Yes, that is the first word that came to my mind when I thought of a term to describe what happened recently.
There is a very dear friend of mine, who I knew when I was in primary school. She left Delhi at the end of class 5 and we managed to keep in touch by writing letters. Believe me, no technology can ever match the great feeling of writing letters, posting them, and waiting eagerly for the reply! Such was our friendship, that through the years we kept in touch. Her father was posted in Delhi, and she had some relatives here, so whenever she came to Delhi, we met up. I also remember I took a few trips to Chandigarh, just so I could meet her. In fact, my first time travelling alone was when I went to meet her! We were just not about to let distance come between us friends, we always found a way to meet, talk and write!
And then school finished and she came to Delhi for her Engineering. Strange as it was, but we couldnt meet as often as we would have liked to, given that we lived far apart, even our colleges were far away. Our schedule was hectic, and we hardly ever met. But we still stayed in touch. Then college got over, we started to work. Again ife was very busy. And then, in 2005, I came to IIMA. I dont think I got to meet her in these 2 years that I spent here. But I knew where she was and what she was upto in life.
Soon, about a year back, I came to know she is going back to Chandigarh, with her family, and is teaching in a local college. And soon after that, I got another sms from her: She was getting married in October!
My happiness knew no bounds: They were a cute couple so much in love! They had anticipated refusal from parents etc. But as luck would have it, parents happily agreed! Nothing could be better than the victory of love, and that too with everyone in the picture happy! I was really looking forward to her wedding.
And then it happened. I got busy with life at IIMA and forgot about teh wedding. Soon October came and I waited for her call. I got none. My parents were not contacted by her. I called her repeatedly on her cellphone, but got no replies. I did not have her home address or phone number. For the first time I wish I had emailed her instead of writing letters, for I did not even have her email ID! I felt so lost, my friend was out there somewhere, and I could not find her! October went, then November, December, January, February...
I wondered what happened... Did they cancel/postpone the marriage? Was everything ok? Maybe she lost her cellphone! To top it all, my parents shifted to a new house, and she had no idea about my new address or phone number at Delhi!
So now that my MBA got over, and I was free, I was thinking about her, and decided it was tiem to do something. Time to locate her, no matter how! Try to find her home address in Chandigarh, and subsequently her phone number... Rohit suggested trying out the internet, as all our names and adresses appear in the Electoral Voting list available online!
And so I began to search for my long-lost friend! And guess what happened? I happened to come across a site of a college which had a CV with her name and birthdate! I immediately opened it up, and there it was: all her information, from her name to qualifications to work experience.... to her email ID and home address at Chandigarh! I was so pleasantly surprised! Imagine, thsi information was sitting on the internet for god knows how long! If only I had thought of using it before, I would have got it long back!
Anyway so last night, I excitedly jotted down her details, and mailed her immediately, hoping that the CV was not very old, and she still checked her email on that ID. And guess what? I got a reply this morning! She told me that she got married in November, and she came to look for my house but was not sure of the address and got lost. Before she could confirm the address, she lost her cellphone in all the travelling while she was distributing her wedding invitation! Poor she, wandering about, trying to remember where I lived! And even if she did make it, My parents would not have been there! Finally she gave up with a heavy heart. She missed me, just as I missed being there for her wedding. Even if she had contacted me, in all probability, I would not have been able to attend the wedding in the middle of my semester, but I would have atleast gotten the invite and a chance to talk to her and congratulate her and wish her luck!
Never mind now, I accidetally discovered her whereabouts and now we are back in touch, mailing each other, having exchanged our new phone numbers and home addresses! Her In-laws live in Delhi, and soon I will be seeing my 'all-married-n-all' friend of mine, after soooo long! Looking forward to that! :D
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Nayi Mehman...
Please welcome the new member in our family.... Laila!
Cute, black, naughty, adorable 4 month old dacshund puppy, the new light of our lives!
So far all she has been doing is gobbling down food @ 20 mouthfulsl/second, nibbling on anything available, from furniture to slippers, including human limbs etc, (everything except her chew toys and bones), basking in the winter sun taking long naps; running around the campus when on a walk, driving the local dogs crazy with her charms, and collecting 100 compliments everyday from people ('such a cute puppy, such a sweet puppy") and generally making her presence felt around the house, and being as useless as she could be.
