Relocate dogs based on a poll, will I be next?

It sent a chill down my spine when I was informed that the committee of my housing society Silverdale is holding a POLL to decide whether to ask the PMC to RELOCATE (take away) the society dogs or not. The complaint is that they are a threat and a nuisance. 

Relocation could mean grievous injury or a certain death for these friendly Senior Citizen Dogs as they have now lost their survival skills to feed and fend for themselves.

Relocation of society dogs is illegal regardless of a result of a poll. But I am actually perplexed by the very creation of this poll. These society dogs are friendly, they have been sterilized and get vaccinated regularly. They are fed and taken care of by many members of society as well. They have lived amicably with humans in this society for over 7-8 years.

If there is a human - animal conflict (perceived or otherwise) as the poll suggests, I would have assumed at least an attempt to resolve the perceived conflict would have been made. But alas it seems we have find it easier and perhaps acceptable to have a poll to "Let's just get rid of them" instead. 

I am not expecting everyone to love animals and I understand some are genuinely scared of them but there are a number of steps that could have been taken by the managing committee to address these concerns instead of just attempting to throw them out of their home of so many years.

• Engage with Animal - Human Conflict Resolution Experts, Animal Feeders and Pet Owners within the society to seek solutions on how to remove this perception of fear.
  
  
• Create fixed feeding zones and feeding times.
  
  
• Discourage members throwing food for them from balconies.
  
  
• Requesting members to drive slowly past them just as one would if there were children on the road.
  
  
• Create a protocol for cleaning of poop and garbage upheaval if required.

We humans have the intelligence and ability to resolve anything provided there is any open mind and an intent of resolution. Pet owners and animal lovers like me are already doing many of the above mentioned steps on our own initiative in this society so that we all attempt to live amicably with Nature and her creations.  

Unfortunately our efforts and advice have been steam rolled over by the committee and a misguided decision to have a poll to remove them from the society has been chosen instead. 

I wonder whether the committee members realize that when they take such misguided decisions, they are indirectly encouraging others of the same. Cruel Acts meted out to animals and constant harassment of pet owners and animal lovers will become perceived as acceptable and encouraged. Do they also understand that they will be held responsible for the ensuing criminal acts fueled by a misguided poll such as this?. 

Where does that leave the animal lover or feeder trying to serve the dogs? 

Apart from our families and us being harassed, our actions are misunderstood. If we speak up on behalf of the dogs or try to come forward to resolve a conflict, either we are ignored or get accused of being unreasonable. If we try to state the law regards animals as it stands, there are allegations thrown at us of taking cover of the law and using it as an intimidation tactic.   

I would have thought these several months of COVID would have triggered some kind wisdom for respect for Nature and her creations and the power She has over us. Yet the decision to take a poll unfortunately shows otherwise. 

There will be angst outcry between neighbours and there will be heartache, Animal Welfare Advocates will be approached, perhaps even visits to the police station and to the steps of a court. Do we really need to this amongst ourselves to resolve conflict between Nature and us?  

I am scared for these doggies, not only those in my society but all these stray dogs around facing this kind of inhumane and cruel treatment by humans. They have the same right as we have to live on this planet. 

Who knows the next poll might be to throw me out of the society for speaking up for those doggies...

Arrogance has NO LIMIT when it comes to #strays

Arrogance has NO LIMIT when it comes to #strays

I am just a babe in arms when it comes to Animal Welfare and the experience I have. But I recognize ARROGANCE a mile away !

If there is anything that infuriates me is when Home Stay Service Providers or Vets or Hospitals or these sundry service providers assuming we cannot afford their services just because we walk in with a streetie. There is this air of arrogance ... oh these caretakers and their mongrels from the streets cant afford my services !  WRONG !

If a survey were to be done , it wont be a surprising statistic that we care takers can end up spending much much more MORE than what pet owners would , that too WITHOUT hesitation.

Our aim is to save a lives and many a time when COST is not even a criteria! So put that ARROGANCE aside atleast while we are around , do your job as professionally as the premium of your charges and let us be on our way.

I have nothing against people earning a living with what they do , but I do have a problem is when there is no humility and empathy for those living on the streets.

DO NOT ASSUME YOUR STATUS over our babies EVER. Karma can be a BITCH !

Special Needs & Special Friends...

If we are ever asked to describe the life of a special needs child in one word, it would be 'LONELINESS'.

As parents of special needs children, we all know the life of a special needs child has various aspects
that need to be addressed and catered to at all times.  We continuously try to cover all ground to the best of our abilities so that the child's life is as normal as possible. However in this process, we often feel the NEED to COMPENSATE for the child's loneliness more than anything else.

