Dogs....most us us have pedigree ones who need care and maintenance and we love them,but there are yet others to whom a dog can be just any dog even a stray.Take the street where I live or even the area I live in.There are three dogs on my street who live on the road and they have territorial rights to the road.No other dog is allowed according to road dog rules.The rest of the street dogs respect that as they all have similar rules.Most houses on our street also have dogs that live in their homes.None of these are the pedigree ones.They are all strays that have been adopted,taken home ,rehabilitated and are love and looked after.They in turn learn to live and be friendly with all the neighbours so if we pat them on the back they will wag their tails,they will always greet the neighbours with a friendly bark.
The real queen of the road however is Susi.She is know by many names,appu is one of them and she answers to all.She has this great weakness for construction sites.I suspect that's also to do with the fact that most construction workers cook a good meal after a hard days work and have no problems sharing this with her.Also the cool sands and stones that are available on building sites are a welcome resting place.We first met Susi when our flat was being built.She knew we were going to be living there and was most civil to us,waged her tail,followed us around and we fell in love.
Today she moves from one site to the other but her favourite places are the parking lot of a building two houses away from ours or on a very hot day,the terrace of our flat.On days when some male dog has caught her fancy she would invite him over to the terrace.I have seen a brown dog with that completely smitten look on its face,going down the stairs and I think to myself..."oh yet another one of her victims".
Susi is fed and looked after by all of us and all the other dogs acknowledge her status on that road.She is fed on biscuits,beef,bones and whatever else we can pass her way.She also knows our friends and our visitors and greets them with such love and affection that they always bring a teat along.
Its finally all about the way one treats the animals.If we as a street had kicked and ill treated her like some folks are likely to do,we would have gotten a bad dog and all the problems that came along.
Its sad that one reads of communities that kill dogs just because they have caused some problems and while it is tragic that dogs have killed babies,we must remember that dogs by nature are not man eaters.If we show a little kindness then we wont have these problems.Can we spend a moment to think of their hunger or their need for love and attention and medical care?.The problem of strays is what we have created,lets not blame the dogs alone.
tea gardens
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Childhood in Madras
Every now and again I need to go back in time.Guess my yesterdays were far better than my today's.Well whatever the reason,having lived in Madras for years,I find going back in time happy.It usually happens when some well known landmark is being demolished and a glass monstrosity in coming up in its place.
So I have decided to start with the most important landmarks of my childhood in Madras.All shopping was done in Mount road.In those days this was a city of neon lights,much like the modern New York.They blinked and moved exciting messages of sales and bargains,of brands and such.All blue and red and wonderful.
Our meat was bought from Spencer's.The red brick building had a circular driveway with a few cars but most people came on public transport.The cold storage was a place to be.They also had a soda fountain where we were treated to cold lemonade and ice cream while the meat was being packed.Christmas time at Spencer's was an event to remember.Santa clause was always there and handing out gifts,large Christmas trees with decorations and gifts galore and the whole place lit up with Christmas carols in the background.All the old nice ones ,not the remixed versions we get today.
Buharis was another place for Christmas.Thin sandwiches were there speciality.Don't know what went into them but they were out of this world.
When it wasn't Christmas,we went to India silk house on mount road for most things.They were the only ones who sold swim suits then.My mother bought saris at tata Finlay and the white voils and organdie's still bring back memories.Small flowers on white was very fashionable in them days.Kiddies corner was the place for children's clothes and when we were were tired of all our shopping we went to Jaffers.This was the best ice cream place for years.High bar stools for children,comfortable sofas for adults.A banana split with chocolate cream,served in a boat.Peach Melba in a steel ice cream cup was the show stopper on the menu and the ice cream sundae was the best we have ever had.A pink wafer stuck out of the ice cream and the waiters in white with red caps,who knew exactly what a child wanted but was too scared to ask,were the best in the city.
Chellarams was always the place to buy dress materials,we didn't care for assembly line clothes.Our clothes were always stitched by Charms.I don't know what his name was,suspect it was Krishnamachari chand but we called him Charm uncle.He took pains to give us the latest designs from simplicity (fashion magazine) so were were always turned out well.Regular fittings were the order of the day and no demand of a 6 year old was too much for charm.
Next door to Charm was Kamala stores.He provided all the regular stuff and for Christmas I always got a big box of mangarams biscuits.I always believed he loved me so much and that's why I got the biscuits but my mother was a good customer and this was his way of keeping her happy,but it did wonders for my child ego.On regular days,my reward for being good was a large bottle of coca cola with a straw which I slurped noisily and with relish.The day coke was thrown out of India i stoped drinking it and when it did come back I was too old for it .In my mind it was a drink which was strongly associated with childhood.
This covered Mount road and Egmore in Madras.I have now to go to the various other places which have memories of a different eras.Until the next post.
So I have decided to start with the most important landmarks of my childhood in Madras.All shopping was done in Mount road.In those days this was a city of neon lights,much like the modern New York.They blinked and moved exciting messages of sales and bargains,of brands and such.All blue and red and wonderful.
Our meat was bought from Spencer's.The red brick building had a circular driveway with a few cars but most people came on public transport.The cold storage was a place to be.They also had a soda fountain where we were treated to cold lemonade and ice cream while the meat was being packed.Christmas time at Spencer's was an event to remember.Santa clause was always there and handing out gifts,large Christmas trees with decorations and gifts galore and the whole place lit up with Christmas carols in the background.All the old nice ones ,not the remixed versions we get today.
Buharis was another place for Christmas.Thin sandwiches were there speciality.Don't know what went into them but they were out of this world.
When it wasn't Christmas,we went to India silk house on mount road for most things.They were the only ones who sold swim suits then.My mother bought saris at tata Finlay and the white voils and organdie's still bring back memories.Small flowers on white was very fashionable in them days.Kiddies corner was the place for children's clothes and when we were were tired of all our shopping we went to Jaffers.This was the best ice cream place for years.High bar stools for children,comfortable sofas for adults.A banana split with chocolate cream,served in a boat.Peach Melba in a steel ice cream cup was the show stopper on the menu and the ice cream sundae was the best we have ever had.A pink wafer stuck out of the ice cream and the waiters in white with red caps,who knew exactly what a child wanted but was too scared to ask,were the best in the city.
Chellarams was always the place to buy dress materials,we didn't care for assembly line clothes.Our clothes were always stitched by Charms.I don't know what his name was,suspect it was Krishnamachari chand but we called him Charm uncle.He took pains to give us the latest designs from simplicity (fashion magazine) so were were always turned out well.Regular fittings were the order of the day and no demand of a 6 year old was too much for charm.
Next door to Charm was Kamala stores.He provided all the regular stuff and for Christmas I always got a big box of mangarams biscuits.I always believed he loved me so much and that's why I got the biscuits but my mother was a good customer and this was his way of keeping her happy,but it did wonders for my child ego.On regular days,my reward for being good was a large bottle of coca cola with a straw which I slurped noisily and with relish.The day coke was thrown out of India i stoped drinking it and when it did come back I was too old for it .In my mind it was a drink which was strongly associated with childhood.
This covered Mount road and Egmore in Madras.I have now to go to the various other places which have memories of a different eras.Until the next post.
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