Tryst With Destiny

I have always been one of those who believes that one's destiny is in one's own hands and that one could wield it with authority and craft it the way one wants it to be. But this recent incident proved me wrong and enlightens me that it could be otherwise.

Simba, our eleven year old German Shepherd Dog had passed away about forty days ago and we had still not stopped missing him. He was our shadow all along – during our long walks in Sanjay Van in south Delhi, at every nook and corner of our home, and our family picnics. My son grew up with him and never had I seen him cry as much as on the day when Simba died. On that day we made up our minds not to acquire another dog for a while and even if we did, it would be another German shepherd.

My husband and I have been going for our morning walks to Sanjay Van for years. Sanjay Van is a jungle with a thick forest cover a home to many peacocks, a whole lot of other birds, mongooses, dogs and probably a few other animals that may be hiding from morning joggers. The best part about this forest is that it has wonderful walking tracks stretching from one end to the other and is surely a dream come true for nature lovers.

So it was one such morning when destiny decided to prove my beliefs wrong. For the very first time, we decided to explore a new track and see where it took us. Well, the track very quickly came to a dead end and one small gate brought us out on to the main road. As we walked back to our car that parked some distance away, we came across this little Pomeranian dog crossing the road and was almost about to come under the wheels of a passing car. We quickly moved to rescue him and found that he was actually very exhausted - probably searching for his master, looked exceedingly weary and ill. He had a frayed collar on his little neck, matted hair all over his back and probably hadn't eaten for days on end.

He was probably abandoned or had lost his way. We got him treated for all kinds of illnesses and at the same time distributed posters with his picture and description, in the area we had found him. But alas, not a single person came to claim him.

His sweet nature and cuteness did not allow us to pursue our earlier decision to leave him in a shelter. He has been with us for the last two months now and has been inching slowly but surely towards occupying Simba’s place in our hearts.

This incident has made me think differently about the role of destiny in our lives. I now believe that destiny decides not only the family that we are born into and the spouse that we decide to spend our life with but also the many other people and the creatures, be it dogs, cats, horses, cows or birds that we get to associate with in our lives. 

By  Vasanthi Kumar