Me and this world - a tête-à-tête

 This is a difficult topic and I have been avoiding writing about this. But let's face it. When joined "the group", they were in process of registering themselves as NGO. They already had a group on WhatsApp and on Facebook. I helped them set up a Facebook page and Instagram handle. I also created a BlogSpot based website. The group did not have any shelter of their own but they had an ambulance, which I drove at times to transport the injured dogs. This is how I visited most of the shelters around Pune. I also volunteered at the Angel Lady's shelter in Pune city. It was or probably even in today's date remains to be the only center in the heart of the city. The way this shelter is maintained is a gigantic task. They literally clean every cage, every room every single day. The lady is up in the nights to attend to any injured dog that comes to her. I am not sure if she's medically qualified but the way she treats the dogs is nothing short of being an angel...

परवा फेसबुकवर प्रकाशच्या हॉटेलची जाहिरात टाकली आणि सुधीर दादा ने कंमेंट केली. त्यावर सगळेच तुटून पडल्यासारखे कॉमेंट करायला लागले. यात दादाचा पहिला मुद्दा असा होता कि गडावर का नॉन व्हेज देताय. त्यावर माझे त्यांच्याशी बोलणे झाले, त्याचा सारांश असा: "गडावर नॉन व्हेज अजिबात दिले जात नाही. खाली पाचनई किंवा खिरेश्वर मध्ये आधी सांगितले तर ते मिळते पण परत सणवार, यात्रेचे दिवस वगळून. हा माझा फर्स्ट हॅन्ड अनुभव आहे, फार जुना पण नाही अगदी या वर्षीचा फेब्रुवारी मधला. प्रकाशने गडावर देणार नाही असे ठामपणे सांगितले, खिरेश्वर मध्ये बाळू म्हणाला यात्रा तोंडावर आहे, घरी सामान येऊन पडले आहे, बाहेर शेतात देतो अगदीच हवे असेल तर." आम्ही घेतले नाही हा भाग निराळा. यावर काही जणांचे म्हणणे असे पडले कि पुर्वी गडावर बनत नसेल का? तर त्याचे उत्तर असे आहे कि अगदीच बनत असेल, त्रास देणारे वाघ, रान डुकरे, तितर वगैरे जे काही सहज उपलब्ध होत असेल ते सगळे नक्कीच खाल्लं जात असणार. लॉजिक आहे, ऐतिहासिक पुरावा माझ्याकडे नाही. पण पण पण ... पुर्वीची बहुतेक माणसे शहाणी होती, थोडक्यात समाधानी होती. पैशाच्या मागे लागून प...

  Radhika and I together we have many rescues stories to share. One such is that of a community dog who lived near her home. This fella was one big notorious kid. He had developed a wound and later there were maggots infestation. First time in net, the boy escaped by breaking the net with his teeth. Second time we somehow managed to get the dog in the van with the net and I drove him to the Angel Lady’s shelter. She treated him well and some three or four days later this guy ran off from the shelter. The group leader hid his face for a few days until Radhika mentioned that the dog had returned to his spot! I was amazed by this return. The miracles that mother nature brings forth all the time are euphoric. There was another case in my neighborhood . During each drive for about three months were trying to get hold of this female dog, she escaped every time. Then she was pregnant again. Finally two of her pups survived to adulthood and she almost willingly got in the vehicle for spay...

During one of the adoption camps, I met another lady who is as passionate as I am and as practical as I am not. My Animal welfare journey would never be complete unless I speak about this lady. Radhika Deshpande and I became friends in no time. She and I would have long talks about ABC Drives and other rescues. I felt comfortable to tell her things that I otherwise wouldn’t have spoken to anyone, to seek her advise about animal welfare or otherwise. We made a good team. She also supported me when I needed fosters for the pups that I would be looking after. We did several rescues together and then one fine day we left the group for good. For once, we also considered starting our own NGO. Since we had understood the hard work it takes to built a team and a financial support that would be needed to run day to day activities, we called it off. It was or rather even today is a wise decision. The Dilemma that I faced was about interfering with the nature or choosing to reduce populat...

