In memory of a Dear One ....!

In memory of a Dear One…..!

He was the darling of the house. No ritual or puja is complete without his presence. Rahul and Pinka had to beg for days before their favourite biscuit is brought to house, but not in case of him. He gets to eat the best biscuit in town. He had a very straight forward attitude and was very clear about his likes and dislikes.  No one in the family dares to mess with his bed. He enjoys his freedom and know exactly whom to respect. He would be the first to receive any guest at home. No sooner Mummy’s car takes the final turn from the Burail chowk (Sec-45, Chandigarh) towards home, he would be the first to smell her arrival. He was none other than the most trusted lieutenant of Mummy ji, whom we all used to call Tuffy. He was a combination of black & white with beautiful spots along his body.

I was once a prospective son-in law of the above mention family, so I was supposed to know everything about Tuffy. The lesser the sound of Tuffy barking at me on my first visit more the chances of I getting the node to marry my sweet heart. It was just my initial interpretation but obviously that was not actually the case. But, friendship with Tuffy would definitely take me a step closer to my marriage, which I was certain.

Before the door was completely opened, Tuffy jumped up to my chest, I exactly forgot how loud he was barking but he was in no mood to stay away from me. That was my first encounter with Tuffy and also with the Sharma parivar. Slowly Tuffy settled down and so do we all. He seat in between my feet placing his tale above my shoes. Over tea I shared few biscuits with him and I felt the unconditional affection of Tuffy for the first time. In the course of next few years our friendship grew stronger. Sometimes, he used to become possessive about me and if Pinka tries to come close to me, He would chased her out.

My mother in law, treated him like her own child.  Whenever, she used to take Tuffy out for his evening walk, a group of Tuffy’s friend and fan from the street would accompany him. She would carry biscuit and roti’s for all his friends.  He used to walk elegantly in the front, moving his hip from left to right followed by all his friends.  Many used to ask  Mummy ji about the secret of her youthful looks. She would shy away from replying. But, I am sure it is the outcome of her long morning and evening walks with Tuffy. Tuffy was very intelligent too, like all the children at home he too understood “akkh da ishara”. This was a special code language used not to create any embarrassing situation when there are guest at home.   

Tuffy was fearless except for traveling in a car. He loves to play ball game, watch TV and was very comfortable listening to Gurubani. He used to give Mummy Company, whenever Papa ji is away on tour. A new member named Leo arrived at home later in 2010. Initially Tuffy was not very happy sharing space with Leo but with course of time he accepted Leo as his younger brother and started playing with him.

Whenever Pinka used to get scolding from her parents, Tuff would always come in the middle to safeguard her. Only, later I understood the reason behind his special affection towards Pinka. On the day of Rakshna bandhan, after Rahul, it was Tuffy on whom Pinka would tie the Rakhi.

My elder daughter, Volley would play with Leo and pull his tail, while Tuffy would keep an eye, so that Leo don’t retaliate. As Tuffy was growing old, he was becoming much matured. He no longer used to jump at me, like he used to before. A couple of month back when we visited Chandigarh, I saw Mummy feeding Tuffy with her hands. He had lost almost all his teeth. Such was mummy’s affection towards Tuffy that sometimes when she visit us in delhi, she would ask Papa over phone if He had feed Tuffy properly. Somewhere from behind Pinka would shout “mummy ask Papa also, if he had dinner or not”.

On an official trip to Lucknow, Pinka took our elder daughter Volley along. Mummy ji was already in lucknow to attend  Satsang. They were returning back together and suppose to reach Ghaziabad early in the morning. So, I was quite excited to meet them and reached station on time.

Spotting   Pinka and volley standing near the gate, I   jumped inside before the train could halt. As I was about to lift   Volley in my arms, suddenly I saw Mummy crying behind Pinka. All my excitement gone in a second. For a while I could not understand what was happening. She was inconsolable. I looked towards Pinka trying to guess what was happening. She finally   informed me “Tuffy breathed his last this morning”. Unknowingly my throat choked. I took the luggage down. Driving back home there was complete silence. Mummy was still crying, Pinka was expressionless and Volley staring at us in surprise. I tried to recall my first encounter with Tuffy. How I physiologically prepared myself to win Tuffy’s affection.  All of a sudden I realized it was 10 years ago. Time just fly.

Tuffy was not an exceptionally creature. Like all of us he too was very normal. But to share happiness and love one need not have to be exceptionally. In life we strive for love and Tuffy  gave us enough, during his 13 years of stay with us. I join the Sharma parivar in praying for his eternal peace. RIP Tuffy.

Abhijit Bhattacharya

abhijeetvb9@rediffmail.com