Chikku is the name of my dog. Those who know me well, know all the madness surrounding Chikku's adoption and many other crazy things that followed in my and her life thereafter. I have stayed with Chikku for more than 10 years, which is the second longest I have spent with someone under the same roof after my parents!
It all started like a fairy .. err crazy tale. Like one you would never have heard before. I almost wish to start "So kids, this is how I met your dog!" (you know the How I met your mother (HIMYM) analogy? Never mind!) Don't worry, though I may start this way, I don't plan to ramble on like HIMYM did.
So I was a first year PhD student in the Institute of Mathematical Sciences. New to the ways of life in a hostel, ways of a life of a research scholar, ways of a life away from parents and away from home; leading a life of newly discovered freedom, new friends and new city! And 8 months into this life, just when things started getting more normal, guess what I did? I adopted Chikku. And did I mention, that just 8 months before that I was not only not used to having dogs around me, but also actively scared of all things which move.
Anyway, the adoption was not as straight forward as it sounds. She was a tiny puppy left alone at the road side when her mother vanished before she was even a month old. Some girls and a guy along with me decided that we will "all" take care of the puppy. My heart melted the first time those eyes looked into mine (You bet it is a love story like no other!) Of course, most of those care takers quickly escaped the scene when it became inconvenient for them to chip in! But that is another story.
Chikku's first 5 years as a result were spent in the hostel. She stayed in rooms of all those people who were the early care takers of Chikku. There are endless anecdotes which I can narrate. And believe me I will need 9 seasons of 24 episodes to do that. But I will spare you the trouble and narrate only one. One week after Chikku was adopted, I was warned that taking care of a dog may be a lot of responsibility and I should think twice before I make such a big commitment. My response to this perfectly well-meaning advice was so dramatic that any Hindi movie director may pay me money to recreate the scene in his movie. Oh may be not. He may just steal it! I said something like "no one comes between Chikku and me!" I am serious.
Anyway, finally the time came when I was to move to Bombay for my work. I was worried about Chikku. I wanted to bring her with me. Given that almost all care-takers by the has escaped from the scene, the responsibility was on my shoulders. And to be fair, it was all along the understanding that I was the closest to Chikku. After that dramatic line, there is no second guessing that.
I was going to join TIFR as a post-doc and I was confronted with this sticky situation, where I had to ask my host (Prof. Jaikumar Radhakrishnan) whether I can keep my dog in the housing provided by TIFR. Imagine this: your yet to be employer tells you that "We would like to have you as a part of our organization. Let us know whether you have any specific needs/ requirements." And you say, "Well yes. Thank you. My requirement is that I want to keep a dog in the office apartment provided by you." But thankfully, Jaikumar was not thrown off my such an unusual reply and tried to do whatever he could for me.
In the meanwhile, my parents were also realizing that my dog craziness isn't just a phase and I am actually planning to bring the dog to Bombay. They understandably tried to warn me about the possible burden that can come along with taking care of a dog in a non-hostel like environment and the whole risk of me not being able to focus on my work and so on.
Anyway, with the help of Shago (without whom I would never have survived the pressure of moving Chikku) I managed to shift --- yes, we travelled with the dog for 24 hours from Chennai to Mumbai by a first class coupe. All three of us were traveling first class for the first time in our lives!
Since then, Chikku has moved to IIT Bombay with me. We have been here for the last 4 years. After leaving MatSc she has made many friends, has adjusted to so many changes (I have moved houses four times!), has travelled with me to many places in and around Bombay. On the one hand with age, madam has become a high maintenance dog (okay call her the female dog, what the hell!), but
on the other hand after S and I started living together, taking care of Chikku has become so much easier.
She is 10 years old now. She has seen me grow from a girl just out of home to a woman kicking all asses. While I have seen her grow from a little puppy biting all furniture to an old dog biting bed covers! Through all ups and downs that we went through for the last decade, I have found in her a friend like no other.
