I Can Never Forget That Puppy

by Archana Kapoor Nagpal
(Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India)

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
- Albert Einstein

Delhi has been very close to my heart for so many reasons. In 2005, I moved to Hyderabad but still Delhi as a place is special to me. From my school to college and then my marriage, I have spent 7 years of my life in Delhi. Narrow roads, variety of cuisines, well-planned and well-maintained flyovers and now metro makes Delhi one of the most attractive cities in India.

Delhi's extreme cold weather reminds me of an incident.

In 1999, I was working as a volunteer for an NGO. Radhika was my senior and was handling my project. She was an editor and was helping me with my project report. It was another very cold night when I rang her bell for some project related discussion. We settled with our cups of coffee when someone knocked the door.

She opened the door and we were shocked to see a puppy in the laundry basket, with towels and packets of milk. Raghav, watchman's elder son brought the puppy to Radhika's home. He was shivering with cold when Radhika got him in and offered some coffee that was actually meant for us.

Before we could ask, we were told that the watchman was fired from his job and his family was asked to leave the premises. It might take his family couple of days to look for a new place to settle and it would not be possible for him to carry the puppy. He wanted to find a safe place and then take the puppy to his new home. Radhika and I were delighted to have a new friend for next two days. Two days passed and puppy was taken to the new home.

I still remember Raghav's effort to save that puppy. Where there are families fighting over ancestral property and legal shares, there are people in this world who have no place to live but worry for others. On that night, Raghav had no clue whether he would have a home but he made sure that the puppy should have a safe home. That is true humanity. Money is not everything in life it is just anything in life. The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity and be kind to others.