Miaw

'Miaw....Meeeeeeeeeeyaw....'

The poor little kitty is lost, wandering in the girls' hostel searching for its mom and siblings.And i know realize that i love cats more than dogs.I love animals. And birds.Mostly anything that does not have eight legs. And i have a cat and a dog back home.I always thought i loved them the same but ,no.The furry 'purr' ball is my favorite.

I've had cats,kittens as far as i can remember. There was an old 'kadan' whon we called just that.Then came Bubbloo with his total milky white hair and blue eyes.Sundari was my lil baby.If my brother hadn't whacked on her head with that stick, she'd have stayed on for longer...I so hated him then. Katmandu and Tinker Bells came together. They were siblings. So Katmandu was my stupid brother's and Tinku was mine. Katmandu's original name was Kadamani. Katmandu was just a western sounding nick name. He was such a biiiiig cat. Cute. But not pretty as my lean Tinku.

Tinku and i used to have such a nice time together. Back then, I had this craze of growing a watermelon garden in a couple of little pots.Yes, the seeds would sprout,a little sapling would grow,the brown tip with the seed would go and it'll be green, it'll open up, tiny leaves would come,and thats it. End of another generation of saplings. But i'd 'sow' more.

Tinku used to be my companion when i tended to my 'watermelon farm'.She would come with me, lie down in the sunny patches, and scrath stuff. A funny thing about Tinku was that she licked me! She wasn't a dog! And i could really play with her. I'd prop her up the ledge near our well and poke on her paw. And she'd try to poke me back on my hand. And no, she never took those claws out while we played.

My stupid neighbours kept poisoned meat to kill the dogs which were eating their chicken but Tinku ate it. And she was gone.

Next was Binku. Binker Tells. His tail was as thin as a rat's. Usually , all our cats traditionally have thick, fluffy tails. His tail was thin and it was as if he had a joint in the tail. He could make it appear broken. He cared for that old female cat a lot....she used to come around our house, poor lone thing and our Binku would keep her company. Played with her, didnt mind her skin disease....the poor old cat was devoted to him i guess. It was sad to see her come and mew for him after he was gone.

Now we have Chinku. He was the only one who dared to come outside the paper bundles in my dad's shed .And for that, he is alive. well, not just alive.He eats 2 fish in the morning. Even if we get no fish 2 eat, he gets it every day. And after the fish he needs a big bowl of milk. After filling his big tummy with the fish(he leaves the bones and d head. Such a cultured cat...),he goes to the woodden swing in the living room. And sleeps on it.

He was having a royal life here when he started having this interest in the female cats in the vicinity. The number of kittens here started increasing.And so did his fights with the other tom cats. Now everyday he comes home with a new scar or without a patch of fur on his skin. Idiot.He likes to go for walks for a few days. But he'll be back right in time for food.

He has a new friend to play with now. Minju. Rukmini chechi calls her( we just found out she was a he but i'll call her minju.) Manikutty.She's a cute little thing. Always playful, always moving about. She's grown longer than the last time i saw her.My little minju.

Now as i hear the mews of the kitten in the hostel i miss her. I miss stroking my cats on their forehead. Sneaking them on to the bed.Seeing them sleep so innocently on me keeping the 'purr' motor on....And i now know that i love cats better.

An apology

I wore a mask while i was with you

I was rude, selfish, in my shell.

I never let you near 'real' me.

I dampened your joyful spirits.

I pretended your inexistance.

I made up stories,miserable.

Never a word about your love

that put smiles even in Hell.

Lonliness was a choice- mine.

And i blamed it on all but me.

I was there,in your midst

just to put you guys off.

An apology here makes no change,

i know but still i say:

'I'm sorry for all that i did

and more for all i didn't'

I Need It...

My teeth are stained reddish violet.I long to suck more of that liquid.I can't stop myself.I need more.I dip the icy chunk again and again into the dark liquid and suck it hard.And within a few minutes, that Kalakhatta is also over.

'Can i borrow twenty bucks, plz?' i ask any familiar face around coz i've finished all the money on me already. Now for my favorite- Panipuri.

There are a few sacks full of the puris in the stall and near it are the vessels filled with the tastiest, tangiest liquids ever concocted. And a bit of the aloo and whatever it is mix.

I get my paper bowl.

'Teeka or medium?'

'Medium'

A hole is cracked on my first puri, in it goes to the sweet and sour tamarind water which is thick and gooey, and now it takes a dip into the less viscous green hot thingy and he holds it out to me.

As i put it in my mouth there is a burst of various tastes tingling my tastebuds. There are crisp bits of the puri and a mouthfull of tasty water and before i can savor the taste of each part of it separately,i am handed out the next one. And the next...And so it goes. It doesnt even take two minutes for my twenty bucks to depart from me in this process. But thats just one amongst all the other 20 Rs notes that have gone away from me. Including the one today.

I crave for it these days. Usually my cravings are for chicken in any form, so long as it is dead and not bloody. But this little round goblet of exploding tastes have won my heart over now.There are no city trips for me now,which does not include a plate(or two or three or more) of panipuri. May be i'm full with a pizza from Pizza hut, a happy meal from Mc Donalds, a nice dosa from Vaishali, paneer and romali roti from good luck or a sub from subway....i need my panipuri.

This post ends here with my stating again that i love panipuri. A lot.