Sunday, April 29, 2012

Spoils of Spring…..

 

spring3

                         There are still those beautiful little traces of spring in the world around us…

Summer’s officially here. There was even that bout of flash rains which everyone has been praying for ever since the dry dust storms carrying sand all the way from the deserts of the middle east reached Delhi and entire northern India in the early parts of April.

These days, the temperatures easily reach 25 degree celsius as early as 6 in the morning.

 

Naturally, you try and hold on to these beautiful remnants of spring all around you, reminders of fresh dew in the morning and that lovely breeze carrying the smell of wild flowers…

 

spring 

 

spring2

 

Buddy is limping. It has been four days now since he sprained his right front paw. It started that day in the park when he suddenly decided he wanted to race himself! It was drizzling that evening after a very hot day. We were out getting wet and soaking in the smells of rain.  The weather must have gotten to him because he was quite unstoppable!

 

P1050882

         

I am always very wary about letting him race. He has a weak front paw which he  sprains easily. It has happened twice before this.

My heart breaks when I need to stop him from being his sprightly self. Buddy is so full of life, so eager to jump up and down on all four paws at the slightest reason to celebrate, even when it is just about going for a routine daily walk!!

 

He seems better today though, his limp showing only after his walk. And he doesn’t seem to be in pain while at home so no medications on a regular basis.

He has had a difficult recovery after his surgery and after the particularly severe allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, I try not to give him any medication unless it is absolutely necessary.

It rained again today evening. Just a little but enough to settle the dust and cool the air…

Though I have a very long list of ‘things to be done this Sunday’, I have a good mind to just let it pass and sleep in…

 

spring4

 

 

Technorati Tags: ,,,,,

Friday, April 20, 2012

Simple Happiness…

The night was cool, the air fresh after a bout of flash rains washed away the mantle of dustthat had settled over the last couple of days. It is now early summer in our part of the world – perfect for long, late night drives with old classics on the radio and stop-overs for ice-creams.


We try and do a lot of these, squeeze them in, in between Mummy and Daddy’s crazy work schedules.

This was one night to remember – 15 April 2012. An after-dinner walk, a long drive on the wide lanes of Delhi now free of the usual day-time traffic snarls and ice-cream by India Gate. The parking was crowded and so was the park so we didn’t get down there. The vendor car-delivered our order while we sat and watched the world go by.

I, Ginger and Shadow love the classic Vanilla, without nuts. Mummy loves lick-lollies of all flavours, preferably pineapple. Daddy likes creamy flavours- with nuts.
Buddy will have pretty much anything and everything available!!



 P1060185


P1060201


 P1060182


P1060184


P1060202


 P1060192


 P1060193


Simple Pleasures in life…that’s what we believe really matters. Period.


Wags,
Ginger,Buddy and Shadow



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Life Saved

It is not everyday that the daily newspaper overwhelms you with news you can be proud of.
 
P1030926 

 
Daily doses of murders, fraud, accidents and match fixing have lost their shock value. You just casually scan the print for something- anything new, almost with total indifference.
Naturally, at first glance, we almost missed it. It was in fact the series of pictures that made us flip the page back.
 
A 60 year old Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree in central Delhi at the junction of Lodhi Road and Bhishma Pitamah Marg was given a new leash of life by the NDMC’s ‘Tree Ambulance’. It will apparently live on for over 20 more years!

 
getimage
(Pic Courtesy Times of India)


The tree was rotting away, its main trunk eaten away by the invading termites. The tree doctors hollowed out the damaged parts of the trunk, spray cleaned it with water and insecticides, packed the void with cotton and thermocol and finally sealed it with plaster of Paris.
When the wood grows inwards, it will compress the cotton and other soft packing so the natural flexibility isn’t lost.

 
getimage1
(Pic courtesy TOI)

 
How absolutely wonderful, don’t you think?

