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.