My Childhood 'Ass'-ociation

During my childhood, our family moved through many rented houses. Whenever we moved to a new location, I always found myself first drawn to the animals of the locality. Mostly, these animals turned out to be cats or dogs.

But once I fell for a different animal—an ass foal to which I gave the name Teddy at our first meeting. Until I met Teddy and his parents, Raja and Rani, I was made to believe that an ass was a stupid, lazy, and unlovable creature. But when I started observing Raja, Rani, and Teddy closely, I got rid of all my misinformation and misconceptions about this wonderful animal.

Raja the jackass, Rani the jennyass, and their child, the beautiful foal Teddy, lived with the washerman Govindan's family under a thatched roof right opposite our house. Govindan, the dhobi, was not like other washermen of the area who treated their asses with cruelty.

He took very good care of Raja and his family. He used to fondle the foal as if it were his grandchild. I too longed to caress Teddy.

To gain access to this ass family, I made my father give some of our clothes to Govindan the dhobi for washing. Thus began my visits to Govindan's humble hut and Raja's humbler living quarters in its front yard.

Early every morning, Govindan set the bundle of laundry on Raja's back, and they began their trek to the River Adyar, a river of good water way back in the nineteen sixties, which meandered through South Madras.

While Govindan was engaged in washing  clothes Raja would be allowed to browse in the grassy patches on the banks of the river Adyar. Around four in the afternoon  Govindan  and  Raja balancing on his back the bale of washings would commence their homeward journey.

Rani the she- ass, on ‘maternity leave’ granted by her considerate master, stayed at home to take care of her foal Teddy. First Raja and his Mrs Rani were suspicious about my intentions when I tried to touch their darling foal.

I proceeded slowly and cautiously. “When Raja kicks you in the face you will kick the bucket" warned my elder brother, a destructive critic of mine. He nicknamed Dhobi Govindan’s hut as Govind 'Ass'ram.

It took me only a week to win over Raja and Rani with carrots and cabbage. They allowed me to touch and even cuddle Teddy. Animals do respond more readily and proportionately to love than humans. Befriending an animal is easier than befriending a human.

My association with Raja, Rani, and their beloved Teddy Ass came to an end abruptly when their master Govindan decided to go back to his native village situated on the banks of River Kaveri, as the water of the River Adyar was, day by day, getting more and more polluted. The quality of his laundering deteriorated. Unable to bear his customers' dissatisfaction and ire, he decided to move.

The day Govindan left with his humble belongings and my friends Raja, Rani, and Teddy remains painfully fresh in my mind even after so many years. If only I had some money, I would have hired a photographer to take a picture of Teddy and his parents as they stood side-by-side behind the tailgate of a tempo mini-truck. Now, I should become an artist to draw what I saw that sad day.