Keep watching this space for further updates! (As I cannot comment much.. i have myself seen her just twice, and she doesnt consider me part of family yet, so until then...)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Calcutta Calling!
Finally I have begun on my new post, the one which I have been thinking of writing for so many months now. This post is dedicated to the city where I have had some of the most beautiful moments of my life, the City of Joy, Calcutta... oops Kolkata!
Since my birth, till the early 90s, my maternal grandparents lived in Kolkata. I did not have paternal grandparents, and thus it was a ritual from the very beginning, for my whole maternal family (which consisted of 3 aunts and 2 uncles) to spend summers at my Nana-Nani's at Calcutta. So, effectively, I have religiously spent 2 months every year for the first 7-8 years of my life in Calcutta. As you can imagine, I was too young to remember much, but lately I have been working on recalling all the little incidents that I can, and build upon the fond memories I have of the city.
We were a total of 8 cousins: 3 of them, one didi and two bhaiyas were way elder to us, followed by another bhaiya 2 years elder to me, followed by my cousin sister and I, both the same age, followed by my brother and another cousin sister, both younger to me by three years. The older cousins were usually busy amongst themselves, and anyway it was below their dignity to associate with us stupid little kids, so it was usually the five of us, closer in age, who hung out together.
From the very beginning of summer vacations, we all left from Delhi for Cal together, carrying loads of holiday homework to do there. Now we were a lot of people, so we always preferred a train journey, travelling across the country, enjoying ourselves for what took almost 2 days! Our parents used to go crazy trying to control 5 young naughty kids! But we were always so excited about our summers, every year, without fail; such was the charm of the city.
I do not have very many clear memories, but bits and pieces of some days, events and times that have remained in my conscience, and so I apologise in advance, as this post may seem a bit random and without flow to you!
I was very little when I visited Calcutta, and everything there seemed so grand, so huge, so beautiful and also so scary! My grandparents lived in New Alipore, which I understand is a posh residence in South Cal. Our house was on the 4th floor, with lots of children living in our building. There was a long street, where we all gathered in the evening. Making friends with complete strangers for just 2 months was never a hindrance for us. In the beginning, we were enough cousins to have no need for any friends, but soon we had become pally with all the other kids of the building and on the block. We played ball, rode cycles, ran around, and had the fun of our lives. We even made friends with the servants and the watchmen!
There was a small market nearby, where we were not allowed to go alone. Everey evening, one of the uncles or aunts used to take us to the market, and we used to have the most delicious egg rolls I have ever had in my life! Every other evening, the elders used to go for a walk to the Victoria Memorial, or go for a game of Tennis at the nearby club. And every once in a while, we got to accompany them. What an honour it used to be for us!
Apart from these daily events, sometimes we went for a drive around the city in my Grandfather's friend's car, with his children. The best part about the ride was, that it was a convertible! A stylish convertible, in the 80's was something we kids had never seen, even in Delhi! It really felt royal, to be sitting in that car, with the breeze on your face, touring around the city, through the beautiful tree lined roads. Often, mostly around weekends, we stopped at a video library to rent some cartoon videos for us! Again, even this was a fun event for us, as the video library did not have a regular entrance: it was totally surrounded by a hedge, and one had to climb over it, using a two way step ladder. All of us kids insisted on climbing it and going to the shop everytime we visited it! Really, we were so vella and stupid, for every little thing was so exciting for us! FYI that was the place I saw my first cartoon movie that I remember.. Dumbo, the flying elephant!
I remember very vaguely, about the awesome transport system.... I travelled a few times in teh trams, and the metro and loved it! In those times, the traffic was way less, the trams and trains were not as crowded, and it was a magical experience!
One of my aunts worked in the Taj Bengal, and again I remember it as one of my fondest memories, when I was allowed to go in my Nana's car which picked her up after work. I entered the Huuuuuuge hotel, totally awestruck, a little scared of getting lost in the enormity of it all; but was amply rewarded by a scrumtious pastry by the poolside!!
One thing we kids loved to tease our Nanaji about was his car. It was an old styled black ambassador, and from our balcony, it looked like a butterbox! Everytime our Nanaji came back from work, all of us kids started to chant "Nana ki gaadi dabbba!"