It all started like a fairy .. err crazy tale. Like one you would never have heard before. I almost wish to start "So kids, this is how I met your dog!" (you know the How I met your mother (HIMYM) analogy? Never mind!) Don't worry, though I may start this way, I don't plan to ramble on like HIMYM did.
So I was a first year PhD student in the Institute of Mathematical Sciences. New to the ways of life in a hostel, ways of a life of a research scholar, ways of a life away from parents and away from home; leading a life of newly discovered freedom, new friends and new city! And 8 months into this life, just when things started getting more normal, guess what I did? I adopted Chikku. And did I mention, that just 8 months before that I was not only not used to having dogs around me, but also actively scared of all things which move.
Anyway, the adoption was not as straight forward as it sounds. She was a tiny puppy left alone at the road side when her mother vanished before she was even a month old. Some girls and a guy along with me decided that we will "all" take care of the puppy. My heart melted the first time those eyes looked into mine (You bet it is a love story like no other!) Of course, most of those care takers quickly escaped the scene when it became inconvenient for them to chip in! But that is another story.
Chikku's first 5 years as a result were spent in the hostel. She stayed in rooms of all those people who were the early care takers of Chikku. There are endless anecdotes which I can narrate. And believe me I will need 9 seasons of 24 episodes to do that. But I will spare you the trouble and narrate only one. One week after Chikku was adopted, I was warned that taking care of a dog may be a lot of responsibility and I should think twice before I make such a big commitment. My response to this perfectly well-meaning advice was so dramatic that any Hindi movie director may pay me money to recreate the scene in his movie. Oh may be not. He may just steal it! I said something like "no one comes between Chikku and me!" I am serious.
Anyway, finally the time came when I was to move to Bombay for my work. I was worried about Chikku. I wanted to bring her with me. Given that almost all care-takers by the has escaped from the scene, the responsibility was on my shoulders. And to be fair, it was all along the understanding that I was the closest to Chikku. After that dramatic line, there is no second guessing that.
I was going to join TIFR as a post-doc and I was confronted with this sticky situation, where I had to ask my host (Prof. Jaikumar Radhakrishnan) whether I can keep my dog in the housing provided by TIFR. Imagine this: your yet to be employer tells you that "We would like to have you as a part of our organization. Let us know whether you have any specific needs/ requirements." And you say, "Well yes. Thank you. My requirement is that I want to keep a dog in the office apartment provided by you." But thankfully, Jaikumar was not thrown off my such an unusual reply and tried to do whatever he could for me.
In the meanwhile, my parents were also realizing that my dog craziness isn't just a phase and I am actually planning to bring the dog to Bombay. They understandably tried to warn me about the possible burden that can come along with taking care of a dog in a non-hostel like environment and the whole risk of me not being able to focus on my work and so on.
Anyway, with the help of Shago (without whom I would never have survived the pressure of moving Chikku) I managed to shift --- yes, we travelled with the dog for 24 hours from Chennai to Mumbai by a first class coupe. All three of us were traveling first class for the first time in our lives!
Since then, Chikku has moved to IIT Bombay with me. We have been here for the last 4 years. After leaving MatSc she has made many friends, has adjusted to so many changes (I have moved houses four times!), has travelled with me to many places in and around Bombay. On the one hand with age, madam has become a high maintenance dog (okay call her the female dog, what the hell!), but
on the other hand after S and I started living together, taking care of Chikku has become so much easier.
She is 10 years old now. She has seen me grow from a girl just out of home to a woman kicking all asses. While I have seen her grow from a little puppy biting all furniture to an old dog biting bed covers! Through all ups and downs that we went through for the last decade, I have found in her a friend like no other.
Comments
I really enjoyed your blog's content. Surely ! you must be a brave woman to take care of Chikku for over a decade while managing your work and study amidst the madness of metros like Mumbai and Chennai. It seems that Chikku is a real kick-ass (pardon me for my use of slang).
Have a great time and enjoy your stay !