Of Dogs And Men

You are being very mean with me. Why? First, Rufus, then Tobermory, and now Riley, at such a distracted pace, when am I to reach page#20 of "The Traitor's Niche" [novel by Ismail Kadare]. I have been on page#15 for three days now.

I cannot skip Riley now. Look at that quote : " and then women, your bitches came around and they started to brainwash you guys but then, if they had come alone, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but NO! They also had pussies…I mean cats…". I wonder how authors write such clever lines. Are there more? Bring it on bulk. Or you intend to tease me with a cat or a dog every day to keep the humans away.

 

@Cheeniya

Have you ever noticed that there's more sympathetic literature on dogs than cats? Cats are deplored as vain creatures who cannot discern beyond their whiskers even in their pretentious and erudite pose. But dogs are portrayed as loyal and easily-pleased creatures celebrated for their heroic acts in literature and real-life alike. I have not come across one haughty dog as a literary character. Also, dogs are never disputed for their unaccounted mannerisms. Their singular mannerism is fealty demonstrated in that tail wag which is uniformly and consistently hailed as emblematic of their loyalty across all breeds. One could almost mistake that gesture of a dog wagging its tail for the swaying of an affiliate pennant. On the other hands, cats have well-documented and well-researched personality types in biographical works ranging from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S Eliot to I like Cats by none other than our Indian Dr Seuss Anushka Ravishankar. We have sunny cats, sad cats, greedy cats and so forth. I am not a big fan of cats but I feel the feline literature is biased. Hope the progeny of Tobermory outgrow this vanity and evolve into likeable species.

P.S: By the way, I love Anushka Ravishankar's work. I might buy few books this time when I am in India. I love the illustrations of Anita Leutwiler in Anushka's Excuse Me, Is This India? picture book. The conceptual art is brilliant! I have not read her cat book though.

 

Not one reason for liking cats, but I have thousands for the dislike. It is their iridescent eyes and their menacing drawl and their bow-shaped combative posture, ready to pounce upon an unguarded passerby like a dark arrow. I am very afraid of cats. That said, there's one cat I grew fond of in recent times. There was a hugely popular British comedy show called "Red Dwarf" in the 90s (still floats with reruns in some or the other channel). That was not just a comedy show, but a comedy sci-fi show. The lead characters are the survivors held in a stasis in a mining ship who at the start of series are three million years into the future from the radiation disaster that wiped away the rest of the space crew. Now, there's a pet cat who at that time was pregnant and its progeny evolved into a sentient cat species during the intervening years before a human was woken up from stasis.

Theme intro:

"This is an SOS distress call from the mining ship Red Dwarf. The crew are dead, killed by a radiation leak. The only survivors are Dave Lister, who was in suspended animation during the disaster, and his pregnant cat, who was safely sealed in the hold. Revived three million years later, Lister's only companions are a life form who evolved from his cat, and Arnold Rimmer, a hologram simulation of one of the dead crew. I am Holly, the ship's computer, with an IQ of 6000, the same IQ as 6000 PE teachers."

I have given you the introduction so that you are aware of the providence of this cat. The current generation and last of the cats turned out to be a dandy and self-centered cat. Here is my favourite clip of that cat: link. The one with a purple robe in that clip is that cat life form. Watch it and you will understand why I adore this snappy cat. Sweden to me earlier was IKEA meatballs, that's it, but since then it has become that country with the moose joke.

 

You and I are separated by decades wherein a middle-aged man can fit in comfortably. However, I relate to you like I had related to any of my classmates back in college and shrieked in excitement at discovering Bobby Kooka and Chase and Saki and Dandin. Our knowledge gap is increasing by an hour only because we have the camaraderie of Et tu. I am wary of holding forth unless there is reciprocation from a similar chatterbug as I could very well write these monographs in my diary. I find our conversations enriching, and may I add "addictive". There is steady gander of "What did Cheeniya write back" followed by a loud chuckle. If you want to imagine me, that is how you can, apart from the 'jumping out of sofa' motif. I enjoy fierce and frothy conversations alike. There is nothing more wishful than identifying both traits in the same person. I must admit, I have learnt much in this one month just from our conversations and follow-up reads. Should I add a thank you?

 

Friendship also means:

Lapses in birthdays and updates and pleasantries and niceties.
(And then moan about all the above)
(But then laugh a day later about it)

Putting up with idiosyncrasy and contrariety.
(And then a rude candour that points them)
(But then a sweet hug to downplay it)

Saying things so nasty and shocking
(And then being defiant of them)
(But then admitting that it was spur of the moment)

Being exasperated with fancies and fetishes.
(And then reminding of such unsteady anchor)
(But then who cares when such whims are so endearing)

Blaring with stinky songs
(And then dancing to those songs)
(But then withhold the ensuing body ache)

Slurs, shouts, evictions, I am done with you
(And then reminding, "I am totally done with you")
(But then coming back to senses and patching up)

Ab bhi mujhse dosti karoge? Mind, there is that imperative dancing to those stinky songs.