Finally, I have come around to blog about something I have been thinking about for quite a long time. I vividly remember that day, that eventful car ride that haunts me to date. This is my effort to pen down something that I think is an event that played a significant role in my life.
I don’t remember the year, but I certainly remember the trip we took as a family (my parents, my grandparents, and myself) to tour the southern part of Tamil Nadu on a white Tata Estate car. Boy, was I thrilled beyond words to go on a tour in a car I always wanted to travel in. The entire trip was uneventful and fun, and I got a wonderful opportunity to visit the village my mother grew up in, the surrounding villages and rivers. It was during the ride back home that this happened- the event which etched itself in my mind.
The car was driven by a driver, a completely bald (or clean-shaven, I don’t remember) middle-aged guy, and he was very happy to push the car to its limits. We were speeding, and I was seated in the front with my grandpa (Oh yes, it was allowed those days) in awe of how we overtook all the vehicles on the road. It was somewhere near Melmaruvathoor (on the way back to Chennai), where I saw a golden-colored dog cross the highway. I thought it would safely cross the road, but the opposite side traffic scared the poor one that it dashed right back on our path. Our driver tried slamming the brakes, but it was too short a time to do anything. I remember looking back through the car’s rear window to see the dog collapsed and spinning on the road due to the speed with which we ran over it. The driver did not attempt to stop the car, and he confirmed he ran over the animal. And yes, I was a witness to it. The road crossing, the spinning, and the very sight of seeing the dead animal on the road were permanently etched in my mind. I remember crying my way back, and when I returned home, I promised myself and to my dog, Benji (I used to call him my brother, more about him later) that I will become a veterinarian when I grow up. I truly felt it was the only job that will give me the power to save an animal in distress.
Fast-forward 20 years, needless to say, I did not end up being what I wanted to be but instead became an engineer (Ah!). There were days when I used to be disappointed about not being able to keep up the promise. So, I decided at some point during my undergraduate studies that I will support in whatever manner possible the cause of animal rescue and welfare. But the question of how I was going to achieve that persisted in my mind.
On the evening of January 18, 2008, my brother Benji died in my arms from colon cancer. I remember that day when I cried like a baby. It was painful and was the first time I experienced the death of someone you grew up with. It is no wonder that the death of a pet is equivalent to the death of a family member. And in 2009, as a mark of Benji’s remembrance, I donated reward money I got from my college, which I considered as my first income, to Blue Cross of India (BCI) - an animal rescue center based out of Chennai. It didn’t stop there. I kept going back to BCI, but never as a volunteer. My priorities were different, and I was scared I would screw up the damn priority if I volunteer full-time. But something about that place made me go there frequently, and I have recommended the place to many of my friends. Between 2009 and 2012, during the stint in the US for my graduate studies in engineering, I did try to find local rescue centers, but I was never able to associate myself with a place. My heart was still back home. At one point, I actively considered switching to animal conservation, a stream that was not remotely associated with my specialization, and spooked my parents a great deal. I was heavily influenced by Jane Goodall’s book In the Shadow of Man and was thrilled beyond words when I realized she was a visiting- faculty in the university I did my graduate studies from. I met other associated faculties, one of whom suggested I try my luck back in India since India’s laws are favorable to citizens and not foreigners. It was one of the factors that motivated me to relocate back to India, big on dreams.
After returning to India in mid-2012, hopefully getting my priorities straight, my father, who was in the Government of India service, was posted in Bangalore. Since he was in a job that required frequent relocation, our family decided against any adoption till the time he retired. That was when I convinced my family to adopt a pet whenever my dad returned to my hometown, Chennai. End of 2013, my family eventually relocated to Chennai, and it was time to activate the pact and what better time than January 2014? We adopted and brought home another pup from BCI, and it was love at first sight for everyone at home. She is the Queen of the house now.
But I still hadn’t done anything to keep up my promise and felt that void always. I decided to keep whatever I was doing separate from the cause I intended to be associated with. I browsed for rescue shelters in Bangalore, visited a few of them but felt extremely helpless and sorry for the animals boarded there. I meanwhile started my Ph.D. work.
Half a way through my Ph.D. research and 2016 was an extremely tough year to pull through. On the eve of the new year 2017, I decided to do things that I have always been afraid or scared to do and start things afresh. That was when I came across Charlie’s Animal Rescue CentrE (CARE) online, but I was putting off the visit for various reasons. And in February 2017, I finally managed to visit the place and felt the strongest urge to contribute. The place was run by Ms. Sudha Narayanan, and it was one of the loveliest animal shelters I have visited. The facility had pets-animals of all kinds (some abandoned, some injured, and some rescued). Every animal there had a story of abuse behind it, sometimes enough to lose trust in humanity. But the perseverance and will to live were quite evident in them. They were happy and pampered by all the volunteers there. I finally put my name down and went through the medical formality before becoming a volunteer there.
While I was on the bus traveling to the facility, I had the opportunity to reflect on the events that led me to this place, and I decided to pen everything down. The ride was overwhelming. Everything in this world seemed inconsequential compared to the feeling that my effort will help a rescued animal find its place in this ruthless world. And so begins my attempt to do something close to what I wanted to, and I sincerely hope it continues for long.