Their life is full of activities, academics, therapies, counseling sessions and so much more. Children with lots to do but with one crucial missing link, in most cases they do these activities ALONE. So their day is full of activities but their life is mostly spent in the company of ADULTS.


Hence the idea behind our 'BUDDY CENTER', where children with special needs meet, play and just be allowed to be themselves.

The Buddy Center is primarily for children to meet other children, and to address the issue of loneliness that these children go thru in their everyday lives.

While attending our Buddy Center sessions, they will have the opportunity to meet other children and participate in activities that are centric to basic socialization with learning outcomes. Activities could include story telling, singing, dance, activities based using audio visual aids etc.

Just 2 hours of fun filled activities with an aim to achieve moments of 'BEING THEMSELVES'.

Age Group : 12+ years

Venue :
The Harmony Tree School, Sopanbaugh, Pune

Contact Details :
Karen Karbhari

Mobile Number : 9823054518

“We have no special needs children. Just children…with special needs.” – Uwe Maurer

Adoption of Stray Dogs for a human cause.

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. 

― Albert Einstein

The Beginning of a Divine Obsession
This whole exercise of taking care of stray dogs started over 18 months ago after the unfortunate demise of my pet Snowy,  a indie stray dog who I had picked up from the road about 4 years earlier. 

As dog lovers would understand, his passing away was traumatic and emotionally devastating but never did it strike me that it would be a 'life changing' event.

There was a desperate need to recharge my mind, body and soul, so I started the regular practice going for a quiet walk to the Pune Race Course. It was during these walks that I met wonderful stray indies who frequented that area. Soon I became one of those walkers who would regularly carry something for them to eat. 

One activity led to another and I evolved from just being a feeder to a home grown care taker. I would visit the location regularly looking into matters of their nutrition, their health status, organizing a vet to check them, their medication, tending to their injuries, their hospitalizations, protecting their pups, building temporary shelters, vaccinations, and sterilizations.

The battle for their betterment of well being was exhausting, overwhelming and emotionally draining but the more I spent time with these divine beings, the more I was clear I had to do more for them. 

I also slowly began to understand the endless battle of survival these stray indie dogs had to fight on their own every single day. 

But a Battle with No End in Sight..

It is a vicious circle we are stuck in, a battle we always seem to be loosing. Whatever we do for these stray dogs, they will always end up living in the insecure,unhealthy and unsafe environment of the streets. We will intervene to the best of our abilities when they fall ill or get injured, we may succeed in the process of healing them but in the end they will be back in the unfriendly environment of the street.

Getting them off the streets totally seems to be the only solution. 

More adoptions perhaps ? 

BUT people just prefer a Pedigree over an Indie.

I love all dogs across all breeds but have a special corner in my heart for Indies. Unfortunately for Indies who can be as loving and wonderful as a pet as well is not the preference for most families. There is an inherent inclination towards adopting dogs with a brand Pedigree versus those from the streets.

Some caring souls are doing the best they can to get these Indies adopted. I would call it a heroic effort. Use of social media, word of mouth and having regular adoption camps are common ways being used currently to facilitate their adoption. Unfortunately reality is that very few Indies really end up getting adopted as compared to the Pedigree ones.

Indies are just not getting ADOPTED in majority of cases !


Would a Skilled Indie serving a purpose change the perception ?

Stray Indie Dogs are extremely intelligent, strong, have low maintenance, loyal and protective of their benefactors. It is also my belief that it is possible for these Indies to undergo formal training.

With basic training, we could give these Indies a skill, purpose and focus thus giving them a value addition which would assist and accelerate its adoption into the human fold.

► Watch Dogs

Indie Stray dogs could be trained to have the skill of basic watch dogs. A watch dog is needed by societies, shop keepers, mall and hotel owners and so on. 

Once trained, these indies could help in securing their families, goods and property, fulfilling a purpose for human society. This skill would indirectly create a demand for them and in turn accelerate their adoption.  



► Emotional Support Therapy Dogs for Special Needs Children and the elderly.

Indies are very loving, kind and gentle and their intelligence is unsurpassed by few. Indies could be given formal training to have the basic skills to provide the services of being therapy dogs. 

We could then offer the services of these trained therapy indies to schools, counselors and therapists to assist in their work with special needs children or emotional support dogs for elders.  

Here again we have given them a skill and a possibility to get them adopted for a purpose..



So we come back to 'A stray dog, a skill & an idea.' 💭 

My short experience as a care taker of these divine beings living a life on the street has been the closest I have got to experiencing 'GOD' but it has been gut wrenching as well. 