  People would come to her to adopt dogs. Most of them would be looking for free puppies of exotic breeds. Many didn’t want to take home any dog that would have been previously owned. Hardly anyone wanted to have the local indie dogs. The group also used to organize Adoption camps. People used to huddle up only to see puppies in the pens. The caregivers of these puppies would mostly be heartbroken since very few pups would be adopted. The kitties would find homes quickly but getting the dogs adopted used to be real hard work. Once another lady and I visited an elderly couple who wanted to adopt a pup. We took some 4 healthy pups in carrier in an auto rikshaw. When I realised that the energy levels of the couple together wont match to that of the pup, I told the lady and she instantaneously agreed. We brought the pups back. Another time, a family had adopted a pup during adoption camp. When we called to inquire about how the pup had settled with the family, we were told the pup...

  Riki Passed away in Nov 2014 and I didn’t bring any four legged baby home until May 2018. My mom was travelling internationally for little less than a month. Zenith Odysseys was running pretty much smoothly hence perhaps it was the right time. Toby's First day with me On one hot May afternoon, I dropped mom for her journey and was checking whatsapp, when I read a message in that group where one cat lady wanted someone to accompany her to the shelter. I called her and asked if I could join. She was more than happy to take me with her to the shelter. At the meeting point, a shop close to Sinhgad Road. There I met a 4 month old pup whom shelter people had just dropped off. This pup was rescued by the group in early May. The pup had lost its left eye and was bleeding when he was rescued. He also had a wound on back which was healing. The group leader said he was going to look after the pup. I somehow felt attached to the pup. But cat lady was in hurry to reach shelter and return. ...

  Taking Riki for walks was an easy task. He never needed a leash. On the walks he would greet people, knock doors to say hello to people, trespassed royally in gardens for grass. There were times when he would take himself on walks and when people would tell him to go back home, he would return. In 2006, Riki went for a walk by himself and didn't return. My father had practically taken his time off from work to look for him. We must have visited many slums and many colonies and houses looking for him. After good 16 days, one evening when I was at work a young man from neighbourhood returned the dog and demanded Rs 700 which my mom had paid off and taken Riki home. I met the fellow over the weekend and tried to understand how and where he had found the dog. His answers were inconsistent. A few days later, I met a woman when Riki and I were on walk, she said her brother ran a kennel and the fellow who had brought Riki home worked for him. She also asked me if I had Riki’s papers...

  Being a Hindu, I was always thought by words and by practise that all animals are equal. Right from ancient texts like Veda and later Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta have mentioned that the supreme power – Energy resides in all living beings equally. Hence treating all animals good came naturally to me right from childhood. However, as I grew up I realised not all people feel this way. I saw young mothers teaching their kids to shoo away dogs who would be passing peacefully, some young uncles teaching their nephews to throw stones at such dogs, cows or towards any animal for that matter. Then the news of stray dogs attacking people, especially young children started coming in. I learnt a new phrase:“Human Animal Conflict”. With time I also came to know such Human Animal conflict has been existing for quiet sometime now and the way it is tackled is mostly by eliminating the threats. Jim Corbett was the prominent name. He is known to have shot over dozens of man eating tigers and leopards...

The more you know about Past, the better prepared you're for the future. Theodore Roosevelt.  मी काही इतिहास अभ्यासक / संशोधक नाही. परंतु थिओडोर रूसवेल्ट यांच्या या वाक्याचा प्रभाव माझ्यावर निश्चित आहे. त्यामुळे जे शक्य आहे ते जाणुन घ्यायला मला आवडते. तर याच काही दिवसात टीव्ही पाहताना डिस्कवरी प्लस च्या अँप वर "सिक्रेट्स ऑफ सिनौली" अशी जाहिरात दिसली. अँप इन्स्टॉल करून खरेतर बरेच दिवस झालेले पण काही नीट बघितले नव्हते. म्हटले श्रीगणेशा या documentary ने करावा.  I didn't know what was to unfold.  तर गोष्ट सुरु होते २००५ मध्ये उत्तर प्रदेशातील एका गावात - सिनौली मध्ये. दिल्ली पासुन फक्त ६७ किलो मीटर अंतरावर असलेले हे गाव चर्चेत आले तिथे शेतात काम करताना मिळालेल्या काही सोन्याच्या तुकड्यांमुळे. मग प्रशासनाने घाईघाईनेच भारतीय पुरातत्व विभागाला माहिती दिली आणि पाचारण केले. काही महिने काम चालेले आणि "वरून" आदेश आले म्हणुन बंद झाले. ते थेट २०१८ पर्यंत. आता हे आदेश का आले, कोणी दिले हा भाग आपला आपण उमजुन घ्यायचा.   २०१८ मध्ये पुन्हा इथे उत्खनन सुरु झाले...