Another special memory that remains in my heat is when one day I found a small kitten yelping around on the street. I think that is the time when I discovered my love for animals ... I wuickly oicked it up and got it home. My Nani hated animals, but allowed me to wipe it clean and feed it just a little bread and milk, before she asked the servant to take it away. Sigh! I cried all day, but never saw the kitten again. But soon after, when I turned 8, I got my first pet Tiffany!
Another awesome thing about Calcutta is the rains! I love rains, but we kids were not allowed to experience them, as we were too young. As most Cal people would agree, when it rains in Cal, it pours, and the streets are usually flooded. So whenever it rained, we stood at the windows, looking at people waddling away in knee-length water; making small paper helicopters and throwing them down! I can still remember the beautiful scent of wet earth wafting around after the showers! There was a tree right outside one of the bedroom windows, and on it was situated a small nest. And one of the days, when it was raining, I was sitting near the window when I suddenly saw a mummy bird flying in with food in hear beak, to feed her 3 little chciks, cheeping away hard, with their mouths wide open, eager for food. That is one of my fondest and most touching memories of all!
We had a lot of fun at home. In the morning, after breakfast was homework time. We all sat down in a line and worked away. Whoever did not do his/her share of home work for the day got punished: either no sweets, or no play time. Once I was punished, I dont remember for whta. I was made to sit on top of a 5 foot tall wooden almirah in my Nanaji's room by my uncle. He put me there and went away, locking the door. I sat there for a couple of minutes, all angry and hating everyone. But after some time, when I realised that they are not coming back soon, I started feeling uncomfortable. As it is we always avoided coming into this room as our Nanaji is very strict, and we avoided all contact with him. Sitting in his room, all alone, no fan... It was the most horrible experience of my life. Soon I started crying and much later, (I am sure it was just 10-15 minutes since he put me on teh cupborad but to me it felt like 2-3 hours), my uncle came back, toook all sorts of promises from me that I will behave myself, and then only let me down! I dont think I went in that room for the rest of that summer!
One thing we all looked forward to was our daily mango. Everyone in the family was allowed one mango per day. Now u get it during lunch, and you can do whatever you want with it: consume it all then and there or save it til dinner. Mostly we used to have a slice or 2 and then save the rest for after dinner. God only knows how we used to protect our little mango from the prying eyes of those who had already finished theirs!
After dinner, while my grandparents used to retire for bed, the kids and the aunts used to retire in the second bedrrom. Then started the nocturnal activities.... my mother and her sisters played scrabble, while my older cousins chatted or read comics etc, and we just did some tp or were made to sleep off. These people, on the other hand, would continue gossipping late in the night, making tea at odd hours in the morning, and having a ball!
Another event in the family was every saturday evening, when all the distinguished members of my Nanaji's social circle used to come for a game of Cards at our house. The whole house was full of dim lights and soft music, with clicking glasses and tasty savories being passed around. Th grand old uncles and aunties, smoking a cigarette or chewing a pan, elegantly dressed with shiny jewels and flashy accessories... wow! what a scene it was. But ofcourse, none of this was meant for us, for we were all shoved into our bedroom and made to stay there. Still, with one or the other excuse, we sneaked out and tried to peek in his room, and get a taste of their conversation and style! GEtting caught doing that was never pleasant, usually followed by Nani catching hold of us by our ears and marching us back to teh room.
But by far, the most interesting event to happen in the house was.... when people saw a lizard. Now all my aunts and elder cousins were plain cowards when it came to lizards. All they did was run around and scream and shout, pushing each other to drive the damn thing out of the room. And it was during one such chaotic night, that yours truly, all of 3 feet high 5-6 years, was made to stand on the bed with a big long jhaadoo, to drive the lizard away, while all the aunts and sisters and kids stood behind me, shivering! And the brave girl I was, I took upon me the mammoth task, and was successful in drinving the creature away and saving my family! (Actually I could hardly make heads and tails of the situation... I just waved the jhadoo at the thing and she happily crawled out, only to settle in my Nanaji's room next door!) What a moment it was... my moment of glory, when all sighed with relief and declared me hero! I got an extra mango the next day! :)
It used to be quite a sad, as we realised that the day to leave for Delhi is fast approaching. All our energy died down. We lay there like sacks of potatoes, dreading the day we were to pack up and leave. But all good things come to an end, and so did our time in Cal every year. Soon our grandparents shifted back to Delhi. This was good as we could see them much more often now, but it was sad as I never got to see Cal again. I hope, someday, I can go back to that city, travel in the same tram/metro, eat the egg roll from the same shop, rent a video from the library and roam around on that street, where many years ago, I had the time of my life!