Hunger , thirst , injuries, illnesses and human cruelty is a part of their daily lives and yet they will WAG their tails when they  see you. I have buried too many pups because we could not give them adequate care in time. All of them deserved BETTER.

Lets train stray dogs to satisfy a human cause and more will get adopted.

Disabled people are God's mistake, says Goa CM Parsekar ...

But was he wrong to say it ?

There was much outrage with the following headline ...

Disabled people are God's mistake, says Goa CM Parsekar [Click to view Article]

After reading the entire article I really did not think it was that outrageous but perhaps wrongly understood. If you bothered to read the whole article and understood the context , one would understand what he was trying to say. His intent was to praise the work done by NGOs for the disabled which is anyway long overdue.

Inspite of being brought up as a God Fearing Zoroastrian, watching my daughter's battle with epilepsy over the years, seeing other children with cerebral palsy, cancer, severe disabilities, autism, being blind etc.. I at times have begun to question the existence of a perfect God (another discussion all together)...but the very idea that all have been treated equal in the eyes of God is difficult to understand at times. No, these children have not been treated equally by God or our society, something did go WRONG and because of that life is very very HARD for these children.


Did God make a mistake ? Did the Almighty ignore/miss something ? Anyone can surely see that these children's life is definitely **not complete**  as we mainstream people understand it. Yes, we can give a positive spin with thoughts that they are "God's special children" but God's special children are really having a tough time living in His world.

There are several NGOs across INDIA doing fantastic work, trying their best to do something for these dear children, helping these children to overcome or live with  their disabilities and conditions, giving them a fighting chance to live a life as normal as possible. Kudos to them and kudos to the government to recognize the work they are doing !

So YES these NGOs, these brave children and their parents are trying to rectify something and whether it is  God's mistake / negligence is an opinion which perhaps we need to interpret, discuss, decipher and  understand

I love my daughter for what she is, she is my life and her strength and positivity is my inspiration however I would love some answers from the 'perfect' Almighty whom I pray to everyday.


Just a thought ..

The Keepers of the Future

This is for all the wonderful teachers I know ... keep up the great work.... you are our last hope.

A teacher is like that of a fireman whose job is of saving lives. Imagine what would happen if there was a fire and the fireman did not turn up ?

India is known as the land of the 'Vedas', religious scriptures written 1000s of years ago imparting knowledge and settings guidelines for a good life. 

This great land of ours is also known for its history, its advanced learning in the sciences and mathematics. One of the foundations of this great heritage has always been the role of the 'Guru' or 'Teacher' in the upbringing a student or 'Shishya' or 'Student'. This relationship between the 'Guru' and 'Shishya' was a critical bond of commitment & seriousness. 

Unfortunately over the years the sacred position of the 'Guru' in today's techno-modern society got has degraded and today we are paying a very heavy price for it.

As far as I can remember, my schools days never about studies. My memories have always been about friends, teachers and the fun we had. We had some good teachers, some not so good teachers, some were boring and some were interesting. When we woke up in the morning, our first thoughts used to be about going to school, the friends we were going to meet and the teachers we would have to listen to. Little did we realize what are teachers taught us in those days would be so important in our lives today. Little did we understand that our passion for knowledge and our choice of profession would depend so very much on the kind of teachers we had in school. On the flip side I wonder at times, did our teachers realize the profound impact they would have on us, years after we had passed out of school. ?

It is a social norm to presume that parents have a major role to play towards the upbringing of a child, yet we ignore the fact that a teacher also spends almost the same amount of time with the same child in her waking hours. We as children absorb, observe and at times even emulate our teachers as we grow up. We are what we are not only because of our parents but also because of our teachers.

There is a crucial point that goes unnoticed and that is parents might be responsible just their own children but a teacher is responsible for the upbringing 100s perhaps 1000s of pupils over the years. Imagine the future of 1000 citizens of this country dependent of what a single teacher does today. Society must recognize these silent heroes shaping the future of this land and that is why I call them the 'Keepers of the Future'.

Of course again on the flip side do teachers understand the responsibility of the vocation they have chosen ?

What our teachers do with our children today is how our country will face the future tomorrow. Think about it, are we as a country giving enough importance and respect to this vocation, a vocation so crucial to the future of this country , a vocation that should be invested in today for which we will get immeasurable returns tomorrow.

Have we forgotten our 'Keepers of the Future' and has the vocation itself lost its sanctity ?

It is now up to to us to ensure the lost reverence and respect of the 'Guru' is redeemed for it is our only hope.

FATAL Mistake ! Ignoring business with a Startup ...

Recently we managed to get angel funding for our security software product. The funding was mainly meant for marketing and sales which meant me getting in touch with various vendors for the same. Have not had this responsibility profile for a couple of years so I was shocked how things have changed. I feel like a dinosaur in the age of start ups.

