I have a secret…
Sometimes when I see a group of Indian (men) starring at my whiteness, I like to think they are staring at my hott American bod. Much of the reasoning behind the loose and abundant fabric of Indian women’s clothing is to hide the feminine figure from sight. Well, baby, no sari’s hiding these curves.
I have another secret…
Delhi is overflowing with homeless people, as well as homeless animals. When it comes to stray dogs there are simply too many to count. But for some reason, out of all the dogs I have seen, I have become mentally attached to one in particular. I named him Hans. I think there are two plausible reasons for why I have become attached to Hans. 1) I have seen him repeatedly more so than any of the other dogs in Delhi because he lives in the neighborhood I do. 2) He has hound colorings, which remind me of my beloved beagle. Unfortunately for Hans, Hans doesn’t look too hot. This morning when I saw him he was only walking on three legs. Something was wrong with his back left leg and it seemed he couldn’t really put any weight on it. When he “attempted business” he had a hard time lifting his leg, as such dogs do, and had to revert to a trembling squat. It is not uncommon to see dogs limited to three legs in Delhi. I cannot tell you specifically why, but I have to imagine these dogs live the literal Hobbesian phrase: dog-eat-dog.
What is even more heart wrenching, is that many of the uneducated people in Delhi do not know to treat animals with respect. I often seen dogs with their tails hunkered between their legs, or the heads hung low. I have also seen many dogs with shortened, stubbed, tails. I am completing speculating here, but it sometimes appears the tail has been cut.
I have yet another secret…
Today, my IES group went to a beautiful park for lunch. When we sat down on the lawn, two dogs came over and lent us their company. Now, I can’t guarantee that these dogs were or were not strays. Sometimes, nice people will put collars and dog-coats on the stray dogs to keep (the uneducated) people from being mean to them by making the people think the dogs are owned. So I pet them. Eep! Don’t tell the Shahs (My bff’s family)!!!
