Nai Ganga is not the pied piper of yore but an auto driver who casts his magic spell.
Does the name Ganga connect to us as Indians? To most, she weaves tradition. For some, she breathes magic. For others, she remains a mystery or a muse.
Namma Bengaluru has its own ‘Ganga’ from north Bangalore, who is special and unique in his own way. Having a fetish for clothes, shoes, bags, food and travel is common; for Ganga, it is the dogs. More than his kith and kin, it is the dogs that are the food for his soul.
He passionately digs out the archives of his valuables and hands over a picture of Munna, his dog.
His romance for dogs started then. Ganga recounts, “It all began with Munna 18 years ago, when this little pup was brought by my younger brother Manju. We raised him as one among us.” Sudha, Ganga’s wife says, “When I got married and came into the household, Munna was around and he was very smart. I loved him. One striking feature about him was that he was the peacemaker. He used to come and park himself between the two parties who were fighting and bark—a signal to stop fighting.”
Ganga’s friends fondly call him “Nai Ganga”. “Nai” means “dog” in Kannada. At one point, Ganga had 30 dogs, all strays. He is a simpleton whose responsibility doesn’t stop with feeding his family of four; he takes care of about 15 other hungry stomachs and spends nearly three-fourths of his income on dogs.
Ganga is not the pied piper of yore but an auto driver who casts his magic spell. The dogs recognise his auto’s horn and follow him.
He nostalgically recalls how a dog, Julie, entered his life 12 years ago. It happened one Deepavali night. Julie, frightened by the noise of the crackers, went berserk on the road, crossing the paths of furious drivers and was saved by Ganga. He patiently waited for 10 minutes for the owner to turn up, but in vain. From Yediyur Lake, he brought her home, fed her, and nourished her with all his love. Now, Julie is old and ailing. He spends Rs50 a week on her tablets, which burns a hole in his pocket, but he seems unperturbed.
Julie rests snugly in her cozy space with a bedding. She is fed every day with warm milk, rice, and bananas. She gets VIP treatment; Ganga’s own children come next.
“I just can’t see any dog suffering. I want to help. I feel helpless when I am not in a position to help them.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}