The Day We Lost and Found Our Dog

We found our dog after 7 hours of being lost. Tanzo, our 14-year-old German Spitz stepped out of the house early in the morning, around 6:00 am, and couldn't find his way back. He is blind.

 When my parents called for him, they realised he wasn't around, not in the usual places and not in the places where he could have strayed to. He lives with my parents in Jaipur and with their 2 daughters away, he is like the ever-demanding son who keeps them on their toes. With him gone, their world came to a standstill. My mom was inconsolable and my dad in shock.

My relatives came to help in the search but to no resolve. Finally, a vegetable vendor told them that he had seen a white dog with a brown leash at the crematorium. My parents rushed to the place. Another clue took them to a man who said he helped pull a dog from an open drain after he heard it cry for help. He stood with him for sometime and then left.

The search came to a dead end. While they were there, a few people enquired if everything was fine. One of them said he saw a white dog entering into some lane. My parents followed and entered a lane, which had sub- lanes running in all directions, a place dominated by hatchet- faced butchers who could scare the hell out of you. No one had seen Tanzo even there. My mother, crying more hysterically than before, attracted a lot of attention from the people living in and around. Two boys riding a scooter stopped and asked what had happened. When my mom said they were looking for their dog, one of the boys ridiculed her saying she was crying as if her son was dead. My mom lost it and screamed at him. An old butcher in that area consoled my mom and said “ Beti duniya main taraha- tarha ke log hain. Appke bête jaisa hoga tabhi aap itna pareshaan hain.” Three other guys entered the scene and said they had seen a dog being chased by other dogs and some kids saved him and took him away.

This was the point of some hope. One lead after the other took them to a place under a tree where young boys surrounded a dog petting him and taking care of him. They had even bathed him as he was covered in mud and drain water. 

My parents got Tanzo, my kid brother, home. He is still in shock but is with the people he loves.

Only those who have ever had a pet will understand that it is like your own son or daughter. Only an animal lover will help pull out a dirty dog from a drain. A person empathetic enough will tell you that he understands what your pet means to you. Most scary looking people are the most tender at heart. Not every person who stops seeing you in distress is willing help you; he is just taking care of his own curiosity. And people like those two boys on the scooter, will continue to be gobsmacked at the love people have for animals and will continue to astonish those who can’t understand how you cannot love an animal.

It’s a Dog’s Life

Today I saw a very wounded and sick dog on the street just below my office and he was running helter-skelter in search of a sheltered place. He finally decided to climb the stairs that lead to the office entrance but was shooed away by the guard. I requested the guard to allow him to sit in a corner so that he could take a little rest but as I had expected the guard refused.
My heart skipped a beat when I closely examined the dog. He had literally no hair, had cuts and bruises on most of his body parts with some open and bleeding wounds, a broken leg and was panting heavily. I was astonished that he was even alive in such a condition. But the most striking thing about him were his grayish-green eyes. He looked at me as if pleading me to help him. I remembered my dog at home that has all the luxuries and demands everything by barking at us, gets upset and angry when not attended to. And here was this dog who was so scared of the people around him, probably because of the way they had treated him in the past.
I immediately bought some glucose biscuits, a bottle of cold water and a plastic tumbler out of which he could drink the water. The moment I poured out some for him, he slurped it as if he had never had water before. I poured some more and he drank that as well. I then gave the entire pack of biscuits to him and filled his tumbler with some cold water again.
While I stood there watching him, I heard a passersby’s remark that people don’t get food and water and here I was feeding the dog. I ignored the comment. The poorest or the sickest person can atleast ask for help but how will these helpless and dumb creatures? How will they communicate that all they desire is just a loving pat at times or a second glance or for us to understand their unspoken words, their passionate and sad eyes? But in return what they get is “all of a sudden” infection concerned person wanting to shoo- away the ‘dirty’ animal, a person more interested in checking out what the other is doing and a uncompassionate person who only understands spoken emotions. Have we ever thought that when we spell GOD backwards, it actually reads DOG and maybe it’s just not a coincidence?

