The Sly and the Shrewd

This is the tale of two dogs. A tale of how the meek outsmarted the bully. The back-yard bread seekers are always up and ready for the grub every morning. The pack is the first sight we see from our window, all looking up. The current ones are totally new. The oldies were civil to each other and never grabbed other one’s share. The present lot has an aggressive canine which snatches other’s share even from their mouths. It intimidates others to leave the place and not touch any of the slices. The eyepatch kind of mark makes him more domineering. Nevertheless, he was outwitted today by a tiny one. The two were waiting and I had only three slices of bread. Knowing very well that the bigger one will devour all three, I threw the first slice quite far away. While the bigger one ran to get it, the next slice was thrown near the smaller one. Noticing this, the brute ran back and pounced on it indicating that both slices belong to him.

While it was busy eating, the third slice was thrown behind him, again for the tiny one. The sly one turned to check but could not find it hence continued munching. It was amusing to watch the smaller one pretending ignorance about the third slice though the dog located it. The tiny dog stood still in its place just watching me. When the other one finished eating, it ran to eat the first slice that he booked already. At this instance, the shrewd dog moved slowly towards the third slice, grabbed it and ran away to a hide out to have the bread. Victory of brain over brawn!

Canine Confessions

We are the pack that guard our territories in our colony, each one in accordance with others. We have unique identities and are taken care of by the humans in our colony.

1. I am the self-proclaimed guardian of the green and tranquil Kerala Lane in our colony. I take care of my people with diligence. I am called by different names here. Every cab and auto that enter this lane are checked by me before my humans enter into it. If they enter the vehicle before my recce, I will block the way till they request me to move. I growl at strangers and new municipal workers who enter the lane. I will not tolerate bikers speeding in this lane and scare them with my bark. Thanks to me, my masters got many complaints from delivery boys and labourers who are here for some construction work. Call me over protective, but I don’t care and I will not stop because I love my masters a lot.

2. We are the silent duo who come every morning to Kerala Lane, have some food given by a kind human here, take a nap and leave. We never bark or disturb any one unlike the self-proclaimed guardian who is boisterous.

He is tolerant of us as we are here from many years and he came only a few months back.

3. I am the shoe-stealer ha ha ha… You can see me with a shoe every morning. I am proud to say that majority of the colony humans are now with one shoe. I cannot resist snatching when I see so many pairs of it lined up on racks. Notwithstanding this habit, I take care of my lane and the humans here.

4. I am a silent follower of whoever comes to the colony. This is because I am a curious canine and I love humans. This habit of mine makes some of them jump out of their skin but later they realize that I am loveable. I enjoy posing for cameras too.

Native Ball- A Sport Worth Watching

Seven players on either side in a 35mx75m court are all ready for an exciting innings. Crowd in the stadium are cheering their favourite teams. There is a festive atmosphere in Puthupally while the tournament is going on. I would like to introduce a team sport which is native to my hometown Kottayam (Kerala, India) and the pride of my village Puthupally, Nadan Pantukali (native ball game). The sport originated in 1900 in Kottayam and tournaments are still conducted during vacations.

It is an interesting sport, played in seven innings like cricket. The innings, known as Vara are named otta, petta, pidiyan, thalam, keezhu, and indan. The serving is called Vettu. The sport, conducted mostly in rural areas, is played between two teams with seven barefoot players in each team.

The ball is peculiar as it is made of salt-dried leather.

Myself, sister and cousins used to accompany my father, who was the President of Kerala Native Ball Association during that time, to watch the game. I found it really interesting but have lost touch with it since it has been decades, I had watched it.

Bitten by the Hiking Bug

Mountains are alluring, I feel so. Maybe I am bitten by the hiking bug after the trip to Illickal Kallu a few years back as I wanted more of such trips. Last December we made a trip to the Eco Tourism Park at Thommankuthu. It is an EcoTourism project of the government, where you can see the beautiful Ezhynilakuthu waterfall cascading down with its stream meandering through a five-acre forest. After taking the ticket, about a km hike into the forest will take you to the waterfall. The rugged pathway makes the hiking a little difficult but exciting.Thommankuthu waterfall is before the entrance of the park and one can enter without any ticket. Pictures of Ezhynilakuthu waterfall and its surroundings.

Aruvikuzhi waterfall, half an hour drive away from my home is also a splendid location to visit. Though not as large Thommankuthu, it is equally scenic.Pictures of Aruvikuzhi waterfall and its surroundings.

For details of Thommankuthu https://keralaforestecotourism.com/thommankuthu ---- https://www.keralatourism.org/destination/aruvikuzhi-waterfalls/116

What's the Telegram!

The instant messaging service ‘Telegram’ is similar to ‘WhatsApp’- the social networking app which enables users to post updates and interact with each other. The current AI dependent generation count on it for instant messaging and chats. Back in 1830s and 40s a short messaging service named ‘Telegraph’ was developed by Samuel Morse and his team. The messages, known as ‘Telegram’ revolutionized long-distance communication. The present generation might be oblivious of the existence of such a means of messaging which helped us convey important incidents. Telegram costed a person about fifty rupees for fifty words. Gone are the days when the word telegram used to give jitters as it was used mostly to convey tragic news such as death, accidents and emergency situations. It was also availed to send congratulatory messages. For those who are have not seen a telegram, here is one for you:

Telegraph was launched in 1844 with the experimental telegram ‘What has God Wrought?’ sent by Morse. The Greek words ‘tele’ meaning ‘distant’ ‘graphein’ meaning ‘to write’ are the sources of the word telegraph. In India Telegraph was installed in 1854. The service which was in use for 163 years is no more there in our country. The last telegram was sent on 14th July 2013, in India by Ashwani Mishra to Rahul Gandhi. The AI based messaging systems and apps put to rest the original form, though the technology still seems to be existing in other forms.

O Christmas Tree!

Fidelity thy name is …..

The strays at the backyard of my house keep changing. The old ones are not seen any more, new entrants are there and the daily routine of throwing the bread continues. This write up is a tribute to a special one that has come in front of our house a few months back. A shabby dog with a torn tail and frightened eyes, who used to give us pleading looks. Paranoid about unfamiliar strays, we tried to shoo it away, but it refused to go and behaved as if someone told him to stick to our house. It seemed to be a well-trained one as many of its manners are not of a stray. It is potty trained too as it never dirties our place. Initially, it somehow sneaked into our compound and slept under the car at night. Slowly we started feeding it. The day the Municipality workers came to catch the strays, the dog was whining so sadly that our tenants requested them to give him back. They promised to vaccinate it and return and they did so.

Now he is our loyal guard dog who refuses to come inside the compound and sits in front of our gate and barks at every stranger and every biker who rides fast. People in our lane love it and they too do their bit of feeding. It is also friendly with two other strays who are fed by our neighbor. No other dog dares to come to our lane as long as he is there. His presence is also keeping idlers at bay. Fidelity thy name is this nameless dog.