Since my birth, till the early 90s, my maternal grandparents lived in Kolkata. I did not have paternal grandparents, and thus it was a ritual from the very beginning, for my whole maternal family (which consisted of 3 aunts and 2 uncles) to spend summers at my Nana-Nani's at Calcutta. So, effectively, I have religiously spent 2 months every year for the first 7-8 years of my life in Calcutta. As you can imagine, I was too young to remember much, but lately I have been working on recalling all the little incidents that I can, and build upon the fond memories I have of the city.
We were a total of 8 cousins: 3 of them, one didi and two bhaiyas were way elder to us, followed by another bhaiya 2 years elder to me, followed by my cousin sister and I, both the same age, followed by my brother and another cousin sister, both younger to me by three years. The older cousins were usually busy amongst themselves, and anyway it was below their dignity to associate with us stupid little kids, so it was usually the five of us, closer in age, who hung out together.
From the very beginning of summer vacations, we all left from Delhi for Cal together, carrying loads of holiday homework to do there. Now we were a lot of people, so we always preferred a train journey, travelling across the country, enjoying ourselves for what took almost 2 days! Our parents used to go crazy trying to control 5 young naughty kids! But we were always so excited about our summers, every year, without fail; such was the charm of the city.
I do not have very many clear memories, but bits and pieces of some days, events and times that have remained in my conscience, and so I apologise in advance, as this post may seem a bit random and without flow to you!
I was very little when I visited Calcutta, and everything there seemed so grand, so huge, so beautiful and also so scary! My grandparents lived in New Alipore, which I understand is a posh residence in South Cal. Our house was on the 4th floor, with lots of children living in our building. There was a long street, where we all gathered in the evening. Making friends with complete strangers for just 2 months was never a hindrance for us. In the beginning, we were enough cousins to have no need for any friends, but soon we had become pally with all the other kids of the building and on the block. We played ball, rode cycles, ran around, and had the fun of our lives. We even made friends with the servants and the watchmen!
There was a small market nearby, where we were not allowed to go alone. Everey evening, one of the uncles or aunts used to take us to the market, and we used to have the most delicious egg rolls I have ever had in my life! Every other evening, the elders used to go for a walk to the Victoria Memorial, or go for a game of Tennis at the nearby club. And every once in a while, we got to accompany them. What an honour it used to be for us!
Apart from these daily events, sometimes we went for a drive around the city in my Grandfather's friend's car, with his children. The best part about the ride was, that it was a convertible! A stylish convertible, in the 80's was something we kids had never seen, even in Delhi! It really felt royal, to be sitting in that car, with the breeze on your face, touring around the city, through the beautiful tree lined roads. Often, mostly around weekends, we stopped at a video library to rent some cartoon videos for us! Again, even this was a fun event for us, as the video library did not have a regular entrance: it was totally surrounded by a hedge, and one had to climb over it, using a two way step ladder. All of us kids insisted on climbing it and going to the shop everytime we visited it! Really, we were so vella and stupid, for every little thing was so exciting for us! FYI that was the place I saw my first cartoon movie that I remember.. Dumbo, the flying elephant!
I remember very vaguely, about the awesome transport system.... I travelled a few times in teh trams, and the metro and loved it! In those times, the traffic was way less, the trams and trains were not as crowded, and it was a magical experience!
One of my aunts worked in the Taj Bengal, and again I remember it as one of my fondest memories, when I was allowed to go in my Nana's car which picked her up after work. I entered the Huuuuuuge hotel, totally awestruck, a little scared of getting lost in the enormity of it all; but was amply rewarded by a scrumtious pastry by the poolside!!
One thing we kids loved to tease our Nanaji about was his car. It was an old styled black ambassador, and from our balcony, it looked like a butterbox! Everytime our Nanaji came back from work, all of us kids started to chant "Nana ki gaadi dabbba!"
Another special memory that remains in my heat is when one day I found a small kitten yelping around on the street. I think that is the time when I discovered my love for animals ... I wuickly oicked it up and got it home. My Nani hated animals, but allowed me to wipe it clean and feed it just a little bread and milk, before she asked the servant to take it away. Sigh! I cried all day, but never saw the kitten again. But soon after, when I turned 8, I got my first pet Tiffany!
