The truth about kuttas and billis

Illustration/Uday Mohite

The first reminder I had, that there was more to kuttas and billis than we imagined, was when Cyclone Nisarga was due to hit Mumbai on June 2. Anxious WhatsApp messages flew around - be ready to leave your house immediately with cash, mobile phone, torch, Aadhar card, etc. But, my sister Sarayu forwarded me these messages from an animal communicators' group: "Everything will be OK. My cats are happy, what's the fuss, they ask." "The tree said humans are making a big deal of the cyclone. She told me to 'dance with the wind during the cyclone." Immediately, I relaxed and went to sleep.

Animals and trees, I learnt, are often spiritually evolved souls, who can offer humans wisdom and guidance. They often don't take illnesses as seriously as humans. And death is not such a big deal; they just "drop the physical body" and move to the next form of the 'soul journey,' towards what some animals call 'all-ness,' similar to what humans call divinity.

Intrigued, I recently did an online animal telepathic communication course, conducted by telepathic animal communicator Priyanka Hosangadi. The first important lesson we learnt, was that energy follows intent. Your intention to connect with someone itself helps activate the telepathic communication process. The other participants were mostly pet owners. One of the first exercises was with other people in the group (apparently it's tougher to communicate with humans than animals, because we are complicated creatures). We had to 'send' a colour and then a coloured object telepathically, and the 'receiver' had to share what s/he received/saw or felt. I was very pleased to correctly receive a red flower, though I did not accurately guess which flower it was.

The big names in telepathic animal communication or 'telepathic interspecies communication,' include Maia Kincaid and Anna Breytenbach. Priyanka sent us a stunning video with Anna Breytenbach, in which she communicated with a snarling leopard called Diabolo, who had been rescued from a zoo and rehabilitated in a sanctuary, but refused to leave his night shelter for six months and snarled at everyone. Anna said he did not like his name Diabolo, suggesting evil, so his name was changed to Spirit. He also asked about the two leopard cubs that were in the cage next to his. This convinced the sanctuary owner that Anna was genuinely communicating: she was given no prior information on the leopard, yet learnt about the actual leopard cubs near his previous zoo cage (see YouTube).

Most of the learners on our group were people with pet troubles: a sick dog, a cat peeing outside its litter box, etc, and we all communicated with them and got different answers, but we could see a pattern. Pet-less, I communicated with Diana, my neighbour's Beagle pup - we adore each other. "Is there anything you'd like to share with me, Diana?" I asked. I got an image of a Rajasthani woman, sand dunes and a water pump. "Are you saying I should do more work in development issues like water?" "Yes, of course," Diana replied. This is really uncanny, as few humans know that I've been working on gender and water issues for the last 25 years, and one of my most satisfying assignments was working on water issues in rural Gujarat. I now respect animals and trees much more. Thank you, Priyanka!

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news