सप्टेंबर २०१२ मध्ये रायरेश्वरला ट्रेक केलेला पण भन्नाट पाऊसामुळे तेंव्हा फार काही पाहता आले नव्हते. त्यामुळे या विकेंडच्या प्लानमधे रायरेश्वरला आपसुकच मान्यता मिळाली. सागर बरोबर जाणार म्हणजे मनाजोगते पठार पाहता येईल याची खात्री होती. शनिवारी रात्री जायचे कि रविवारी पहाटे यावर देखील फार विचार करावा लागला नाही आणि रविवारी पहाटे निघायचे ठरले. शनिवारी sack रात्री भरून ठेवली होती. रविवारी पहाटे साडेतीन च्या ठोक्याला उठून आवरले आणि ४३० ला माझ्या घरून आम्ही निघालो ते थेट कोर्ल्यात थांबलो. कोर्ल्याच्या पुढे एक दोन ठिकाणी रस्ता खराब असल्यामुळे मी चालत आणि सागर गाडी वर असे करत पूल गाठला. चालताना पायाची नखे जाणवत होती. विहिरी जवळ थांबून सकाळी घरून थर्मासमध्ये भरून घेतलेल्या चहा चा एक session करताना मी  पायाची नखे कापली, मोबाईल flight mode टाकले आणि पुढे निघालो. खिंडीत गाडी व्यवस्तिथ lock करून शिडी पर्यंत गेलो. जाताना ढग दरीतून वर येत होते, मागे केंजळगड लपाछपी खेळायचा प्रयत्न करत होता आणि डाव्या हाताला दरीत गोळेवाडी धरण अधून मधून दिसत होते. रायरेश्वर पठार दोहोबाजूला पसरलेले आणि असंख्य धबध...

Movie released on 11 January and like one of the rare movies that I watch in theatre, I watched this one. The trailer and Facebook and several people came up saying this movie will is like a injection of patriotism. I felt otherwise. There are handful ways to look at this movie... First it is patriotic or hyper nationalist and bla bla. Second as if the movie is an ordinary war movie and third how a army officer takes revenge, fourth is how things have changed after Modi got his first five year term.  Well, obviously the movie is based on true events and people, so you just can't avoid pointing out characters. Especially, in the scene where the little girl shouts the war cry at her father's funeral. We have seen that in real life, we already have these heroes amongst us. If that's hyper nationalism, let it prevail.  (Also, I didn't feel that the movie was hyper nationalist or something. Perhaps my sense of nationalism is that high already!) Although there are two f...

It's about 2 AM of 4 May 2018. That means I haven't slept for just 21hours... My sleeplessness is not my worry but what kept me awake is... There was this kid in the neighborhood. A little young, seemingly in bad company, had no respect for people depending on financial status... As in this is how I have "judged" him! And what I get to hear today is he is no more... A news that delivered to me very plainly. Fighting my own rounds of depression this news has put me in a state of shock. I neither knew the kid really well nor we were connected on Facebook. He was just a part of my past... I was adolescent when he was a kid who ran around the blocks. That's kind of memory I have... Or the one where we discussed about who should park the car where etc. But something inside me moved. I don't know what, how and why... but it did. I dare say Rest in Peace! I can see a family ripped apart, I can see a father fighting his tears all alone, I can see a house waitin...

Last week, I was wasting my time with a jerk arguing about a selfie that looked terribly risky. This person asked me so you must be against #AlexHonnold too. I counter question: what do you know about Alex? Are you as good as him? Do you lead a life like him? Do you follow diet like him? Do you have equivalent experience? Right, he didn't reach there in a night. Alex has spent years working on his rock craft to reach where he is today. Day in day out he thinks only about climbing and not about likes and followers on Facebook. And, he hasn't lost his conscience on the way. He is still humble and open. He started climbing when he was 11 years old. Between climbs, he runs or hikes to maintain fitness. Honnold lives out of his van, spending less than a thousand dollars per month, enabling him to follow the weather and climb all the time. Honnold is an avid reader, with interests in classic literature, environmentalism, and economics. Alex states he is not fearless, he has an ac...