Another awesome thing about Calcutta is the rains! I love rains, but we kids were not allowed to experience them, as we were too young. As most Cal people would agree, when it rains in Cal, it pours, and the streets are usually flooded. So whenever it rained, we stood at the windows, looking at people waddling away in knee-length water; making small paper helicopters and throwing them down! I can still remember the beautiful scent of wet earth wafting around after the showers! There was a tree right outside one of the bedroom windows, and on it was situated a small nest. And one of the days, when it was raining, I was sitting near the window when I suddenly saw a mummy bird flying in with food in hear beak, to feed her 3 little chciks, cheeping away hard, with their mouths wide open, eager for food. That is one of my fondest and most touching memories of all!
We had a lot of fun at home. In the morning, after breakfast was homework time. We all sat down in a line and worked away. Whoever did not do his/her share of home work for the day got punished: either no sweets, or no play time. Once I was punished, I dont remember for whta. I was made to sit on top of a 5 foot tall wooden almirah in my Nanaji's room by my uncle. He put me there and went away, locking the door. I sat there for a couple of minutes, all angry and hating everyone. But after some time, when I realised that they are not coming back soon, I started feeling uncomfortable. As it is we always avoided coming into this room as our Nanaji is very strict, and we avoided all contact with him. Sitting in his room, all alone, no fan... It was the most horrible experience of my life. Soon I started crying and much later, (I am sure it was just 10-15 minutes since he put me on teh cupborad but to me it felt like 2-3 hours), my uncle came back, toook all sorts of promises from me that I will behave myself, and then only let me down! I dont think I went in that room for the rest of that summer!
One thing we all looked forward to was our daily mango. Everyone in the family was allowed one mango per day. Now u get it during lunch, and you can do whatever you want with it: consume it all then and there or save it til dinner. Mostly we used to have a slice or 2 and then save the rest for after dinner. God only knows how we used to protect our little mango from the prying eyes of those who had already finished theirs!
After dinner, while my grandparents used to retire for bed, the kids and the aunts used to retire in the second bedrrom. Then started the nocturnal activities.... my mother and her sisters played scrabble, while my older cousins chatted or read comics etc, and we just did some tp or were made to sleep off. These people, on the other hand, would continue gossipping late in the night, making tea at odd hours in the morning, and having a ball!
Another event in the family was every saturday evening, when all the distinguished members of my Nanaji's social circle used to come for a game of Cards at our house. The whole house was full of dim lights and soft music, with clicking glasses and tasty savories being passed around. Th grand old uncles and aunties, smoking a cigarette or chewing a pan, elegantly dressed with shiny jewels and flashy accessories... wow! what a scene it was. But ofcourse, none of this was meant for us, for we were all shoved into our bedroom and made to stay there. Still, with one or the other excuse, we sneaked out and tried to peek in his room, and get a taste of their conversation and style! GEtting caught doing that was never pleasant, usually followed by Nani catching hold of us by our ears and marching us back to teh room.
But by far, the most interesting event to happen in the house was.... when people saw a lizard. Now all my aunts and elder cousins were plain cowards when it came to lizards. All they did was run around and scream and shout, pushing each other to drive the damn thing out of the room. And it was during one such chaotic night, that yours truly, all of 3 feet high 5-6 years, was made to stand on the bed with a big long jhaadoo, to drive the lizard away, while all the aunts and sisters and kids stood behind me, shivering! And the brave girl I was, I took upon me the mammoth task, and was successful in drinving the creature away and saving my family! (Actually I could hardly make heads and tails of the situation... I just waved the jhadoo at the thing and she happily crawled out, only to settle in my Nanaji's room next door!) What a moment it was... my moment of glory, when all sighed with relief and declared me hero! I got an extra mango the next day! :)
It used to be quite a sad, as we realised that the day to leave for Delhi is fast approaching. All our energy died down. We lay there like sacks of potatoes, dreading the day we were to pack up and leave. But all good things come to an end, and so did our time in Cal every year. Soon our grandparents shifted back to Delhi. This was good as we could see them much more often now, but it was sad as I never got to see Cal again. I hope, someday, I can go back to that city, travel in the same tram/metro, eat the egg roll from the same shop, rent a video from the library and roam around on that street, where many years ago, I had the time of my life!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Colours of Life!
