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KOMAL53's Recent Blog Entries
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
By now our Menagerie included an Alsation Dog named "Pasha"----a very bad tempered beast---but a very good Night Patroller for the entire street!!!Then there was "Cutie" ,a tiny Skye Terrier Bitch---sweet natured and loving.The main "Star" of our home was our pure bred Siamese Cat named "Polar Bear"---a really snooty animal---reduced by Ritu to being called plain "Pussy"!!Polar Bear was originally owned by a British family---and when they returned to England needed a home.Ritu begged and begged Daddy so very piteously that he gave in and brought her home---thinking she was a Tom!!Now he didn't realise that Polar Bear was preganant though Mummy kept wondering at the Cat's ability to gain weight on a daily basis----till the day she used Mummy's best Pashmina Shawl to give birth to her six Kittens in Mummy's closet!!There was such a pandemonium that day----Cutie ran into the room just after the birth let in by an impatient Ritu----barking excitedly and Mummy who was with Polar Bear trying to find a way to extricate both her and the Kittens from the Closet---got so badly scratched on her hand that she needed six stitches!!These six Kittens were so beautiful and cute---pale beige with Cocoa Paws,Ears and Snouts they had each inherited their mother's mis matched eyes---one Emerald Green---the other Sapphire Blue!! Ritu promptly named them in the following manner---Mintoo,Pintoo,Chintoo,Tintoo,Kint
oo and Bintoo---and those poor Kittens began getting smothered by her affections.They quickly replaced her Dolls---she began dressing them up in Doll's clothes and would wrap them up---actually swaddle them up like human babies!!Despite Mummy's spankings and Amma's entreaties---nothing worked---everything always came back to square one---till one day things came to a head!!It had rained heavily the previous night and the Garden was soggy---the Lawn sopping wet.Madame Ritula as usual walked into the Winter Sunlight with her charges and let them play---till she realised how muddy and dirty they'd become!!So before any one could chastise or scold her, she quickly swooped down on them and scooped up all her charges,rushed them into the Bathroom and put the Plug in the Basin.Then she filled the Basin with cold Water----and one by one dropped those poor hapless Kittens in!!The terrible mewling that followed brought Amma rushing in post haste---and then the those poor Babies were rescued,wrapped in thick Turkish Towels and dropped in front of the Heater which was switched on pronto---to help dry them out!!That was the one and only time that Amma lost her cool---in the entire time I'd known her!!She caught hold of Ritu and shook her hard wailing all the time"Yeh kyaa kiyaa Bawaa--Billian mar jayengi toh teraah toley kee Billian banani padengee Sahab ko--woh bhi chhey--Billi maarna Paap hai Bawaa!!"Meaning if these Kittens die---your father will have to make 6 Cat figurines of 130 gms.Pure Gold each---for killing a Cat is considered a Sin!!That day Ritu got it right, left and centre---by evening with the exception of Mintoo the rest were all given away by Mummy to whoever wanted them on first come first serve basis---and Ritu was thoroughly spanked and scolded--and left feeling very sorry for herself!!Very soon this birthing of Kittens became a regular feature in our home---snooty Polar Bear became plain Pussy and stopped discriminating about the pedigree of the Toms!!
Daddy's younger sister---Kusum Atya's family had just shifted to New Delhi from Lucknow and they visited us in early 1965.Both my cousins---Meera 2 years older than me and Vaija 9 months my senior---thought they were very "Sophisticated" compared to us Country Bumpkins---because they'd studied for a while in one of the famous Boarding Schools of Mussoorie---a beautiful Hill Station in the then North Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.We were meeting each other after a long gap of 5 years---and both of them turned up their noses at our Pets---saying that it was cruel to keep Animals as Pets!!!Besides they also laughed at our Agriculturist neighbours-----while enjoying Auntyjee's excellent Yoghurt,Butter and Chhaas!!Later in the year Meera came down to spend part of the Summer Vacation with us---and that was when we set her straight!!
Mummy was a so-so housekeeper---always relying on her Domestic Staff to keep the show running---but unfortunately Amma's ailing father became serious and she had to leave to nurse him.This was a big blow to all of us---specially me ---and the Farewell took place in a flood of tears!!We were not accustomed to so many things---mainly being by ourselves---and besides Ritu was a real terror---needing to be watched constantly!!Ritu loved drinking Mummy's home made Squash by the Bottles---and would only drink it in Daddy's Crystal Glasses---despite being warned again and again against using these.Finally one day a glass finally broke---and all 4 of us were terror struck---Punishment would be meted out to all 3 of us---Ritu for breaking it and Mikki and me not preventing her from using it!!Mummy was very slipper happy---and meteing out spankings was her favourite pastime!!That was when Meera had an idea---we'd dispose off the Glass on the Garage Roof for the time being and then get rid of the broken Glass later---since there was no option we agreed.It was done and forgotten---till a few days later we were very rudely reminded of it.
On a lazy Sunday afternoon when our Parents were out visiting,as usual Ritu climbed on to the Garage Roof to pick a few ripe Grapes from the Muslin Bags---and while climbing down stepped squarely on the jagged edges of the Glass---incurring a very deep cut on her Sole!!!This began bleeding profusely and howling at the top of her voice she somehow managed to climb back up to the Terrace and limp into my Bedroom---leaving a sticky trail of bright red Blood behind her!!It was Mikki's quick thinking that worked--I was totally stunned and Meera fell down in a swoon at the sight of Blood!!Mikki quickly wrapped Ritu's foot in a towel and elevated it on a footstool---and urged me to tie a Tourniquet around her leg--- which I did---but the bleeding just wouldn't stop!!It was Mikki who called up our Parents at the place they were visiting to inform and ask them to get home post haste.Luckily they were at our Family Doctor's home and he accompanied them back.The Bleeding had reduced but it stopped after an Injection from Doctor Uncle---and then Ritu was carted away to his Clinic to get her foot stitched and bandaged---ending up with two more shots---one of Tetanus and the other a Painkiller.Mikki and I washed away the Blood from the Floor---letting Meera stay unconscious till we were done----we'd lost patience with her regaining consciousness---seeing the Blood on the Floor---and swooning again umpteen number of times by the time Ritu was attended to!!
This incident made our Parents sit all 3 of us down and tell us that one should never shy away from telling the Truth----for suppressing it could lead to unnecessary complications.There Honesty was always the best Policy---and no matter what the consequences---one should always stick to the Truth!!This left such a deep mark on my mind---that if I try to lie I get caught out instantly!!I have lived my Life since then following the Principle"Honesty is the Best Policy!!"
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
Thanks for a good read!
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