‘Greening rules’ in Delhi dictate that no concrete pavement can be laid down within a 6X6 feet area around any big tree. In addition, the horticulture department is supposed to maintain a tree ambulance for care and surgical treatment of trees in need.

Delhi today has the distinction of being one of the greenest Capitals in the World. It was only just some time back that nearly a million trees were planted in the city in a special drive (Please click HERE to read our post)

Good to see that some authorities are actually taking this seriously. It isn’t enough to just start a drive or pass a law about conservation, like it so often happens. Especially not with tress.

It was a refreshing piece of news. Also encouraging and motivating.

 
Wags,
Ginger, Buddy and Shadow



Monday, April 16, 2012

Snapshots from Memory – A cloudy sunset at the beach

 

BEACH

 

 

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.

…….John F. Kennedy

 

Friday, April 13, 2012

REFLECTIONS

 

reflections

 

The lighting wasn’t good, I didn’t have a tripod and I was struggling to balance on stilettos…. so please don’t crib about the grainy content.

And before you dismiss this shot as ‘Narcissistic’ let me tell you that this was the first time that evening I actually got to look at myself properly. Hurried off to a party that turned out to be quite stressful and meaningless (Why else do you think you find me wondering about alone all over that huge hotel?!) by my husband who believes you can have much more fun dressed in shorts than in formals and this ‘getting ready business’ is quite unnecessary, I hadn’t even had the time to set my hair or match my earrings.

Necessary details , believe me , because everyone came dressed in formals. But well, it really didn’t matter in the end.

 

 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

WOOFING FOR CHANGE

This is utterly ridiculous! It has been on since 123400000 years and Mummy didn’t even notice it! Don’t we always keep telling you she works just too hard for our (and her) own good?

How could she have missed it? And that too when it was giving us such an enormous occasion to make our woof reach a whole new crowd?

 

Alright. We are getting ahead of ourselves here. Sorry, just that we feel so disappointed.

We are talking about this…

mainbanner

 

  The Stayfree ‘Time to Change’ Contest . (You can check out their FB page here.)

Indiblogger, our favourite blogging platform had called everyone to woof about what they think needs to be changed to make our planet a better place to live in.

And they do not call it a ‘contest’ without reason. They are, hold your wag, offering a huge lot of drool-worthy prizes to be won too.

It has been ‘alive’ now for over a month and Mummy tells us about it TODAY when ‘Contest closes at midnight on 10/4/12’ which is exactly 1 hour from now in Indian time!!

But we are going to do it, with or without Mummy’s help. We will make sure our woof gets out there especially since this cause is just so close to our hearts.

We are woofing about ‘Adoption of Indian dogs/Strays’.

Alright, let’s modify that. We want to woof about not only Indian dog adoption but adoption in general. Meaning ‘STOP BUYING PUPS. STOP the PUPPY MILLS.ADOPT A DOG’.

Of course, if it is an Indian Dog you open your hearts to, nothing like it. Take it from us.

Shadow, our little baby brother whom Mummy had picked up from right infront of our gate is our greatest joy and pride today.

 

Now let us tell you a story. No, we are not diverting from this topic. Pawmise. Dogs NEVER lie, right? But it is kinda longish so we suggest you go get your milk bowl and chew-bone and settle down comfortably.

And just please read on, Okies?

 

It was early October last year. Mummy had undergone a surgery and was on leave for almost three weeks. Though she was recuperating quite well, she would be fretting all day and remain restless.

The reason- a pack of strays. She was worried sick about this pack of 3 boys and 2 girls who she had…err…unofficially adopted (we are her three official fur-kids, remember?)

She was working in this fancy hospital then (Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj) and since the hospital buiding was getting fancier and bigger, the authorities decided to take on lease a vacant plot nearby and convert it into a parking lot.

This little pack of strays, which must have been living there took to living under the rows of cars !

It didn’t take them long to realize Mummy was the ideal pawson whom they could manipulate influence for regular breakfasts and a warm hug!

