Roll out the carpet

Neighbours! I would love to say, piously, that I love my neighbours but I would be lying. The fact is any sign of a family moving into one of the several unoccupied houses in the complex gives me sleepless nights. I am always apprehensive about their reactions to the animals, not just our own but the strays. No matter how long the animals may have stayed in the area BEFORE us, they are always usually looked upon with disfavour.

The first whiff of the impending neighbours was when our ex-broker rang up to say that a family was moving in and we could perhaps help them as they were ‘like us’!  (Whatever that meant.)

We had almost forgotten when the electrician cycling by our house stopped to give the news that a family had moved in with cats and dogs. He had no clue about the exact number but apparently it was impressive.

Walking by the ‘still to be occupied’ house, several expert comments were passed like the grill being too wide to keep cats in. We waited for their fences to go up. I felt sorry for the new neighbours remembering our early days in the complex when fond parents brought their kids for an outing to show them cats and dogs! A few pebbles hurled or yapping sounds made to attract them was not unusual. Fortunately the interest soon waned but while it lasted one felt as though one was on the wrong side of the fence in a zoo. I guessed the new neighbours would soon be experiencing it and there would be people, standing on tip toes to spot the animals.

Today my husband’s morning walk was tossed to the wind when the strays which usually accompany him dashed off to chase a new comer sporting a bright yellow collar. He had no option but to jump into the chase to protect the new comer. Unfortunately Yellow collar was not going to be chased away. He planted himself in front of a gate and would not budge an inch! The mystery was solved when a lady emerged from the house calling out ‘PANCHU, PANCHU’. Relieved to find that Panchu had met up with the owner, my husband told the lady to take the dog into the house. She shook her head sorrowfully and explained that it was no use. Panchu (derived from the word panchil which means ‘wall’ in Bengali) would immediately jump over the wall and escape. In fact Panchu was her neighbor’s dog till he jumped over the wall to join the family.

Panchu has two canine friends in the house – Mem (presumably short form of mem sahib) and Buro, an aged dog which sat sunning himself.

The beauty of it was that none of the dogs were breed dogs. Each of them had poise that comes from being loved. It was such a pleasure to see them. And yes, believe it or not, there are 14 cats. So far we may be leading in the number game but as the neighbour’s cats are yet to be operated on, they might catch up in future!

I am searching for the red carpet to roll it out for the new neighbours.