Thought for the Mood:
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
(My dog is a living proof of this)

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion"
(We should owe every bit of it)

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where
they went."
(I certainly would)

Life is so Simple

I am sitting in a coffee shop sipping a hot cup of Cappuccino and there is a lot of hustle and bustle around. I try and concentrate to make some sense out of what appears to be a mere clamor in the beginning. I try and focus on the conversations.

In one corner a guy is talking, loud enough to be heard by everyone and not really moved by the stares people are giving him. “Maybe he is sitting with his girlfriend” I think, but then by the occasional looks he is giving me, I believe her to be his “just a friend”. This guy is cribbing about his job and his boss and is going on and on without bothering about his friend and her bored expression. I am not sure whom to empathize with so I move on to another set of conversations.

Right behind me are two boys talking in their local dialect (Gujarati) and all of a sudden heavy US accented English replaces the local touch. Oh, a US returned Gujju bhai! They are discussing about the US economy and the down sizing happening in companies. I smile and move on.

A group of young boys and girls seem to be having fun looking at other people and passing some or the other comments. A girl in the group is rubbing her finger nails together. Seems like a fan of Baba Ramdev who suggests doing this as a daily practice to improve hair quality. I am wondering if I should do the same from tomorrow and then move on again.

Next is a young guy in his early 20’s wearing a sweat shirt of NUS, spiked hair, spectacles and face red with pimples. Looks the very studious kinds. He calls for a Latte and is now watching some Bollywood song on the TV across. His expressions show how amused he is. I give another look and move on.

But I don’t seem to be hearing anything else now as my own thoughts have kick started a conversation with me. I am thinking, rather taken aback by how simple things are around- the easy flowing conversations, the sweet smiles, the serene faces; everything is just so simple. Life is so simple; we just complicate things around us. Time for me to leave now. I’ve paid my bill and just as I am about to move out a cute looking old couple walks in hand in hand with their own stories to tell and their set of sweet conversations...

Thought for the Mood:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
(I also feel the limited your desires are, the simpler your life gets.)

“The simplest things are often the truest.”
(I think of my parents here- simplest and truest.)

To Eternity and beyond....

Today I am celebrating 4 years of togetherness with my husband. It is a very strange feeling, something when I think about; I get butterflies in my stomach and the feeling as if time has stopped in its endless flight. The times we shared as friends and then as a married couple, the conversations, the big and the small moments are still so fresh in my memory as if everything just happened in one day- yesterday.

Today, a line from one of my favourite movies, (used very frequently by my husband to convince me for an early marriage) has become all the more relevant and significant and makes me realize how God has His own way of making you understand certain things only at a certain time. The line is from the movie – “When Harry Met Sally” and goes like this- “when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” And I am glad I didn’t wait for a couple of more years to get married to this wonderful man and an amazing husband.

It’s not that these years have been a bed of roses and we didn’t have our rough patches to ride on; but just knowing that even in the direst circumstances, the other person will be around, was eventually the most (and still is) comforting factor.

We have differences. And not just trifle ones; major ones- issues on which we are poles apart and will never share a common opinion, issues which challenge our existence together, but (and a very important but) we both know that we can’t imagine our lives without the physical presence of each other. This keeps us together and binds us for the rest of our lives.

I always thought that I will love him till the time I take my last breath but I was wrong, I will love him to eternity and beyond…

Thought for the Mood
“Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day.”
(And I need to remind this to myself everyday, especially when we have differences.)

“What you are as a single person, you will be as a married person, only to a greater degree. Any negative character trait will be intensified in a marriage relationship, because you will feel free to let your guard down -- that person has committed himself to you and you no longer have to worry about scaring him off.”
(I have actually never bothered about hiding any of my negative traits, I am what I really am, and this makes me really comfortable.)

Why is life so difficult to live?

