‘Aandhi’ lives on forever in our hearts

She stepped into our world as an endearing brown bundle of joy. She and the black bundle of fur were named Aandhi and Toofan. Living up to their names, the tumultuous twosome came nearly to turn our lives topsy-turvy with their mischievous pranks.

As a collector staying in a 100-year-old bungalow with a steady flow of visitors and guests, I found that these two lovable miscreants had a way of stealing peoples’ hearts. They could induce smiles and draw affection from the stern gunman, Manibhai, just as they could get the gruff, grumpy Mali kaka to befriend them.  

Over the seasons, the two came to occupy a special, delightful place in our lives.  Their affection was unconditional and evergreen. Often, when one returned home after a tiring day at work that sapped and wrung out every ounce of energy and hope, the two Doberman Pinschers, would cheer me up with the greatest sensitivity that any human could ever dream of.  

Aandhi would often greet us at night, with luminous eyes reflecting the car headlights, holding a leaf in her mouth, half her body wagging as she welcomed us back home! Soon, Aandhi was ready to deliver her first litter. As our young daughter picked the just born pup and held it in her little palms, the first time mother, Aandhi lovingly licked the palms wet! She could be savagely and menacingly aggressive with a stranger just as she could be the embodiment of love with us!

Another night, I recall being woken up by her incessant barking.  On rushing downstairs, I saw a most gripping, nail biting ‘sparring’ as she tackled a deadly cobra, with rapt attention and concentration. I would wonder how Aandhi could bundle up so many different attributes ranging from courage and ferociousness to compassion and love.

Many more monsoons passed. As we shifted for a few summers to Delhi and the US, Aandhi and Toofan were now relocated in my husband’s office. In their new home too, they cheered up so many lives and protected so many. As we returned back to Gandhinagar, our now teenaged children started voicing their need for dogs at home. This was first met with our refusal as a complete ‘non-negotiable’ and then to a reluctant giving-in! Two beautiful fawn-coloured fur balls again came to decorate our home in the spring of 2009 and were named after the Disney characters - Kiara and Kovo.  

Our children took on a good deal of responsibility, attending to the pups, brushing them, deticking them, walking, training them and so on. However, Aandhi still remained their favourite.  

I distinctly recall that evening when with a lump in the throat, we learnt from the doctor that Aandhi was growing very ill. We would visit her and see her fighting spirit, admirably braving the illness and pain. She finally breathed her last on a winter morning. As we offered our prayers and buried her, we were inconsolable. Returning home that afternoon, we were reassured to see a full term pregnant Kiara, about to deliver her first pup. The first pup was promptly named Aandhi and this little fur ball brought back a smile to everyone’s soul.  

Flesh jackets may come and go, but the spirit lives on for ever! In her death too, Aandhi Sr. gave a lovely lesson: By her love and life, she actually demonstrated that death could be conquered.

In our lives, one often comes across uncomfortable, judgmental and even ‘quid-pro-quo’ relationships with human beings. But, pets are never deceitful or malicious. It is time that we pondered and imbibed their unconditional affection.

“We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment,” George Eliot had once said.