आज २०१५ संपणार! नवीन वर्ष सुरु होण्यापूर्वी एकदा सिंहावलोकन करणे गरजेचे म्हणून हा खटाटोप! जानेवारी राजगड वारी बालेकिल्ल्यावर तंबू ठोकून राहण्याचे स्वप्नपूर्ती! मग एक छोटी roadtrip ज्यात आम्ही गेलो सुधागड, सुरगड, अवचित आणि घोसाळा… फेब्रुवारी मध्ये खूप फेऱ्या मुंबईला… ट्रेक म्हणावे तसे काही नाही: सिंहगड आणि तोरणा, परत एकदा राजगड आणि यांना जोडणारा राजगड तोरणा… मार्च मध्ये खूप वेळा सिंहगड… आणि एक लांब वरची roadtrip बदामी, पट्टदक्कल आणि ऐहोळे. एप्रिल मध्ये खूप उनाडक्या आणि परत खूप वेळा सिंहगड… एवेरेस्ट बेस कॅम्प वर झालेल्या भूकंपाने झेनिथ ओडिसिस पण हादरले! मे मध्ये एक मूर्खपणा (जो मला आयुष्यभर भोवणार आहे अशी) औरंगाबाद ची roadtrip! मग एक हिमालयन ट्रेक. हिमालयातून परतल्यावर २४ तासात सह्याद्रीच्या भेटीला कोकणदिवा ट्रेक. जुन मध्ये विश्रामगड (कुर्डूगड) आणि अजून एक मूर्खपणा आणि दिल्लीवारी… मग रायरेश्वर वर धुक्यात हरवण्याचा अनुभव… जुलै मध्ये संतोषगड आणि वारुगड, अंधारबन, आणि चावंड कुकडेश्वर ऑगस्ट मध्येनाशिक ची roadtrip आणि जुन्या मित्रांची झालेली नवीन ओळख मग एक  eye opener! आणि ...

Recently I again went through a bad patch. It left me broken and depressed like never before. I again went through a similar experience of uncontrolled anger and severe emotional turbulence. A bunch of friends helped a lot to pull me up, however I had a long way to travel back to inner peace. As it is said "ask and you shall receive", I found answers at most unexpected place: Facebook. Here is the conversation: The Objectivitist Observer Blog Posted: What is the most important thing on your mind right now. Me : Getting rid of my anger. Angel :  Make a list of your resentments (the people you resent). Then by each one write briefly why, then next to it write how it made you feel. Usually we play a bigger part in our resentments towards others than we think we do. Look at your part. That's the only part you can control. Me : Thanks so much. I will definitely do this. <3 God Bless You Angel : It's revealing to look at the word itself. "Resentment" i...

Dear Riki, I hope you arrived happy at Heaven. Since you are gone, I have been enjoying too much of freedom. Now I can sleep late in the mornings and dont have to think about walks in the morning. I eat my pavbhaji, Patra and Khandavi, eggs and all the sweets all myself and with no annoying eyes staring at it and no one drooling over it. Now I am more free to travel and trek as much as I like and dont have to return to anyone waiting and excited with wagging tail. I dont have to worry about spending my money as it is only for me now. I ride my bike as fast as I can and dont have to worry about a tail that may get scratched. The house is now really tidy and well maintained and doesn't stink of anything. I now sleep on a soft bed in my room and dont have to roll a mattress every night in the drawing room anymore. Things have changed, my life has changed and to a non-dog person, my life definitely looks great,,, But the changes which are now great are t...

Are You Married? This one must have been the most asked question in the history of mankind. Every woman of age is asked this question. And I am sure every learned and wise woman fails to understand the context of this question and the story does not end with a simple answer of this question. It goes much beyond. A few people will march off my life with this post & a few will tell me that I should not write such stuff and go with the flow. And I am ready and will be happy with the consequences. People with either innate or cheap interest in my life will read this. You may feel I am complaining. Perhaps, Yes I am. But then what is the origin of complaints? And why shouldn't one complain once in a while? Scenario One: Stranger: Are you Married? Woman: Yes Stranger: Ok. (I have never figured out what this means) So, what does your husband do? (Why does he/she want to know? Sometimes it was to figure out social status / financial status) Woman:...