Puppy love

Shobhaa De

Poli was not a dog," writes Gulzar about his Boxer who went on morning walks with him and had the same biscuits he did as they sat on the balcony. In a poem he writes on his beloved companion, translated into English by Udayan Mitra, Gulzar records an amusing conundrum:

"There was a problem:
How was I going to call Pali now?
My friend Partipal, Pali and me
The three of us were sitting in the drawing room.
What if I said ‘Pali' and Partipal replied?"

The book's 45 original pieces are by a mix of established and new writers, all with a love for man's best friend

In another piece titled A Dog Called Crazy, Ruskin Bond writes about a devoted part Terrier, part Spaniel who after the author's grandmother passes away is inconsolable until one day he sees a vision of her, a vision that stays with him and eventually takes him along with it. These make up 45 original pieces in the Hemal Sodhi-edited The Book of Dog (HarperCollins India), out last week, where some of the country's leading writers, new voices as well as individuals who have dedicated their lives to animal welfare, write movingly about the dogs that have in big and small ways changed their lives. In one about her dainty Pekingese Gong Li - named after the stunning Chinese actress, and mistakenly called ‘Ganguly', India's "best cricket captain" by many - Shobhaa De writes about having found her soul sister. "We are happy just being. Hanging. No demands to play or cuddle from either. Just a quiet companionship. Knowing she is close by, is enough. I value my independence, and she values hers. She's as picky as I am when it comes to people," the writer-columnist says. In another, senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai writes about his affectionate companion Nemo, a gift for his daughter who at the time was about to enter her teens, who was an essential part of the family's Sunday brunches, and loved to snuggle in a warm bed during Delhi's cold winter months. "Nemo taught me the virtue of patience… [and] true companionship," says Sardesai about his trusted friend who the family lost in May 2021, soon after the author finished writing the piece, the warmth of the memories he recalls tinged now with an unmistakable sadness.

Gulzar and Rajdeep Sardesai

There are several other thoughtful pieces that make up this delightful collection, such as the one where journalist Jai Arjun Singh writes about the many "part-time dogs" - street dogs that one looks out for on a regular basis and feels responsible for - that he has loved and lost over the years, or the fascinating one about the dogs and other animals including horses, canaries, trench cats and monkeys - the Imperial War Museums estimate over 16 million animals, historian Aanchal Malhotra writes - that were deployed during World War I, used for various purposes like transportation of medical supplies, inspection of hazardous terrain and to deliver messages. Mid-day's features editor Fiona Fernandez writes about Jim Brown, a ‘pukka Anglo-Indian bugger' who in his own voice fondly speaks of decadent Christmas meals, wrestling games, harassing the neighbour's cat and cozy afternoon siestas that were part of his joyful life in the Fernandez home. Again, author Mahesh Rao, unable to have dogs in an allergy-prone household, writes about the fictional dogs he was close to growing up, from everyone's favourite Great Dane Scooby-Doo to Tintin's sidekick Snowy and Charles Schulz's Snoopy, the latter's ambition to become a novelist an instant draw for the bookish Rao.

The authors have contributed to it for free, and all royalties from sales will be directed towards registered animal welfare charities.

WHAT: The Book of Dog
WHERE: Leading bookstores and online
FOR: Rs 499