CELEBRATING WITH 100-MILLION FANS

 


 


“The better I get to know men,

the more I find myself loving dogs.”

Charles De Gaulle



Thapa is a young security guard in our Colony (where my classes are situated). A Nepali, he lives in a small shelter provided to him by the Society. As he is an in-house guard, almost every person in the Colony knows him… That includes every dog living here, too. Our Colony has several members from the dog family. My heart doesn’t allow me to call them ‘street dogs’, or ‘homeless dogs’. For, our Colony is their home… They live under the parked cars, rest over the benches, play with each other in our open spaces… And, above all, they serve us as additional security-guards alongside Thapa and his associates.

Thapa carries in his hand a sturdy stick; dogs rally behind him. There is a fine bonding between him and the canines. He has given a name for each one of them…

This morning, I was walking behind Thapa. As usual, a couple of dogs walked by his sides, regularly playing with his stick. Incidentally, my eyes fell on the words printed on the rear side of his T-shirt: ‘Celebrating with 100-Million Fans’!

When I reached near him, I asked, “Thapa, do you know what is written on the back of your T-shirt?”

“Nahin Sirji,” Thapa said, “Ek saab ne diya tha.”

I explained to him the meaning of those words. He shook his head and pointed with his stick to the dogs walking alongside wagging their tails, “Hamare Fans ye log hai.”

I shook my head, too, in agreement with what Thapa had just said…

Dogs are the most loyal friends of humans. They don’t need much unlike humans… Most of them survive, gloriously, on love, affection and some food offered by their fellow-creatures. They are unaware of the distinction between the owners of the apartments in our Colony and the security guards. If someone gives them love, affection and some food, they become Fans…

Thapa, as he said, has a few Fans, if not a 100-Million.






Some days ago, Shripad got in touch with me after almost three years. I asked him, “What happened Shripad? You were so active on Facebook once, and, all of a sudden, you disappeared… What happened?”

“No Sir, I realized, that I was wasting a lot of my time on dealing with ‘strange friends’, not the ‘real friends’. It was affecting my mind and I decided to quit it.”

I had taught Shripad when he was in his final-year B.Com. He was a special child and had difficulty dealing with his peers. After completing his graduation, his family moved to Chennai where he was employed by a company through the social-welfare quota. For many years, Shripad stayed active on FB sharing his unique stories and updates… And, then, when he realized, that he was wasting a lot of his time dealing with ‘strange friends’, not the ‘real ones’, he decided to quit.






Perhaps, the ‘Saab’ who had given the T-shirt to Thapa, too, must’ve been tired of the frantic chase of a ‘100-Million Fans’. Thapa, who wore it blissfully unaware of its meaning, however, was aware who his true Fans were…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic's.: pixabay

 

Video: Bharat Meri Saan

 

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