First as soon as the news leaked that we have some funding suddenly we got more attention  (though expected) but what was not expected is a sudden increase in billing rates overnight !!? What gives ? We have worked hard to earn the funding for our product, perhaps we needed to remind our vendors that funding is not to grow the their business instead. !. If we started paying them their 'special rates' , we would be emptying our coffers in no time. Your rates are not supposed to be proportional to our funding. !

Next is the absolute arrogant attitude that we had to face from some of them. We were made to feel that they were doing us ( a start up ) a favor by doling out some services to us. Strange I say!!! We are paying for your services , you damn well better provide us good service as promised. If one does not want to pitch for low volume, low value orders (which are characteristic of start-ups). move out of the way and don't waste our time further. We have places to go and people to meet !

Then of course the time came for me to speak to some 'premium' magazines. Initially they don't respond to you, finally when you finally manage to speak to them , they take their own time to get back to you with the quotation ... as they seem to have a preconceived notion that a start up will not be worth servicing. I suppose only multinational brands are of interest to them to some of them. I was even told by one media house .."oh well, you wont be able to afford sponsoring our conference but let us see how we can work out something else for you ...'. Amazing they don't even know what I can afford or not !..

Then my latest shocker was being told 'the reality of the market is that your order will get lower priority as I have higher value orders that have just come in  ... ' . OUCH ! is all I could say ...

Don't these guys realize that perhaps the start up might just succeed to become a multi crore enterprise , have huge orders to give vendors and they will never do business with you because of your arrogance and short shortsightedness ??!!. If you think our work is small, don't come to us , don't waste our time and let us go with our job at hand.

Today I feel start ups will get taken for a ride if they are not street smart. Nobody really cares of whether you are a start up or not. You have to take care of yourself, work for the best deal and dump trying to work with the so called fancy setups/service providers. Your ruin will be due to being creamed by these so called 'premium' service providers and not because of a bad product area.

Liquor Chocs in pics...

Pune is so wheel chair unfriendly !!

It is so true that one does not realize a lot of what is happening around you until it actually affects you.

My father recently suffered from a stroke due to which he had to move around only in a wheel chair for a couple of days. Being a person who has been very active all his life I tried to ensure that we take him out as often as possible. It was during these outings that it struck me like a BOLT OF LIGHTNING out of the blue ... ! "Pune, the IT hub of India, a cultural super city and a university city is so wheel chair unfriendly. Pune does not care for wheel chair bound citizens."


Most malls, restaurants, shops, cinemas, commercial & residential establishments do not cater for a person in a wheel chair. Most entrances have stairs without ramps, elevators locations & sizes not catered for a person in a wheel chair. Passages, doors, corridors, product displays & billing stations designed in such a manner a wheel chair would not even fit. The toilets and rest rooms would be a nightmare and at times totally inaccessible for a disabled person. Of course parking for a normally abled person is disastrous so who would care for the disabled.

I happened to mention this to a person who has been in a wheel chair for the last 16 years and he told me that it was even worse earlier!!. He continued to say that we do have the laws and building codes in place to ensure that disabled citizens are catered for but these are not adhered to in majority of cases and no one seems to mind. He told me that if one went abroad especially to the USA, the disabled are catered for FIRST and you would not feel the inconveniences of being in a wheel chair.

Pity, it took my father getting a stroke to make me realize just another one of those crucial human issues involving compassion and care we have chosen not to care about ... shame on us as a people.

Epilepsy ! then this school is not the right place for you.

My daughter is really the light of my life. She is a happy & caring child who loves to do something all the time and 'goodness gracious' for her life has so much to offer and so much to do, there is just so little time to do it all. Constant Action all the time.

She is in the 4th standard in a good school in Pune but unfortunately due to some some complications which she had at birth she is facing some issues with her academics due to which I might be considering moving her to a smaller school where the teacher-student ratio is high and she can do stuff at her own pace. Unfortunately she is also an epileptic but her episodes are mostly controlled

So in my hunt for another school I reached this 'reputed' school in Wagholi - Pune. I introduced myself to the principal and began to explain the issues that my daughter was having and why I felt moving her out from the present school would be better for her. The conversation then reached a stage where I mentioned she was an epileptic and suddenly like a 'BOLT OF LIGHTNING' out of nowhere, the whole attitude of the Principal and the conversation changed. Without even letting me explain more about her condition, she very officially told me that this school is located at the outskirts of the city where if any emergency arose it would take time to respond, there is no one in her school to handle the child's medication and and this school would not be suitable for my daughter as she is an Epileptic.