Why is life so difficult to live? I have so much in my mind right now that I just do not know where do I begin and where do I end. People may look at your life and find it very beautiful and full of happiness but in reality only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. And here I am not just talking about myself but may be on behalf of many others caught in an unexplainable and intricate situation.

I have always believed that all of us have likes and dislikes and most of the times very strong desires and they are our very own only. Then how come is it that we have no control or rather people control what we should like or dislike. Why do people get judgmental about how we should be living and what is the right way or the wrong way. Everybody is here to talk about their personal experiences and ready to give all the advice on what we should be doing. My problem is that I don’t want to know what they experienced and whether I should be having the same set of experiences as they have had. I want to do something when I really believe in it and when I really want to do it and not because somebody else thinks this is how it should be done.

I am unique in my own way and I don’t want people to act as a critic on that. I am what I am and I love to live my life my way. But people dictate even the way you want to live. I have never understood lessons on “you live in a society and this is what you should be doing, this is what the society expects you to do and what will the society say if you do or don’t do such a thing.” What perplexes me is that I am doing what I should be doing to live in a society. I am not going around and killing people, or abusing them or breaking the law, basically nothing to cause any remotely possible harm. Then why the interference?

All I wish is to live in peace and let my choices decide what I want to do rather than what I should do because somebody else expects it. I want to take responsibility for my own decisions and never want to lose my identity and self of being. I am still hoping someday it will really be either my way or no way at all…. Touchwood!!

Thought for the mood
“Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.”
(And get messier…)

“I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.”
(I want to live with my decisions too or atleast begin with making them myself)

Fun @ Work

I am extremely bored today. The basic reason being that I spend 8 hours in office and there is no fun. Before I joined work (years back) I thought "it would be fun" but as years passed by I realised if you want to have fun then seek it outside the office.
I know working is not always fun and neither work is. But atleast coming to work should be fun. In my current workplace fun is only a word that exists in a dictionary. No team lunches, no going out for drinks or coffees...nothing...
I am very passionate about fun and it's one thing I never want missing from my life. So why not have fun in my own way... Atleast I have taken a step towards it by leaving on time and not just hanging around cause others are spending some of their precious time in the office without realsing what they are really missing.
And today I'll treat myself to a nice dinner of soup and salads :) :) :)

Thought for the mood
"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar."
(My team does not even do that)

Discovering Myself, Maybe...

A lot of times when I sit and think about my life and situations that affect it or people who make a difference, I travel to a very different world of thinking. It's not really an introspection or any kind of evaluation, it's just looking around or just coming to a stand still and imagining what is it that I really want...

It's strange how I swing between wanting to be extremely professional on one side and beating everyone in the rat race and on the other side leaving everything wordly and disovering a new life for myself free from materalisim- a life where I choose to live the way I want to without any social influence...

But eventually I also know that life is all about the choices you make and I might as well balance things out rather than operate on extremes... More so not cross bridges before I reach them...

Life goes on with time in its endless flight... sometimes I will run, at times walk and at times just sit and enjoy...

Thought for the Mood
"Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death."
(I tend to forget the 'combination of states' part no matter what mood I may be in; when I am extremely happy I forget I'll have to face tougher times & when I am very sad I forget that there will be a better tomorrow.)

It’s Just That…

It’s not that we don’t love each other anymore
It’s just that it’s not like what we had before
It’s not that we don’t want to spend time together
It’s just that we be alone rather
It’s not that on every issue we are at strife
It’s just that we are happy in our own lives
It’s not that differences leave an irreparable hole
It’s just that the major ones are taking its toll
It’s not that we are not ready to compromise
It’s just that we want different things out of life
It’s not that we don’t ever think alike
It’s just that our conversations are no longer dreamlike
It’s not that we don’t have our say
It’s just that we want things our way

By saying- It’s not this, it’s just that
We avoid thinking if it’s really as bad
But who knows how things will turn out
Till the time comes we’ll always be in doubt
And the only way is to in silence wait
Hoping to have better times before it’s too late!


