Goodbye Junglee...

 It was the month of August and the whole nation was reviving from lockdown. I knew that my lovely, rusty colour, female dog was about to deliver. She was restless for quite a few hours. We tried hard to comfort her. After massaging her forehead for a couple of minutes, she slept a little. 

It was a lazy Sunday and I woke up a bit late. When I went outside, I saw she was waging her tail lovingly and five little puppies clinging to her Bossom. It was hard to categorize them based on their colour. Their eyes were sunk in their sockets and there was still some time in their acquiring of their ability to see the world. I gave the newly became mother some chapati and milk. She let me hold the infants. They were smaller than my palm. I carefully held them closer to my chest and then kept them safely near their mother, one by one.

In a fortnight they opened their eyes and start walking slowly. 

One night when I went to see if they are comfortable, one little pup groaned at me. I smiled at him and picked him up. 

'So you are the aggressive one.' I said to him.

He lovingly wagged his tail, a little afraid of height. 

We started calling him junglee, the wild one. 

Days passed and we become good friends. Junglee was a born warrior. He knew very well how to gather his food, without much dependency on others. He has this habit of sleeping in our home's backyard and used to shout until we open the door and took him inside.

He grew up into a strong, young dog. He was darn active.

At the end of January this year, I smelled something foul from him. I removed his coat to check the problem, I noticed a big eight inches wound with blood all around. I immediately consulted a veterinarian and he told me to clean it and apply an ointment. He healed in no time. 

On the first of March, I had a flight to Bangalore. I was packing my bag a day before when I noticed a dog coughing near the backyard's door. I quickly went to see and it was Junglee who was coughing and panting like anything. I again consulted the veterinarian and he prescribed certain antibiotics. I told my mom to minutely monitor his health in my absence. 

I was two thousand odd kilometres away from my home, but my heart was still here only. I was regularly in contact with my Mom and the majority of the conversation was revolving around Junglee and his siblings. He was no doubt improving, but his recovery was very slow. 

I came back after a week and saw them all happy and excited. But Junglee had lost weight. He was weaker than before. Though he was still very aggressive and energetic, his rib cage was now visible can now clearly felt under his skin. He was having his food properly but still not gaining weight. I monitored his health for some time and felt that there is nothing much to worry about. 

One Friday, I woke up when Junglee was sleeping with his sibling near the washing machine in the backyard. I went to the gym and came back after an hour or so. My Mom was panicking a lot when she said to have look at Junglee. 

He was standing and there was foam all around his mouth. He was walking backwards when he looked at me. I called the doctor and he told me to bring Junglee to the clinic as soon as possible. 

I carried him to the clinic. While driving, I saw looking at me with all-loving and generous eyes. For the very first time, I saw genuine gratitude in someone's eyes. I patted his head lightly and assured him that he will be alright. 

We got his treatment done and he slept peacefully for the next five or six hours. After then he stood up again, walking backwards, and all that foam around his face. He was shivering too.

I again took him to the clinic. I again saw that gratitude in his eyes. And this time... I cried my heart out. I know what was coming. 

After his treatment, I placed him on his sheet. He was fast asleep. I patted his head and let him sleep.

It was 1.36 AM when I heard something. It was a soft cry, more of a calling. I turned the flashlight of my cellphone on. I saw Junglee taking his last breath. I knew how this end looks like. I folded my hands and prayed to the almighty to make this easier for him.

Exactly at 1.38 AM, I heard all the dogs howled together in a unison, bidding farewell to Junglee. And he took his last breath and left the mortal world.

Junglee was gone. What was lying there is just the body where he was residing. 

I had a very strange dream that night. I saw that Junglee is still alive and all his physical ailments are gone. He became a playful pup once again.

When I woke up, I straight away went to handover his body back to Mother Earth. I informed everything to the vet. He felt sorry for the loss and said that the reason for his death might be Rabies. He advised me to get rabies shots.

I went to the nearby government hospital to get the vaccinations done. 

I was removing my shirt when I saw this little feather stuck to my shirt. I showed it to my Mom and said that Junglee has reached safely to the other world. 

I know if you are thinking that this all is so dramatic and far away from pragmatism. But my dear reader, this is what happened. And this, not the first time this has happened. Feather is a symbol of assurance from the souls who have shed their physical body and crossed the physical borders that they are safe. It's a symbol that the mortals must stop grieving for them now.

But it's difficult. Every time I lose a pup, it breaks my heart. Something inside me also dies whenever I lose a pup.

And this is not the end. I'll keep living for them, looking after them, no matter whatever the circumstances will be.

So this is for Junglee - My aggressive little kid, whose gratitude-filled eyes trapped me forever in them.