 

P1040831

 

P1040716

 

P1040717

 

P1040718

 

 P1040829

 

Every morning, like clockwork, they would all line up as she parked her car. Doleful eyes, lopsided ears, wagging tails – Sigh! They never failed to wean out a regular breakfast from Mummy.

Not a very lavish one, mostly biscuits and water and sometimes milk. But they seemed to enjoy it. Never forgetting to give her a ‘Thank You’ lick.

There was this absolute trust, a bond that remains with you long after life fades away.

Naturally, this house arrest break was bothering Mummy because she knew they would be waiting for her every day. For the meal, however little. And some water.

We wanted so badly to bring them home to live with us. They weren’t any different from us. The same doleful, liquid eyes, the same unconditional love, loyalty and trust. Here we were the centre of Mummy and Daddy’s world and there they were, out in the dangerous car park, without even a basic meal.

While we counted our blessings, it also made us feel so humble that we were just lucky. It was all a matter of fate, wasn’t it?

 

And then, the day came when Mummy rejoined work. She was super excited, we could sense. And also worried. Were her parking pups safe?

Well, they were there. Safe, overjoyed to see her. Jumping all over her.

 

Hey! Wait. One of the girls was missing.

Mummy enquired of the guard, ‘Have you seen my girl? The one with golden brown fur. The most shy of the lot?’

Guess what? She’d had puppies!

Oh My DOG!

Now what? Here we were all so sad about these homeless dogs and now we are being told there are more pups? New borns?

Mummy found them. Hidden in a hole in the ground at the far corner of the parking lot.

 

P1040723

 

P1040725

 

P1040721

 

There were four of them. Perfect little puppies nestled close to keep warm, their eyes still tightly shut.

What were we to do? We couldn’t just leave them there. They would soon start climbing out and play under the cars! On top of that, it was getting cold.

Late October is a very pleasant time in Delhi but it is only the ‘silence before the boom’. Anypuppy who knows the harsh Delhi winters would understand why we were so panicky.

That evening, we made up our minds.

WE WILL FIND THOSE PUPS HOMES. They were not going to get crushed under a car or freeze to death. Will we not find just 4 pawple in this huge city who will come forward to help these forlorn little pups?

We called, smsed, mailed and facebooked any and everypuppy we could think of. Tried to convince whoever we knew was thinking of getting a dog to take home one of these four pups, put up pictures and notices at our vet’s.

 

P1040826

 

P1040814

 

 P1040817

 

 P1040819

 

 

Loads of people responded.

 

What breed are they?

‘Mixed breed. Didn’t you notice our message?’

Oh! We thought they were labs. They look so cute. But we don’t like mixed breeds’!!!

!!!!!!! FUME! FRET! CHEW our PAWS in anger!!

Are they vaccinated?’

Not yet. They are too young. But we will get them vaccinated before you take them home. Don’t worry’.

 

Then there were those facebook messages.

‘OOOO! Sooo cute’

‘Awwww’

But all said and done there were still no homes for those pups.

 

Every morning Mummy would hold her breath as she parked her car and checked inside that wretched little home.

One, two, three, four.

Phew!

And then one morning as she entered the parking they were right there scattered all over the place, under cars and around motor cycles, running free chasing Dog knows what!

Her heart skipped a beat. It was now or never. She could no longer depend on Armchair animal welfare ( Our name for facebooking) to find them a home and save their lives.

 

A quick call to the hospital, ‘Cancel all appointments. Am taking an emergency leave.’

Next was to find a large cardboard box that will hold all four active pups. A short visit to a nearby grocery store – milk, biscuits, curd and a carton.

Half an hour later the pups were saying goodbye to the guard there who had tears in his eyes to see them go.

Was it because he’ll miss them or because they were going to be safe? We will never know. But we believe the pups were safe till now largely because he had fixed that shelter, however meager for them and had taken pains to warn the drivers about a sprightly pup that might be sleeping under their car!

