I have just returned from a trip to India to see tigers (which I did, but more of that in a future post…).
However, there are a lot of other animals in India, including the lanky langur, found in towns as well as in the jungle.
Also found in towns in abundance are cows, and dogs. Lots of them. Often in a parlous state of repair. Ahimsa (espoused by the Mahatma and essentially meaning the Hindu/ Jain/Buddhist tenet that you should do no harm) only extends in many cases to looking the other way rather than actively preventing the harm of starvation or ill health. In Orchaa, a few steps away from where, it is claimed, some of Ghandi’s ashes were scattered in the Betwa river, I saw a particularly pathetic cow.
It was all ribs. It had a halter, which would lead you to believe it belonged to someone, but there was no evidence of good animal husbandry.
I purchased a few bunches of green stuff from a man with a handcart (who tried to cheat me – what is the karma of trying to steal from a Holy Cow?) and proceeded to feed the animal, much to the entire amusement of the onlookers.
Especially when it shook its head and my face was covered with cow drool. So, mad white woman in sunhat, now covered in cow spit, an object of mirth. Well okay I’ll give them that. But poor cow on deaths door not even an object of notice by anyone else? And there’s the rub. There is so much of it, the dog with mange, and a broken leg, and clearly feeding pups. The puppy with its ribs sticking out, or with staring filthy hair eating a strip of old road kill skin or sleeping in the dirt amid the rubbish. Or the calf eating a cardboard box (or worse, plastic).
If you respond with empathy to all of these, would it drive you slowly nuts? Probably. I could come home to Blighty after a few weeks, they have to see it every day, you are going to get compassion fatigue, surely. And let’s not forget, whilst some people in India are doing okay financially now (and some way more okay than me – if you can afford to invite 2000 people to your wedding things are probably not that tight), there are a whole bunch of people where that’s really not the case. Hard to treat animals well when you don’t really have enough yourself. And don’t get me wrong, I am not for a moment suggesting people in India do not care, clearly some do, a lot, and some try to help, India is full of warm hearted loving people. Just that this is a helluva big wicked problem, with complex socio-economic, religious and cultural underpinnings. Compare and contrast the man I saw aiming a serious kick at a dog that came too close (and these are not generally bity dogs, it was just saying hello) – that ‘gentleman’ got my Grandma’s best yard long stare – to this lovely sweetheart, who had been given a dog version of the mid forehead red tikka spot, when I asked, the beaming young temple attendant said ‘blessing’.
But what if you really do care, what then? Earlier in my stay I saw a tourist feeding a puppy with her lunch. Unfortunately, she did not look around first to see if there were any other dogs. And dogs here are hungry enough to fight for food. With horror we watched two adult dogs attack the puppy, one throwing it high in the air by its throat. Big dogs were beaten back by onlookers, but the puppy lay, prostrate, on the ground. What could be done? No vet anywhere near. What were the options, leave it there to die slowly? Take it inside and put it in a box to die slowly? Do the hard thing and stop its suffering, some hellish how? Here, well we just phone the RSPCA, but when you live in a country without the animal welfare infrastructure, what then? And how does that infrastructure get developed? Drip down from all the richer Indians with their status symbol pedigrees needing local vet care? Maybe. Generally raising the standard of living of all the people, and building roads? Maybe too. Government push, and money? You would hope so, but…well, at this time of Brexit clusterfuck who are we to say what any other Government should be doing. Hearts and minds? Absolutely. As ‘People for Animals’ (Indian animal NGO) says on its Website ‘Compassion without action is evil’. So first of all you have to see it rather than look away, and feel compassion, then you actually have to DO something. Me, what am I doing? To start with I am writing this, whilst formulating a plan for what on earth little old me can possibly do in the face of such a huge challenge. Any ideas people, join with me?
So, coming to the main story.
This lovely chap (let’s call her Marigold ) had just chased a monkey up a tree. The monkey got away easily and sat high out of danger looking down unconcerned at the woofing. Seemed not an abnormal behaviour, dogs chase things, right? Even something as big as a monkey with big monkey teeth (though maybe crucially here only one on its own?).
But the next day, there was this well weird sight. Someone had put some manner of food out. And there at the top of a flight of steps were dogs and monkeys sharing. Oh so very aware of each other, really close but making sure not to touch, co-existing, like each was a magnet repelling the other to just the right distance.
Dogs slowly drifted off, monkeys started grooming, and when the last doggy standing (Marigold? I think so, but the ubiquitous Indian Desi dogs do all look very similar) came to leave down the steps, she had to wait for the langurs lounging there to move first. She stood stock still half way down, until the one pointed focus of her gaze proved too much for one monkey which eventually decided to move, jumping right over her and hitting her a cheeky swat on the top of the head as it did, she then made her way slowly down the steps and wandered off. There was clearly a finely held balance of power. A lot of mutual healthy respect here, but very little drama.
This took place a few days after India bombed Pakistan, and Pakistan shot down an Indian plane. At the time, all I could hope was that the dogs and monkeys of that war found their way to peace, as the dogs and langurs of Orchaa had done.
Namaskar.
Ros
