a bark, a flutter, a swish and a chirp

“Oh my god!!! Thanks a lot................
You came running to give me this? I love you- truly madly and deeply. <3 <3 <3

 Let’s celebrate tonight. Be ready.” I gushed passing my fingers through his thick black hair, nibbled his ear and kissed on his forehead...

In return, I got a lick on my cheek... :-)
 .
.
I being the best absent minded professor the world has ever produced, forgot to carry hall ticket for my 10^th class board exams. It was not until when the invigilator demanded I realized that I have rested the hall ticket on a bed of kumkum, adorning it with flowers in the puja mandir at home.
That being the Physics exam, I was reminded of Newton’s third law: For every action- (of forgetting the hall ticket), there is an equal and opposite reaction- running home to get it.

Puffing......... and panting..........., I bumped into the school gate when our Dhara Singh like watchman waved red signal with his lathi.

“Bow bow.. “BARKed Happy at Dhara Singh shoving his mouth into the circular iron grills of the school gate from the other side. Down fell my hall ticket drenched in Happy’s saliva at one corner.

Canine Companion:

Happy, my Labrador pup was just 1 yr old when he came leaping to give my hall ticket to my school which was nearly one and a half km away. I dotingly brushed his thick black hair and he barked “I love you too” to me. Remember the lick on my cheek?


Happy followed me wherever I went much before the pugs followed their little mistresses in Hutch advertisement.

Isnt spending with your pets one of the best ways to get rid of loneliness, stress and depression. Apart from bringing hall tickets to exam centres like my Happy did, dogs babysit children to some extent at home, provide exercise to you when you walk them and lend an ear when you want to pour out your joys and sorrows.

I can sense some souls reading this, questioning me silently “Do you think we never thought of having pets? We are not able to take care because of our highly demanding jobs and stressful lifestyles- where there is time for everything but no pet time.”


Now, I am staying in my company township accommodation where pets   are a strict no-no. But still I pet. Come on, spare me that look. I am no law-breaker.

Every morning, Masakali wakes me up at 6.30 for breakfast. Masakali, the grey and white streaked pigeon coos until I break my sleep and spread a 1 cm thick bed of wheat grains in the window slab. She FLUTTERS in rejoice before it sets off for its daily adventure. My heart too dances in merriment.

Fluttery Friend:

Masakali is not my roommate. We are 6.30 am friends-Friends with benefits. She alarms me to wake up and I offer her breakfast. The encounter is short lived but the happiness for both is long lived.  Does this care require commitment? The answer is No.. Masakali eats her grains but not my time.. she could find her fodder somewhere else even If I dozed off for a day. This kind of care minus the commitment is definitely possible for all of us if only we look around.

Swish Fish:

The blonde gold fish in a transparent glass pot would definitely add glamour to your living room. Watching it release tiny air bubbles as it SWISHes through the water surely puts a full stop to all your day long stress. You  can always leave the enjoyment to your neighbor when you are on travel.

A much easier task is to befriend our shy friend, the chirpy squirrel. You need not watch the squirrel for much long like our golden fish to start an amiable relationship with it. In fact the squirrel wont give you much time too. The best time to attract it is when you have stepped out of your house to go to your office or to that street end grocery store.

Chirpy Comrade:

Pamper the squirrel by dropping crumbs of bread near the feet of a tree. It sure will grab its mighty gift as soon as you turn your back but it will CHIRP back in gratitude. Isn’t that a proud feeling?

The answer will be a "YES". Think it over. Pets provide a doubl delight- companionship and unconditional love, both of which are key to happiness. If your lifestyle desists you from petting one, why don’t you choose one among the pigeon, the gold fish or the squirrel- the low maintenance pets? They give you company even if you are an OSAMA and love you without any expectation in return even if you are an OBAMA.

Let us find time to shower an iota of kindness on Mother Nature’s voiceless children whenever and wherever possible. It doesn’t strip us off our time or money like Facebook and other social networking sites outrageously do. 

Be it a single wheat grain to the pigeon or the petite bread crumb to the squirrel, do it regularly.   I am doing it. Will you?