 

P1040835

 

Anyway,our mission had begun! Mummy had no clue how she was going to find homes but she just had to do it before nightfall. They couldn’t come home to us. We live in an apartment four stories above the ground and have no one to look after them when Mum and Dad goes off to work.

We can take care of ourselves, we are grown and adjusted to the routine but if you think we can look after 4 pups, well, it’s a little too high an expectation. Our paws are already full keeping our baby brother Shadow busy the whole day, anyway.

First things first. A visit to the vet. Armed with a vaccination card, Mummy had a better chance of convincing people to take them home.

First try – a garage.

‘Are you guys willing to adopt a pup?’

‘How much, Madam?’

‘Freeeee? Can we see them?’

 

One peek later…

Yes, Madam. I’d like to take one of them home. My two year old son needs a playmate.’

Even now when we write this we feel overwhelmed. The man just walked to our car, looked at the four scampering bundles of fur and picked up the fattest.

‘Thank you, Ma’am. We will take good care of him’, he said as he took the vaccination card from Mummy.

‘No. Thank YOU. You don’t realize it but you just saved a life.’

 

P1040843

 

It was just the push Mummy needed. Yes, there were pawple out there with large hearts. ‘Dilwalon ki dilli’ really dilwalon ki hi hain! ( Delhi isn’t called the city of Big hearted souls for nothing)

 

Next stop a group of people outside a roadside tea-stall. No. None of them wanted a pup. But yes, if Mummy didn’t mind giving them her number they’ll call in case someone does. The puppies were indeed very cute and they hoped they find good homes.

 

Next stop a lumber factory. Perfect place. You would want a good guard dog at the gate and nothing like a brave and loyal Indian Dog. Mummy had her paws… errr…toes n fingers crossed.

Luck struck again! Yes, they would adopt two pups.

 

P1040915

 

Now there was just one little puppy boy. He somehow sensed his siblings were mysteriously disappearing one by one and was getting restless. Soon he was out of his cardboard box and exploring, entirely unaware of the moving car and Mummy’s mission!

It took a lot of effort to not bring him home.

 

Soon, Mummy spotted what she felt could be a potential home. A nursery. Not one that kept human pups but one which grew flowers and stuff.

Two young men, brothers, owned it. Small place with a humble garden shed. Nice and clean.

Did they want a pup?

‘Yes Ma’am. My brother here is quite fond of dogs. We wouldn’t mind raising one.’

The brother turned out to be a very shy and quiet person. He walked over to our car, eagerly dug out the little pup from underneath the driver’s seat and hugged him tight.

 

P1040839

 

 

The last of our pups was HOME.

 

Mummy cried all the way home. Finally, we could all sleep in peace.

The next day Mummy called up each of those kind pawple. Yes, our pups were fine.

Next was the Mom-doggy back in the parking lot. Was she grieving by any chance. Her pups were just too young and Mummy had unceremoniously taken them away from her.

But she was alright. She was there to greet Mummy as usual and accepted the treats. Was she actually relieved? We would like to think she knew her babies were safe now. She had never ever stopped Mummy from getting near her den earlier and now she didn’t in any way seem to bear any grudge.

 

Yes. One mission accomplished.

 

A visit two months later proved reassuring. The pups were alive, happy, growing up very fast and had very pretty names.

They had little human pups for playmates and though they were in humble homes, they belonged.

 

P1040962

 

 P1040892

 

 P1040926

 

 P1040960

 

 

We think that is all that actually matters.

Love, trust and a large heart to see beyond breeds and the colour of our fur.

This is what we would like to change about the world around us.

That every pawson who wants a dog thinks twice about buying one. There are so many of us who are abandoned and homeless. It is not wrong to like a specific breed. We just want to say – ‘Please adopt a dog that needs a home be it an Indian dog or a pedigree. Please do not buy pups because we then just help the puppy mills to flourish. There is no point bringing another pup into this world when there are already too many of us out there, is there now?’

