My life as a dog
If reincarnation is a reality then my preference is to return as a dog. India has the highest concentration of the world’s poor within its borders, approximately 350 million people live below the poverty line. In Benaulim, Goa, a young lady with her baby on her hip decided to beg outside a cafe. The cafe was frequented by European tourists and on this first day of 2008 it was full. It must have looked a good spot to tout for the money needed to purchase the necessities of daily life. A kindly lady became quite agitated extracted a knife, promptly cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle and placed the container now filled with water next to the begging Mother and child. The dog next to the Mother sniffed at the water and decided not to drink from it, instead he looked pleadingly into the eyes of her benefactor and she produced some dog biscuits. Doggy sniffed, ate half of what was given and trotted off down to the beach to hang out with his mates, maybe chase a flying frisbee, cool down in the gentle surf, lie under a swaying palm and when hungry go for a bite to eat at a local cafe. Meanwhile the Mother and child were completly ignored and before one of the less tolerant tourists dispatched her with ‘Cello’ – hindi for ‘piss off Pakistani’ – she shuffled up the road for another bite at the lucrative tourist market.
Lawrence O'Grady