HRN

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'The Gopi Diaries' - Not ABook Review

 

We, as a society, categorise everyone into major categories according to one's degree of expressiveness in public - Introverts and extroverts. What I believe is that both of the terms are highly variable to the environment in which a person is. Just to put it this way, my relatives think of me as an introvert, who thinks a lot but speak less. On the other hand, I have this habit of talking to dogs intimately, just like other talks to humans. I love asking how are they doing or what they did when I wasn't with them. And they respond, obviously not by using our language, but by responding in different ways like howling or waging their tales. Sometimes they even bite me softly on my palm or grab my pyjamas to show that I belong to them and they missed me.

I'm not an expert in understanding all the signs and symbols of the dog kingdom, just like many people claim that they have expertise in that area.

But I always wanted to write a story from a dog's point of view. I wanted to (and still want to) weave something interesting which showcased the love and loyalty of a dog towards his or her fellow human. Something like this always run in the back of my mind.

A friend of mine, who is a voracious reader, recommended this book called - 'The Gopi Diaries - coming home'. And trust me I'll always be indebted to her for recommending me this chunk of love.

The book is written by Mrs Sudha Murty, who is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation, a philanthropist, and an incredible writer. She has written some beautiful books down the years. And I have always loved her way of writing, which is simple and grasping. 

Though I'm interrupting the flow of the article to write something which I genuinely feel. I think simplicity in expressing your thoughts via writing is an amazing art. When an author writes something, he or she is imbibing an image into his or her reader's mind. The more simple and gripping the writing is, the better and clear the image will form. 

Getting back to the book, it is written in such a format that Mrs Murthy's dog, Gopi, is the narrator as well as the protagonist of the story. He is a beautiful golden retriever puppy and starts the story about his infancy. His pain of separation from his family when Mrs Murthy and her family bring him into their home. He expresses his confusion about the human world, their way of doing things, and their love towards him. He explains the nature of different people in the family and their attitude towards him. 

I completed the book in less than an hour and felt bad to complete it so quickly. Every page I used to turn gave me a heartache. I wanted to spend more time with that book. 

And when I reached the last page of the book, I discovered something magical.

After some Lovely photographs of Gopi with the Murthy family, I got enlightened with the fact that The Gopi Diaries was not a single book but a series of three books. And that made me feel satisfied.

After a couple of months, I received my much-awaited pre-order copy of 'The Gopi Diaries- Finding Love'. 

In that book, the author describes the first year of Gopi with them. She elucidates all his mischievous activities. She carries forward the same narrative and tells us about the growth of her lovely puppy Gopi who is now stronger and bigger, but still is the star of the family. 

Gopi has now built a more loving relationship with everyone in the family. Mr Murthy, who was a bit afraid of Gopi, has also started developing a lovely relationship with him. He is having a time of his life, playing all day and giving unlimited cuddles to the humans around him.

Now I'm desperately waiting for the third book in the series, which is expected in the early months of the year 2022.

The things I love about the book:-

1) Narrative

Writing this kind of narrative needs a lot of imagination and creativity. It's a bit easier to write from any person's point of view, Alive, Dead, or imaginative. Humans can talk and express their thoughts in various ways. But animals can't express their emotions by speaking. You need to be very observant and

Creative to write a piece of literature like this.

2) Cover page and illustrations

They generally say that one should not judge a book by its cover. But believe me or not, the first thing which attracts the reader is undoubtedly the cover page of the book. The cover page of both the books is equally expressive and beautiful, which give a hint of its contents if you look at them carefully. 

And the illustrations bring life to the book.

3) Simplicity

As I have mentioned earlier also that Mrs Murthy's style of writing is very very catchy, clear, and simple. She belongs to the lobby of those evergreen authors who are known for their simple writing style. Mr R.K. Narayan and Mr Ruskin Bond are known for that similar clarity and simplicity. And I have no issue in accepting that too much-revealed philosophy as well usage of heavy words for simple narratives turns me off. This short and sweet book is the epitome of clear imagination and observation. Whether you are a dog lover or not, you'll be enjoying it thoroughly.

So here I'm sharing the links to both the books to buy.

Coming Home

Finding Love

 

Do comment below your thoughts and reviews about the books.

Thanks for reading

Love, Laughter, and Peace

HRN

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The One Who Stole My Heart...

The One Who Stole My heart

My home, like many other houses, has two gates. One is at the front, and the other opens towards the little street at my home's backside. Around two months back, I saw Bachi (a beautiful female dog, with big wolf eyes) lying under a staircase with five little pups around her. I was excited when I saw all of them. They were just so small, even smaller than a tennis ball. Their eyelids were stuck together, and their eyes were forcefully closed. In about ten days, they started opening their eyes. They used to follow me whenever I used to whistle at them.