(This is the copy of the article I wrote for an NGO's magazine... I interviewed a rickshawpuller to get a glimpse of the life he lives... thought I could share my experience and what he had to say!)
Clad in a red check shirt, blue pants, folded; a pair of chappals… that is how he has always been seen: this is his everyday attire, his uniform to work. That is Mr. Harish Chand Gupta, a local rickshaw puller. Slim, with average height, a thick moustache and lines of experience etched on his prematurely matured face, he looks older than his 21 years. Originally belonging to a small village called Supol in
Born to a well-to-do family, Harish has two sisters and two brothers, apart from his parents in his family. His father commanded a good position in a private organisation, earning about Rs.15000 per month, when he got entangled in a murder conspiracy and lost his job. Since then the family has been forced to resort to farming to sustain itself. His sisters are happily married and settled with husband and kids. His elder brother has a business of his own while the younger one operates an atta chakki.
Harish’s childhood was eventless, yet full of fun and frolic… playing without any worries, studying, hanging out with friends without a care for the world… no responsibilities, nothing. Such was life till class Six, when it became evident o him that life is not going to e as smooth as before. Seeing the increasing financial burden on his parents and the dismal returns on their flood-affected land, Harish decided o quit studying and leave his village in search of a better life.
And this is how he ended up in
Apart from pulling his rickshaw, he also alternates as a keeper in a nearby bookstore. In total he manages to earn about Rs. 4000 per month. Of this he spends Rs. 2500 on rent, food and other expenses; and manages to send home Rs. 1500. On a typical day, he wakes up at 5:30 am, gets ready, works from 7-9 am, has breakfast and takes rest, gets back to work till lunchtime at 2 pm, rests some more after lunch, opens the bookstore around 4 pm, cleans it and arranges everything, then back to his rickshaw, working till about 9 in the night, when he comes home, cooks and has dinner and retires for the day. He lives all alone, cooks, washes etc. all by himself, with no one to take care of him. He has no social life, no friends, and no entertainment… not even a television or radio. Such is his life, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Is he happy? He says: “Life is currently okay. I do not particularly enjoy it, but do not mind it either. I plan to make it better. I want to make enough money to be able to buy some land of my own to build a house and cultivate a small farm. For that I am learning how to drive a taxi, to start a taxi service of my own.”
Doesn’t he dislike being alone? Wouldn’t he like a life partner, to take care of him and support him in all his endeavours? He quips: “I do not want to get married just yet. My parents and after my life to ‘settle down’, but I want to have my own house and enough money to sustain a family comfortable before I marry.” Marriage and settling down, apparently is a touchy issue for him, due to heartbreak in the past. Some time ago, he fell in love with a girl who did not reciprocate his feelings. Since then he has been quite forlorn and has stopped believing in love.
His happiest moment?
“The life is led as a child, amongst my family and friends: no troubles or worries… only lots of love and fun!”
His saddest moment?
“When my loved on refused my proposal and broke my heart.”
His moment of regret?
“I should not have quit my studies and left my village so soon. Had I stayed on, maybe I would have been much better off right now…”
His proudest moment?
“When I bought a small radio for my parents from my first salary!”
All in all, life for Harish has been full of hardships, struggle and sacrifice; but he still goes on, determined to fulfil his dreams.
His parting words?
“All I want to say to everyone is that one should study and work hard, get a good job, house and family; and take good care of them all… strive to achieve your goals, believe in yourself, don’t give up, and be a good human being.”
With this, and a twinkle in his eyes, a dream in his heart and a song on his lips, he rushes off, beckoned by a prospective customer, and pedals away into his future!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
R.I.P. Confusa Multiple Tiffanitias!
Sad News...
My doggie of 15 years died 4 months ago...
Her name was Tiffany. She was a cute lil golden brown dacshund, the light of our lives.
She was old, sick, but comfortable. Although I knew that there will be one day when she would have to go, I could never bring myself to accept it, and still have not.
She died when I was here in Ahmedabad, when I could not even wish her goodbye, when I could not see her one last time; in my mother's lap. Everyone back at home is quite grief stricken. I cried the day mum told me. But I'm over it. But I know, I'm not quite over it. I'm ok right now, cuz I'm here. But I know the moment I set foot at home, I will burst out crying, cuz there will be no brown lil thing running towards me, barking, jumping, trying to lick my face, wagging her tail @ 10 wags/sec! There will be no sad eyes looking at me when I leave home. There will be no innocents looks at me while I enjoy her favourite sweet. There will be no one staring at me questioningly when I'm trying to trouble her. There will be no one responding to my calls. There will be no one running to go fetch my slippers, or the ball I just threw. There will be no one on my lap when we go out for a drive. There will be no barking when the bell rings. There will be no snoring beside me on my bed at night. There will be no Tiffany ever... again!
