THE heat has suddenly become worse in the city but worse than we humans, its animals who suffer most. But my dog prefers the heat than coming into my air-conditioned room from where I write. Not that he isn’t reacting to the heat, he is. I know he finds it unbearable, and walks all over the house looking dejected and depressed, but try as I may, he won’t enter my comfortable room.
Now why would a dog not what to enjoy the coolness of an AC room? Why does he want to lie in the humidity and oppressive heat outside, when luxury awaits him inside? Well, the reason, is he isn’t allowed to scratch himself in my room. All dogs love to scratch. Some sit, some stand, some even walk while doing so, and if you ever look at their faces, that’s one simple pleasure they enjoy:
The joy of scratching! Ah the pleasure they get from that one scratch which goes on quite often for a few minutes. We do bathe him, shampoo him, brush him, and even see his skin is well taken care of, but his scratching is his source of pleasure. Unfortunately, that very process creates problems in my room, as his hair lands up all over my bed and chair and table and soon I start scratching either because it’s contagious or maybe he’s sent a tick flying in my direction!
So, I don’t let him scratch in my room, and because he’s not allowed to do so, he would rather stay out in the sweltering heat, happy his scratching isn’t restricted or curbed by anyone. But is this freedom to scratch limited only to dogs? Very often I’ve seen luxurious homes, where sons and daughters have everything money can buy, except they have an authoritarian father or possessive mother. And one fine day, they find their child either hanging from the end of a rope or running away, or getting into wrong company and bad habits.
“We gave him everything!” the parents cry. Yes, but you didn’t give him or her, the right to scratch. Some freedom. Some lifting of rules! And today in the capital two men wonder how they lost an election. They promised people a one religion nation, but took away press freedom, banned certain food, banned money transactions and curbed the right to protest. And the people of Delhi and soon the rest of India prefer their right to scratch. I open my door and watch my dog lying outside. The heat is terrible, but there seems to be a grin on his face, and I know, he’s just had a good, long scratch..!