Thought for the Mood
“Time! The corrector when our judgments err.”
(Not really sure though if times heals everything)

“Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.”
(I have on many occasions ‘misused’ time…wish could turn it back)

How You’ve Touched Me

Sitting down to think what I should write about You
How you have been there as a friend so true
How have I comforted myself knowing you are a call away
How have I looked forward to meeting you each day
How I have been at ease sharing my deepest sorrows
How you have reassured me saying there are better tomorrows
How I have laughed so much with you that I cried
How nothing from you I ever had to hide
How I have expressed equally my love and hate
How I have not feared you judging me by just a trait
How you brought in so much happiness around me
How the lighter side of life you made me see
How beautiful you make me feel everytime we meet
How just your mere presence is such a wonderful treat
How silence feels so beautiful when you are with me
How from all troubles you make me feel free
How I can count on you for anything and everything
How to my most boring day you add a zing
How of my life you’ve become such an inseparable part
How a special place you hold in my heart
But now you are moving ahead towards your goal
Leaving sweet memories in my mind, heart and soul
And even though I’ll so much miss you with every moment that passes by
I know whenever I’ll look at sun setting in the sky
You would also be somewhere remembering the times we have spent
And that sure will be the biggest assurance Rhea, My Best Friend.

A Thought for the Mood
"Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead. Do not write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead."
(I gave it in person)

I was a Free Bird

I was a free bird
Who travelled distances long
I was a free bird
With my own beautiful song

I was a free bird
Whom no one could bind
I was a free bird
To whom everyone seemed kind

I was a free bird
Happy with my carefree flight
I was a free bird
Always aspiring for a greater height

I was a free bird
All alone but strong
I was a free bird
But then something went wrong

My lips were sealed and my wings tied
Away was taken all my pride
What I felt didn’t matter anymore
That I fall everyone made sure

For being different I was blamed
In unending expectations I was framed
I was forced to deal in lies
And was asked not to act too wise

I was alone with everything gone
I was left with nothing to hold on
And the more I was made a part of this world
The more hatred from me got unfurled

And today I only dream of my past
Praying earnestly for my day last
Hoping someday I’ll be heard
With all my questions answered
And then my spirit will rise skyward
Setting me free again, as free as a bird.

A Thought for the Mood
"Freedom is the right to live as we wish."
(Only if it was as simple)

Jab We Meet(ing)

This meeting we had the other day.. What was it for?? My boss says, “I would request Mr. XYZ to address the meeting.” This Mr. XYZ blurts out, “What shall I speak about?” Oops wasn’t he supposed to know that? Anyway it’s a meeting, so expected. Another senior person comes up with the thought that Mr. XYZ, the expert, should talk about how the print media in Delhi should grow in these tumultuous times. Hmm... Ok, I’ll try paying a little attention. 

 Mr. XYZ begins with the world scenario (btw not related to print). I am still listening and so is everybody else. Then he starts talking about the print media scene in Bombay, how is it growing, will it grow further, the challenges and the list goes on… People are thinking if it was Bombay’s scenario he was to talk about. A supposedly 40 minute discussion (Mr. XYZ is a busy man, can’t afford to give any more time than this) is now a 1 hour & 30mins. one way communication. He loves to talk man! And now he is talking about his personal experiences, time he spent in research etc etc. 

Finally he decides to end! (After realizing that people are looking at their watches and some are actually tapping their watches to see if it stopped working) I am thinking, “What happened to Delhi Scenario?” But I don’t care anymore… I just want the meeting to end. After 15 minutes past 2 hours he says, “It was nice meeting everybody and was a good discussion (uhh?) and I would like to leave you all with the thought that how we should grow in these difficult times?”  

We ended right where we began! Did somebody take the minutes??

Thought for the Mood
“Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything.” 
(And other than Mr. XYZ everyone had something to do)

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.”
(Yep, hours that seemed like eternity)