suki – magic cat, muse, and overall grumpypuss.
The story of how Suki came into my life is quite a bizarre one. Tara, the wife of a dear friend, had a dream that an animal needed her. Later that day, she found a tiny shrivelled creature hiding in the shadows in a local market.
The kitten was in terrible condition. She was starving with no fur and a broken tail. The vet said her chances of survival were slim. The kitten mewed endlessly, falling asleep when exhausted, only to wake and start yowling again. About two weeks later, Angad and Tara had to travel across the country for a family wedding, and so, they handed her over to me, in a shoebox, to look after for the fortnight they were away.
The second I got home and opened the shoebox, something magical happened. The kitten stopped mewing... not a peep. She wandered about exploring before happily curling up to sleep on my lap. And the rest, as they say, is history. My parents and I fell in love with her. Angad and Tara, who already had two cats, were delighted the kitten had found a family that wanted her so much.
We still didn’t have a name for her, and one day she was sitting on my lap, chewing the corner of
a Sookie Stackhouse book I was reading. “Would you like to be called Suki? (I prefer the Japanese
spelling to the American one)" I asked. She purrrrrred. So that was that.
Soon Suki and I moved out together from my parents’ house into a tiny flat of my own, and that’s where one day, as Suki and I were lounging on the sofa, my first ever story came flooding into my head, out of the ether! I opened my laptop and started writing and wrote all night long! That’s when I knew I had found what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing - being a writer. I am convinced that Suki came into my life to be my writing muse. She has inspired numerous writing pieces and is still by far the best writing companion a girl can ask for. A soft, warm ball of fur that curls up next to me. The perfectly silent counterfoil to the noisy words that come rushing into my head.
daku - the world's best bad dog
We were driving down a muddy road in Alibagh when we saw an inebriated man beating a small puppy with a stick. Pulling up, we ran out, and I found the little pup cowering in the grass.
I reached out immediately and picked him up. And there began one of the greatest love affairs of my life.
Daku was a legend in every sense of the word. He is the inspiration behind The Worlds Best Bad Dog series.
Daku passed away a few years ago from cancer. I miss him every day. But I hope to honour him by living my life to its fullest and becoming the person he seemed to believe I was.
ALEX - THE COMPLETELY UNCOORDINATED RABBIT CAT
Alex also came into my life thanks to another dear friend Madhav.
I really should rethink my friendships. They all seem to end in my being handed ...
A
kitten
all hail the gloopy satellite dish
gloop
STARVING
EYE INFECTION
MANGE
1o day ordeal
Then began a
of daily vet visits.
Alex would be bathed, slathered with a repugnantly thick and sticky cream from head to toe. To add insult to injury, he was then put into a cone and sent back home with us.
When he was all healed, we thought it would be a good idea to bring him home and try and integrate him with grumpy puss Suki and the world’s best bad dog Daku. They were less than impressed, and I imagined many a time that I would wake to find that they had packed their bags and left.
But eventually, the three animals in our home settled into a rhythm. The house was carved up into three broad territories, and only the water bowl and kitchen were places where they would amicably co-habit.
Alex has grown into a magnificently beautiful cat, but one that lacks any or all kinds of grace. He is large, clumsy, and never lands on his legs. Instead falls on his head most of the time. His coat is a brilliant white – but he’s almost always grey or brown from rolling in the dust somewhere in the balcony. He is playful, a cuddler, but like a regular teenager, is also quite moody and only wants to engage on his own time. We love our silly, fat rabbit and wouldn’t trade him for the world.