Whoa ! I nearly fell off the chair with this sudden turn of events. To me I would consider it as Modern day discrimination!

Yes, I do understand that an epileptic child is an additional responsibility for the school but she is NOT some child with a deadly contagious/life threatening disease or something like that. She is just like other children but with a condition that needs monitoring and educated care. She has been in a Convent school for the last 6 years and never once did I feel this unwarranted attitude from them so this new reaction of this principal was new to me.

What really got me was that the Principal of this school did not even bother to find out whether this child was on medication, were the episodes under control, what were the frequency of the episodes, what is to be done if she gets an attack etc.. nothing. She just heard the word "epilepsy" and without hesitation she was quick to inform me her school is not suitable for my child.

For the very first time in my life I experienced this reaction against 'epileptics'. Till today it was something I just read about, heard about but now it was my turn to unfortunately experience it.

Yes, I am hurt, offended and my daughter is the light of my life but what according to me was shocking was this educated 'illiterate' attitude of a Principal towards 'epilepsy'.

Madam Principal , being 'elite' is not about being rich & famous, being 'elite' about being a good human being filled with compassion and knowledge. I thought that being a Principal of a school, you would know that.

Now this is what I call 'marketing...'!!!

Needed to upgrade my car's music system. Walked into the shop & indicated what I needed done. While speaking to the gentlemen at the sales counter, the owner of the shop walks upto me and says he will personally look into the matter. He tells me it would take about 30 minutes to do. I agree expecting him to tell one of the many engineers around to do the needful.

Instead much to my suprise he rolls up his sleeves and does the work himself. ! Cutting / drilling / rewiring / tuning / installation, completing the work in a jiffy, making it a point to explain to me what he was doing all the while.

He then shakes my hand, tells me the work is complete and to contact him anytime if there is any problem and walks away to next customer .....

I havent seen this happen for a long time, where the owner of a fairly large shop, employing several people comes forward and does the work for you himself. It kinda makes you feel special & important, makes you want to come back to the same shop the next time plus recommend this shop and & its services to others.....

Now this is what I call 'marketing...'!!!

We always remember our childhood days

For most of us our childhood days in school are the happiest days of our lives.

We live next to a school. Peering over the balcony I can see the school playground and this morning I saw this grown man playing with the children. He looked like on of the parents of a child in that school .. My God! he had decided to play with the children & he was having so much fun .. running around, arms and legs swaying all over the place, a huge SMILE (all while he looked dressed up ready for work !!!).. he ran from one end of the basket ball court to the other... played with one group of children , rushed to another group, played with them, then rushed to another.. children giving up Hi5s everywhere he went .... yes I am sure he was reliving his childhood... today that man I am sure is going to go to sleep with a huge smile on his face...

Teacher O' Teacher - In dedication to the struggling Child

I had written this quite sometime ago when my lil one was having a hard time in school... with God's grace, a dedicated principal & headmistress and some very caring teachers she settled down..


Teacher O' Teacher
------------------

You stride into class, on the first day of school,
Looking so tall, keeping your cool.

What the year has in store for us, we all secretly fear,
Teacher O' Teacher, You are always so dear.


We feel our parents have left us high and dry,
Perhaps Teacher O' Teacher that is why we cry.


Soon the sun will shine, we know the school has clay,
Teacher O' Teacher, hold our hands and say "Lets us Play".


As you try so hard to teach us, a needle in hay,
We seem not to listen through out the day,
We stumble & tumble making mistakes all the way,
Teacher O' Teacher,that bear hug could just save the day.


Of course we want to study and do well.
We surely know that all does not come from a wishing well.
Our efforts may seem too careless to tell,
Perhaps Teacher O' Teacher we were just unwell.


Our writing is a scrawl, our spellings taking a fall.
Our craft too ugly for the classroom wall.
Always too slow, who is going to wait,
Teacher O' Teacher perhaps it is our drawings that are just great.


Mental Math Mayhem, our English a dare,
And with EVS, we just do not seem to care
Becoming a doctor, engineer an impossible task,
Teacher O' Teacher, don't forget we are just learning to eat fast.


Our school always to us so dear,
Hoping our weakness will always be cleared
That constant attention we always seemed to demand in kind
Teacher O' Teacher we just did not want to be left behind


A little push, a little encouragement and a little love,
The good marks we would get without a shove,
It is only later we realize your efforts were not in vain,
Teacher O' Teacher we did not mean to be such a pain.


As we grow up and the years go by,
We will do what we have been taught without a cry.
Our duty to assist the weak, to guide the strong, to be always true,
How much we do, Teacher O' Teacher, depends on you.