Estrayed

Another thing I love about India is the fauna that one finds, as a regularity. 

Apart from domestic rodents, of course – I’ve loved the fact that I could make friends with the dogs, cats, birds and even pigs and cattle in my surroundings.

I’m sure people in first world countries would probably turn up their noses at the mention of the last two animals, but I’m not attempting to filter the truth. 

In Muscat, I come to terribly miss the three little stray pups whom I watched grow up in Gurgaon – they often rested on the cool mosaic floor that belonged to our landlord and we were almost always welcomed home with eager barking and excited tail wagging. They always made me smile. 

I also think about the dogs who lived in the parking lot outside Vatika Triangle and the fervent arguments that Smita, Vidha and Vidhi used to get into with the guards for ill-treating them.

Its an area that I feel very passionately about – working for and with animals. During my post graduation, we had to intern with a not-for-profit organisation for two month, assisting them in their communications requirements – I immediately looked up animal welfare organisations in Calcutta and spent time working with Compassionate Crusaders who are involved in exemplary work throughout Bengal. For two whole months, I took a cab or a bus to their office, which was also home to a large animal shelter and did less communications and more photography-related work, occasionally being given charge of the dog pen or the stables and made a lot of wonderful friends there – people and animals.

In Oman, the situation is the opposite. It is rare to find any stray animals around, apart from the occasional cats who can be found ambling around garbage bins. I write this post because I know the attitude. Even as I child I knew that strays were shot dead, and thought that it was a terrible way to handle affairs. Not that I’m a patron of cows strolling side by side while driving to and from places, but I’m sure not all developed countries shoot strays. 

I love the spirit of some of my friends and acquaintances in India – I admire that they have the courage to pursue what they love, and do it with so much vigour. It makes me really happy to see that so many of my friends have adopted stray puppies instead of paying big money for the expensive breeds. 

I also love that Rohini and I exchange calendars with stray pups on them every year – I haven’t been able to send her one this year, but that didn’t stop her.