

Now that all of them left except Blacky & the new puppy. Within a shorter period , three of them are gone. May be they tried to tell us something before they left . As they cannot speak like humans, may be they tried to show us something in their language. Pets are like angels. They bring you life. Now they have gone after making our lives bright even for a shorter period. As there is a reason for everything happens in our life & who come into our lives, there must be a reason for them to come to our lives. A link which is unseen; May be they were our old friends or relations in a different time. They did what they could do. They made our lives happier. And we would miss all of them forever. “Dear friends, Journey well” just like my brother says. We can only make a wish for you all that we would meet again & attain our goal together as a family.  Until that day, we would say good bye to all of you. Journey well....!

(My first article is dedicated 3 cat lovers i.e. Era , Mano & Hiru  ... My next article will be on "CATS " )