While this thought saddens me to no end, I try to think of the happier times that we had with her! Tiffany, the doggie with a million names, every one had a different name with which they called her. So many names, so many poems made for her... Tifi, tifu, chipi, chimpu, chima, tipu, chipu, timpukdini, champakali, cheepnee, tipni, futti, chunni, cheefee...!!!!
We called her confusa multiple Tiffanitias: confusa because we are still confused what kind of weird creature she was, multiple cuz she portrayed multiple animal characteristics (she was timid like a mouse, jumped around like a rabbit, was fat like a buffalo/elephant, etc) and ofcourse, Tiffanitias was her Species Name!! I know its crazy, but thats how she was, and we were, when we were around her.
I miss her, still. And always will. After all, even human beings are not capable of the unconditional love that she showed me. Even if I slapped her a minute ago for doing something stupid, she would come running with the same enthusiasm and love when I would come back home that evening, that she would have had, had I not scolded her. I could vent my anger on her, say anything and everything to her, without the fear of being judged. She meant so much to us, that none of us would eat, sleep or do anoything without her. So much that if ever a calaity struck, even before I would grab food/water/money or look for family, I would look for her. So much that even if my mom had just one roti to eat, she would first give a part of it to Tiffany, and then to us. She was the baby of the family. She was a part of everything in our lives. She went with us for vacations, car drives when we went for icecream, to our relatives' houses when we went for dinner. She was an active part of every festival we celebrated: she got the tikka and sacred thread on her wrist on Dussehra and Diwali; we coloured her wild on Holi. She sould sit patiently through all poojas, except when I made rangoli: then she would roam about happily in that room, wagging her tail, ruining my colour work!! We even tried to make her into a quintessential Indian Doggie... by draping her with a duppatta for a sari, complete with earrings and makeup!
She was great fun outside home too... When she was a young doggie, she was known to be a fast runner. The moment someone would open the front door, she would run out, and it would take 10 of us kids and 20 minutes for us to locate and catch her!! What a devil she was! Not only that, she was quite a dish when in her ol days... there were countless dogs who were crazy about her, but the lady she was, she never gave any Bhaav to anyone. Sure she had friends, but her heart beat for only one: Raph, our neighbour's Golden Labrador. So what if they were different breeds, so what if she was 1/10th the size of her lover, they were crazy about each other. Every chnce she got, she ran out and right into their house, and rush to meet her love. A pity they could not consummate their love. Apart from her lover, she had a lot of friends, like Beetle and Sugar amongst others, and she spent days and night froliking about with them! They were best buddies, totally inseparable! Such was their bond, that they all celebrated and attended eeach other's birthdays. Ah! Birthdays! Another fun day for her. We would get a cake, nad arrange for lots of fun non-veg food , and invite all the dogs of the campus. Ad they, like good friends, would never come without a gift for her: a ball, a bowl, a collar/leash, a chewtoy, food etc.
We had lots of fun during the rains too. Funny, she hated having a bath like every other canine, but she loved the rains. She loved running out, getting dirty, and jumping around. There were areas where water collected, and we used to put her in a tub, and she used to happily float away in her makeshift boat! Yes, life after that was not so much fun, when she would enter the house and dirty everything she touched! Then both she and us kids got the scolding of our lies from our parents. But we never learnt, and repeated the whole thing the next day!
Towards the end of her life, she was old, lazy but comfortable, and thankfully not diseased or in pain. She just died of old age: she gave up eating, and after a few revivals, she finally gave up on July 5th 2006. She died a virgin: we never could get her to mate with any dog. Was she a lady, or plain stupid, we are not so sure. But whatever she was, she was a darling, and we all miss her presence in our lives. Nothing is the same without her, and can never be. In a month, we are getting a new doggie, but no one will ever be able to take her place in our lives and hearts!
Tiffany, we love you and miss you and always will!
So long, Farewell. Adieu my friend! Adios Amigo! Hasta La Vista Baby!
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