Barking, Bleating, Screaming AND Watching - 1

Benzer kept me company during exams. He was a German shepherd who was neglected, never loved and never taken out for walks. His master fed him well and the kids teased him. Benzer was ferocious and bad tempered but like all dogs he was a very good listener. Benzer’s cage was right opposite my room window which is why we had uninterrupted conversations which went on till late in the night. We had a routine -  5 nights a month ( during unit tests), 3 weeks i.e once every 6 months ( 2 weeks prior to exams and 1 week of exams) He could see the lights on in my room and he would wait for me to take my breaks to talk to him, he would sit and listen. What did I do for Benzer? There was one week every year that I would stay up late just to keep him calm. That was the week that led to Bakrid. His master would get 3 goats that were tied near Benzer’s cage. The goats would bleat and Benzer would bark. The animals knew their fate and Benzer knew their fate too. The master’s kids would pet the goats and feed them. On the eve of Bakrid it was difficult to go to sleep because the bleating would be high pitched as if the goats were trying to beg mercy and be spared. In the morning and the week that preceded the festivities there would be an eerie silence that neither Benzer nor I could break.

3 years prior to being acquainted with Benzer I was a member of PFA. I had helped rescue a stray dog and I got talked into being able to do more than helping dogs. I was told I could help other animals too and I needn’t have to do it alone. I went got me a membership and headed for my first protest. We were protesting the sacrificing of a goat at a temple. We must have stalled the ritual for more than 3 hours. Eventually the priest allowed us to take the goat. There were shouts of hurrah and the crowd walked out of the temple. After a short distance the volunteer freed the goat. I asked him who would give the goat a home. He looked at me and said that as volunteers our job was to prevent the slaughter. We weren’t told what we were supposed to do with the rescued animal. [So the animal was set free for someone else to capture it and kill it.] If I were the goat I think I would rather be slaughtered at the first instance. Seriously imagine how the goats psyche could have been effected facing death freedom recapture facing death prolonged wait to know its fate. Sheesh at the end of the day the goat had but one destination. With that episode many illusions were shattered and I just accepted animals being slaughtered.

Then one day I attended a wedding and since we were invited by the groom’s family we had to sit in the groom’s section. It was a Muslim wedding so the bride and the groom were having separate ceremonies. At one point the quazi stood before the groom and did the “ nazar utharna”. [Warding off the evil eye] The quazi was holding a bloody goats head in his hand with the blood still dripping. Very sickening. I couldn’t eat that day.

A certain member of an affluent political party endorses a certain animal protection group. [I still haven’t figured how to scratch out the name after I type it on the blog. Apparently the command doesn’t work on the version I use or I am just doing it wrong. Till then I have to abstain from using names unless I want a defamation suit against me.] She has gone on to screech about protecting the rights of cockroaches. Now we all know the rate at which cockroaches multiply and are aware of their life span too. Taking all this into consideration I really don’t think we’ll ever feel short of a pesky roach when we need one to scare a friend. Some of the protests these groups go on makes me wonder if they care for the animal in its own right or are just voicing their opinion to be noticed. Because in the past decade people have “spoken” on issues which concern animals like the diminishing population of the turtle’s on the Gujarat coast or animals being slaughtered for their fur. But what consequent plan came out of all the discussion? One does not know. Because apparently again these groups notice problems debate about it feel they have done enough and move on to another problem. But see they feel they have achieved something because they spoke about it. But in fact they are no different from you and me. Because we see the problem and move on where as they notice the problem make others believe they will solve the problem and that is well the end of their efforts in doing anything. (Subsequently we haven’t done anything and have saved our breath, they have done nothing either.) [What gives me the authority to speak so about NGO’s? Simple – Been there – done that. ] Who ever said that social work is meant to improve the conditions of the underprivileged? It is just a bunch of wannabes who scream and think they are making a point and feel satisfied about their opinions and think that they are far superior to us non thinking, non-volunteering simply sitting on our rump kind of people.