All five were so damn beautiful and active, but out of all, one little Pup stole my heart. I had a doubt that he was visually impaired. He could trace my voice and follow me, but I think he couldn't see me correctly. He always used to be around his siblings, as he was unable to manage alone. Apart from that, he was weakest among all. He used to scream whenever he was alone, as he couldn't find his way back to his little shelter near the staircase.

Once I found him at the end of the street, screaming and banging his head here and there, trying hard to find his way back. I whistled at him, and he started following that irritating voice and successfully found his way back.

After a week or so, I realized that he was able to see a little. I discovered this by placing him at a four-feet height on a small cemented platform, to feed him chapatti and milk with a bit more attention. Soon, his legs started shivering, and he started looking downwards. I was happy when I discovered that. I patted him, and I lifted him in my arms. I told him to trust me and kept him back at that little platform. He started eating without being afraid of height.

One Sunday morning, I woke up a bit late, and that too because of someone screaming outside my home. I saw him walking in my backyard. I asked my Mom what is he doing in the backyard. She said with an alarming voice that some dogs attacked the Pup. They dragged him while holding the little one in between their jaws. I ran towards him and saw him panting. He looked at me and waged his tail. I picked him up immediately and saw a big hole in his abdomen. I could see some internal bleeding and a yellowish noodle kind of thing coming out of that hole. I rushed to the Veterinary clinic near my home. They told me to run to the hospital as the little one needs stitches before any dressing.

I rushed to the hospital, but there was no staff available. They all went for lunch. One kind doctor gave him pain-killers, which helped him to bear the pain for a while. The doctor who had to perform the operation came after one hour. They gave him anaesthesia quickly and took him to the operation theatre.

They bring him back in an unconscious condition. The internal bleeding was so much, but the doctor said that the recovery chances are more than fifty per cent. I brought him back home, and he slept the whole afternoon. He woke up around six in the evening and started crying. I patted him, and he went back to sleep. After two more hours and another episode of screaming, he slept again.

After Nine, I got up from my desk and started preparing the bed for him. I guided my wife to mind her step as the little one is sleeping near our bed. I went to that basket in which he was lying.  I picked him up, but something looked fishy. I tried to shake him up, but he wasn't breathing. I panicked a bit and start giving CPR. I called my Mom to confirm whether there any chances, but she denied. The little Pup, who stole my heart, had left his mortal body.

Honestly speaking, I have seen innumerable dogs bidding me goodbye and leaving their mortal body. I was able to cope up. But this time, I couldn't. I was normal at first. I was consoling my wife as she was crying a lot. After bidding him goodbye, we went to bed. I slept for a while, but specific memories of the time I spent with him disturbed me. I was remembering him revolving round and round to find his way back to the shelter. When I was feeding him on that four-foot platform and telling him to trust me, everything was coming like a picture in front of my eyes.

That was it. I couldn't control myself and cry like a maniac.

I don't cry easily. But that night, I was not in my control.

No matter how much one reads about detachment and not getting attached to someone, It gives one a hard time to practice the concept. No matter how much you try to learn about the body and the soul concept, sometimes you fail miserably when applying that concept. Human emotions are hazardous. They have the tendency to make a person look crazy.

The next morning I was lost somewhere when I dropped my wife at her office on my scooter. I checked my phone after dropping her when two white feathers fell on my shoulder. I looked above but found nothing. I don't know what happened to me, but I kept those feathers with me in my fanny pack.

I asked my friend, who is a tarot card reader that what could this be. She replied that that's a message from angels. Now, I have a reasonable belief in Archangels, and I have literally felt their presence around me many times. I researched about this feather message on the internet when I found this video.

I pasted the feathers in my journal

That lady in the video said something that I couldn't control my tears. She said that it's a message from someone who has left this mortal world that he or she has reached safely in heaven, and now you should stop grieving.

Love, it's a crazy thing. Whether it is one-sided or both ways, it has beauty. But when someone loves you back with the same passion, trust me, that feeling cannot be described in mere words. That love can cross all the mortal boundaries. It's beyond the body, beyond the mind, beyond everything.

I lost him, but I'm happy that he is safe and became my guardian angel.

To conclude this, I just want to say that being emotionally vulnerable doesn't make someone weak. Weakness appears when someone stops doing something because of the fear of heartbreak and that grief. But you can mark my words, I will not stop falling in love, again and again with those little kiddos, who expects nothing but love.

Love, Laughter, and Peace

Himanshu R Nagpal

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