| No Pets Please, We Are Indian
By Lavina Melwani
These folks are serious about their dogs
and cats.
Whoever
thinks a dog's life is nothing but fleas, fire hydrants
and biting the mailman is doggone wrong. Dogs - and
cats, horses and even parrots - have it easy when they
are born on the right side of the railtracks.
Legend has it that the Roman Emperor Caligula had a
marble stable, a fully furnished house and a retinue
of slaves for his favorite horse, Incitatus. Alexander
the Great named a city after his dog Peritas, and also
built a monument to him in the public square. And in
India, the maharajas used to hold lavish weddings for
their favorite canines, complete with baraat processions
and red carpets.
In the modern world, the purr-fect life for pets is
in America. According to a magazine survey some years
ago, 74 percent of dog owners and 70 percent of cat
owners give their pets presents on holidays; 66 percent
of dog owners and 57 percent of cat owners greet their
pets before their spouse and kids; 70 percent of dog
owners and 62 percent of cat owners say they would risk
their lives to save their pet. If both pet and owner
needed emergency medical attention, a whopping 67 percent
said they would tend to their pet first. A lovesick
8 percent even said they would continue to eat from
a plate their pet had licked clean!
So adored are pets that the booming multi-billion dollar
pet business includes special power beauty saloons for
pets where not only are they rinsed and bathed, but
their nails are filed and clipped. Doggie treadmills
cost $2,800 and the pets of celebrities even have their
own power trainers, pet psychics, vets and dentists.
The animal lovers get their pets solar-heated dog houses,
jeweled dog collars and gourmet doggie treats. There
is just about every imaginable product for pets - four
poster beds, satin mattresses, warm-up suits, yellow
raincoats and even special dog perfumes like Le Chien.
For pets who jog there is sparkling water in Tangy Fish
and Crispy Beef flavors.
Owning a dog or a cat is almost as American as apple
pie, part of the clichÈd American Dream of a house in
the suburbs with the white picket fence, the station
wagon and the requisite two children at the back. Most
Americans grow up with a pet in the house, and so when
their children turn around and ask for a pet, it's just
part of the ritual of childhood.
So where do Indian Americans stand with pets? A completely
unscientific survey shows that the first generation
is not howling for dogs, while the second generation
is more pet-friendly, pleading with parents to be allowed
a dog or a cat. Families that cave in to the nagging
usually go in for the small lap dogs or cats. At first
this reluctance to keep pets may seem puzzling, because
in India most affluent homes have handsome well-maintained
alsatians and spaniels. But then owners there don't
have the upkeep headaches since there's so much domestic
help.
Here new immigrants have enough of their own problems
without taking on the care of a dog or a cat, and generally
most rental apartments do not permit pets anyway. So
the main exposure that the children get is to small
animals like hamsters, goldfish and rabbits, a compromise
deal between parents and children.
Rohit Misra, a young architect with his own practice
in Manhattan, has had Sophie, a cocker spaniel for the
last 12 years. She was-months-old when he and his brother
brought him home. He says, "Growing up here, I haven't
seen as many of my Indian friends with pets as I have
my American friends. It is a lot of responsibility.
Even if you're at work you have to come back to walk
your dog otherwise you'll have a nasty surprise waiting
for you. Sophie is almost like a child, the way she's
dependent on you."
Rohit says the plus points far of pet ownership outweigh
the minuses. "You get unconditional love. I've done
my share of spoiling since she was a puppy. She's been
on my lap then and now even though she's big, she still
wants to be around me. When I come home from work, she
gets on her hind legs and literally hugs me. It's like,
'Now you're home, walk me and feed me!' She loves fresh
fruit. When I give her the regular dry food, she kind
of looks at me as if to say, `Why are you giving this
to me? This food is for dogs!'"
 Bond, as in James
Bond, is the hearbeat of the Kirpalani family.
Dina Pahlajani, a Long Island based pediatrician,
knows the deep connection one can form with pets.
Just this past month Fifi, her fluffy white toy poodle
passed away and the void is painful. She says, "To
me she was like one of my children. I got her when
our two children were little so she grew up with them.
I always used to tell my husband Kaunt that we should
tell people we have three kids instead of two. I used
to take her for her grooming, for her check-ups and
made sure she had a sitter if we were going to be
out for a long time."
Pets give so much to people and Dina adds, "She was
like a companion once the kids left the house. It
was like having a person in the house. If she smelt
food cooking or the door bell ringing, she would come
running down. Pets are great with children, especially
sick kids. When any children came to my house, they
would lose their inhibitions and bond immediately
with Fifi."
Rahul Banerji, a 19-year-old student at Cornell University,
finally convinced his mother Shoba to get a dog and
now she's her biggest fan. The pug, which is just
11 pounds, has a full Indian name, Sukanya, but everyone
calls her Sookie for short. Says Rahul, "Pugs are
extremely playful and affectionate and will love you
for life. I don't think we do anything too crazy,
but she's definitely the center of affection at our
house. We bring her something new every week, whether
it's a new plush toy or some treat."
He adds, "I know most other Indian families don't
own pets but my mom caved in and it's unbelievable
about the connections. My mom uses baby talk with
her, calling her new-found names and nicknames on
the spur of the moment. We have an extra mouth to
feed, but we have someone who loves us back and it's
just amazing." In fact, Sookie is so much a part of
the family that when they went to a 50th birthday
celebration of an aunt at a local restaurant, they
took her along. In spite of a no-pets policy, Rahul
threatened a walkout and Sookie stayed to become the
star of the party.