Instead of complaining about the growing number of strays in our country, you can help control their population. Adopt, spay, neuter. If you cannot adopt one, maybe you can convince someone else to. Someone who is looking for a dog.

Even one helping paw can bring about a huge change. Sometimes, even more than we can fathom.

 

dont shop

( STOLEN PICTURE Googled picture. Belongs to whoever clicked it)

 

For the record, we are all adopted. Of course, Mummy had to pay for me, Ginger. Something about my earlier family asking for cash because I am a super pedigreed Labrador!

Whatever!

We feel so blessed we are now one cozy family.

 

Wags,

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

 

 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

……….

 

P1020885

 

 

 

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.”

                                                                                    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

….RUSH……..

Where did the last couple of days go?

We remember Sunday and a bit of Monday and that’s about it. Seems like someone pressed the ‘Fast Forward’ button.

Mummy tells us it has something to do with this new job Daddy has joined. Fancy hospital but long, tiring working hours that extend for like forever. We are all trying to adjust to his new routine which is akin to Hitler’s regime rather trying. The good news is Mummy left her earlier job at her fancy hospital and has now opted for a much quieter one. She’ll leave much later than she did earlier and will be back earlier too which means  we won’t starve to death or die of boredom it will compensate for Daddy’s long absence.

Remember those days when we just disappeared from the blogging scene?  Mummy’s long working hours were eating into all our internet time.

Forget blogging, we couldn’t even manage time to check Facebook which we think is ridiculous because the computer is on anyways and facebook is like everyone’s homepage. (Just saying. It isn’t ours yet) Sometimes we get rather curious about this phenomenon. The facebook addiction we mean. What is it all about anyway? Why are you more restless if you haven’t checked your account at least once than if you had just missed catching that fat squirrel in the park?

Dog knows how Mark had jinxed it, but the facebook bug is successfully worming it’s way into everyone’s brains!

 

Anyways, we were talking of something else. Yeah, Mummmy’s new job.

Like we told you, she’s now in a new hospital which is less busier than the earlier one. Agreed it isn’t as fancy but Mummy doesn’t seem to mind. She says the most important thing is to find time for things that make you truly happy even while you’re working full-time.

We know helping us blog is at the TOP of her list.

For us,it’s not so much about blogging as writing. Putting your thoughts down, you know? Printed or typed or just paper and pen. There’s this itch that goes away only when you’ve pawed down something everyday. Feels really good. Like you feel after you’ve rolled really well on your back on that dead birdie and managed to bring home the stink fragrance. Get our drift? Do you think we have what it takes to pen a book? Should we think seriously about it? Well, everyone’s pawing books these days. Why not us? May be just a small coffee table book. Hmmm….

Talking of paper and pen, did you know we like to jot down what we publish on the net on paper first? The plain old way of writing. We can’t really think over the keyboard. Somehow, words flow better with pen in our paws.

 

P1060005

 

Works well with us. As long as our posts show up on our blog, we don’t care if they actually materialised on paper first.

 

Cooking. That works for us too. And we know extra hours at home for Mummy automatically converts into yummy dishes!

Well, we just hope she sticks to this job. Life is much easier for us. All the more important because Daddy is working forever now. We get to see much less of him but we are alright because he still takes us out to the park morning and evening. Just that we need to get up much earlier now.

Getting up early in the morning doesn’t seem insane as Mummy says it is. The sun doesn’t grumble about getting up early anymore. In fact, it has taken to beaming right on our faces too early in the morning like those huge halogen lamps cricket stadiums!

 

Must ask Mummy to pull those curtains at night before she falls asleep.

 

P1100933

 

 P1040568

 

P1040999

 

Wags,

Buddy, Ginger and Shadow

 

Technorati Tags: ,,
Share