My mother: The paradox

Karuna is a delighted person today. Her Facebook profile picture has got around 55 ‘likes’ and 30 comments. The ecstatic middle-aged teacher, Karuna, tells her colleague, “Ma’am, 55 ‘likes’ in four hours. Isn’t that unbelievable?” Her co-worker says, “Yes! Of course! Let me see what you have posted. Oh! You have posed with your dog. It’s a nice picture. I will also ‘like’ it.” Karuna’s profile picture has garnered attention for the first time. Thanks to her pet dog, Chum, who has obediently posed with his guardian and wore an effervescent smile that’s visible only to animal lovers. The happy woman reads and ‘likes’ all the comments. Her friends have generously gone ‘awwww’ about Karuna’s Labrador, Chum. “Okay! I will see you later, ma’am. I’m going for my last class for the day,” informs Karuna. “What class it is?” quizzes her colleague. “Moral Science,” says Karuna, as she adjusts her silk dupatta and walks slowly to the class room.

The little boys in the classroom greet their teacher, who is extra-glad today. Moral Science might not be the class that they look forward to attending. But the huge grin and unusual radiance on their teachers’ face made the students feel different too. “Children, let’s discuss animal cruelty today. I will tell you a couple of stories about animal cruelty and you tell me what you learn from it,” declares Karuna. The students pay heed to Karuna, who expressively tells stories about the importance of treating animals well. As she begins her next story, her students press their hands against their faces and prep themselves to listen keenly. The teacher seems to give her best shot to slip into the role of the characters in her stories. Everyone will agree that Karuna is a great storyteller. The teacher takes a deep breath after she finishes explaining two tales to her enthusiastic audiences. “Now who wants to tell me the moral of the story?” questions Karuna. Many hands are raised and students jump to bag a chance to prove their comprehension skills. Karuna chooses the one in the last bench to explain the moral. The little boy unconfidently begins to tell his understanding of the stories. “We should never hurt animals. When we go to a zoo we should not throw stones at them. We should not ape them. If we see somebody beating up an animal, we should complain to our parents. And if an animal is locked-up in a small place, we should set it free. We should always keep animals happy,” sums up the boy. Now there is another reason for Karuna to beam. Her students seem to have imbibed the moral quite effortlessly. The class applauds for the last-bench boy and the bell goes.

The gated community, Town Hill, is extravagantly lit and the luxury apartments are filled with cacophonies. Karuna parks her car, collects all her belongings and takes the lift to her house in the third floor. Only Karuna’s apartment is drenched with darkness. She switches on the balcony light first. Her pet dog Chum, who is locked-up the whole day in a place where only a small suitcase can be placed, jumps at hearing the foot steps of his mother. The tiny hole, where Chum seems to spend his whole life, has got two bowls – one is empty and the other one, which is a water bowl, is infested with insects. As Chum can’t contain his excitement since he sees his mother after a long day, he steps into the water bowl by mistake. An irked Karuna yells at the innocent animal, “Stupid dog! Who will clean this place now? It’s already stinking. I’m tired of cleaning this house. Look at your place. It’s filled with hair.” Chum tilts his head, listens to his mother and continues to wag his tail. “Sit quiet here for a while. I will take you for a walk a little later,” tells Karuna, as she enters the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. Chum, who is happily ignorant of humans’ malice, truly trusts his mother’s words, continues to believe that he is the happiest dog on this planet and his home is the most beautiful place in this world.

Chum catches a quick glance of what’s happening inside the house through a small window. He tries to move in his small place to control the urge to pee. But the poor dog fails. Now even the small place that he has in Karuna’s comfortable apartment is flooded with his own urine. Chum whines and waits for Karuna to come out.

Karuna is ensconced on her sofa and she slowly slurps a cup of coffee. She switches on the TV to watch a special program on raising pets and picks up her phone to check her Facebook notification during the break. Karuna’s picture with Chum has now totally got 83 ‘likes’ and 42 comments. Karuna smiles, as she responds to her friends’ comments, “Yes, I will surely hug and kiss Chum on your behalf!”

Chum, who is satisfactorily lost in his dark world, is happy about not knowing his mother’s naked face. The little dog seems to have ignored the fact that his mother is a paradox.