Sookie has adapted to the family's lifestyle and is
a vegetarian like them, and loves hot and spicy food.
She even enjoys bhee or lotus root, something that
even Rahul refuses to eat. She loves pasta cooked
by Rahul and desserts. He says, "She is a member of
our family. We did buy her a Christmas gift. It was
wrapped and under the tree and she got to open it
like everyone else. Her first birthday is coming up
in April and I kind of want to have a birthday party
for her. If I can find other friends with pets who
will bring them along to celebrate, I will have a
party for her."
One person who is an accidental pet owner is Victor
Khubani who has a savvy, fast-talking parrot called
Raja. In the 60's Victor, who owns several businesses
including the restaurants Shaan and Jewel of India,
used to import thousands of parrots from India. He
says, "That's how I made my money! I became a millionaire
from that. We opened a quarantine center in Bombay
and were importing 10,000 parrots a month, along with
50,000 finches." In the process, he became a parrot
expert on everything form how to tend them, ship them
and maintain them. Within two years the business from
India was banned, but in memory of it Victor now has
Raja who is a Double Yellowhead from Venezula.
Raja was just 3-weeks-old, bald with no feathers,
when he brought him home. He has trained him to sing
English songs as well as old filmi favorites like
Raja Ki Ayegi Barat and religious bhajans too. He
taught him all the songs by singing to him 5 to 6
days in a row. Within a month, Raja would pick up
a full song and by now he knows about eight songs
and can also imitate his owner's voice, making the
housekeeper jump by his commands. Does Victor do anything
crazy for his pet? "I don't do anything special for
him, everything that I eat, he eats. He loves dal
chawal.. As soon as I come home, he calls out, 'Hello,
how are you?' If anyone rings the doorbell, he yells,
'Coming, coming!' I do give him a lot of my time,
spending two hours in the morning and another in the
evening with him. He's a good parrot. He helps me
relax."
 Anisha with Fifi.
Indeed, pets can contribute a lot towards their owners'
well being. As Rahul Banerji points out, "When you've
had a bad day or when you're mulling about all the
different problems, you come home to your pet, their
genuine love for you and their innocence really does
change and uplift your mood. It is therapeutic to
have a pet, because they take your mind off things
and tell you that sometimes it's the simpler things
in life you need to focus on."
Bond, as in James Bond, is the heartbeat of the Kirpalani
family in New Jersey. Andrew and Cyndee Kirpalani
and their two children Kishin and Karizma are devoted
to the winsome Boston terrier who got his name because
his black and white coat looks like Agent 007's tuxedo,
especially when they deck him up with a bow-tie. Cyndee,
who is Caucasian-American, is an avid animal lover
and drives everywhere with Bond in a special car seat
- almost like a child's car seat with a harness -
so that he can sit up high and look out of the window.
Her husband and she are in the garment business and
have many Indian employees. She recalls, "At first
they were not used to having a dog around, and now
they absolutely love him. It really changes the atmosphere
in the office. Now they even have a pet name for him.
It's nice to see how excited people get to see him
even if they've had a blue day. It's an amazing relationship
that you have with your dogs. There's unconditional
love. No matter what you do or what you look like,
they still love you."
Cyndee never has the heart to leave Bond in a kennel
when they travel, so he flies to Florida in the cabin,
at a cost of $100 each way. Originally he was her
son Kishin's dog, but when the children went away
to college and she was in the throes of empty nest
syndrome, Bond became a real lifesaver. He was the
third child who would never leave home. In fact, Cyndee
is so attached to him that when he had eye surgery
last year, she was so distraught that she made a deal
with God. If Bond recovered, she would give up eating
meat.
 Rohit Misra with
Sophie.
Bond has quite a wardrobe from sweatshirts to coats
to sweaters, so the staff gets just hysterical when
he comes in and the atmosphere in the office becomes
lighter. Says Cyndee, "He's a breaker of tension."
Indians here don't seem to have pets while in India
they do, and Cyndee has a theory about that: " It's
almost like having a toddler in the house. You really
have to watch what they're doing, you have to make
sure they eat and you have to be responsible for them.
A lot of people here have so many responsibilities
and not much help, that they don't want that. Plus,
they want to take their trips and go to India for
a couple of months and you really can't do that and
leave a pet for that long. I discourage friends who
have that lifestyle, because a pet is like a family
member and you have to understand that they love you
and they miss you. It's really an emotional bond and
you can't do that to them."
In spite of the added responsibilities, she believes
that pets are essential to people, sensing their owner's
mood and giving unconditional love. "My kids have
had hamsters, rabbits and goldfish but when pets can
return the affection that makes a big difference.
It really makes your kids more sensitive, because
if they are sensitive to an animal's feelings, they
will be more so to a human being. They realize animals
are important too and that makes them kinder people.
It's really a wonderful feeling having a pet. I must
laugh at least once a day at something that Bond has
done."
And yes, pets don't really need the jeweled collars
or the fancy treadmills. They are very happy to have
daal chawal, lots of love, and an owner serenading
them with Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat! - Lavina Melwani
..-
End Of Article.....
|
