PINCHU

Few days ago, I was scrolling my Facebook homepage. One of my friends had posted about a couple of dogs that were severely injured because some Mahan Prani hit them with a khukuri. I could not look at the picture for more than 5 seconds. Even the thought of the pain those innocent beings had to endure made my heart sink, and I wondered how evil the person who committed such heinous act must be. Fortunately, the dogs are in good hands now because Sneha’s Care, an organization working for animal welfare is treating them.

Incidents like these are not new for us anymore. Every other day, we see ruthless treatment and abuse of animals by the most intelligent species on earth…'humans’. Streets of Kathmandu are full of such speechless animals, waiting outside every meat shop, near garbage bins, trying to cross the road, or sitting quiet on the middle of the street without knowing what might happen next. Will they be subjected to a hit and run or batter and burn? Or will they be chained to death, poisoned or attacked with acid? How can people come up with such nasty ways to take lives of creatures who cannot even defend themselves? Wow human beings! You must feel so powerful to control harmless animals. You deserve a round of applause!

Since my childhood, I have always wanted to do something to stop mistreatment of animals. I am certain my close friends remember me saying, "dherai paisa kamae pachi stray animals ko lagi shelter kholchu." As far as I can remember, some of us had even made a plan to start this initiative once we had enough money. Though I have not been able to put my plan into action, it really warms my heart to see some wonderful people/organizations coming together to give voice to the voiceless animals and provide them the life they deserve.

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Initially, this particular post was supposed to be about animal cruelty and how I have not been able to work on my dream to found a shelter for animals. However, a slight change of plan because now I want to share a story about Pinchu who encouraged me to find a new motivation in life.

One evening outside a Chiya Pasal near Pashupati, a black dog was sitting quietly beside a tea table. When my friend and I clapped our hands and called her, she rushed towards us wagging her tail as if she had known us for a long time. Usually dogs around Pashupati do not go near people, may be because of the fear that they might get beaten, again. But unlike other dogs, this particular black dog surprised us with her friendly and playful nature. We heard from the Pasalni didi that this dog had come there from another place and was not able to get along with other dogs in the area. She guessed that someone might have abandoned her because everyone wants to own a cute puppy, but when they get bigger, they become a burden.  “Too much pee, too much poo, too much this and that!”

The moment we met this black dog, she won our hearts. We could not just leave her there because I felt like her cute puppy eyes were seeking help. Since both me and my friend already had adult female dogs in our house, adopting her was not possible for us. Therefore, my friend Aasutosh called one of his friend and explained the situation.  Aasutosh’s friend Dibesh readily agreed to adopt her. It was almost 8 pm and very dark when we got to Patan from Pashupati and gave Pinchu to Dibesh. Dibesh is the one who named her Pinchu because she has spiky hair.

Pinchu's wound is healing

Pinchu had a deep wound on her back when we met her that day. After few days, we took her to a vet to treat her wound and now the wound is healing. Today afternoon, we paid a surprise visit to Pinchu, and Laxmi auntie (Dbase’s mom) told us that she was scared of dogs previously but Pinchu  pleased the auntie with her jovial nature and she is quite fond of Pinchu now. 

                                         

Until a few days ago I was lamenting how I just dreamed big but never actually worked towards achieving it. Now I have realized that one doesn’t need to do anything huge to make a difference. Even a small step at a time can make a big difference. Looking at Pinchu and her new happy family offered me a great joy and also motivated me to struggle for animal rights. Go feed a stray animal, go adopt an abandoned animal, raise your voice against animal cruelty and advocate for animal rights. If we all did our part, how far could that day be when no animals get abused or suffer cruelty at hands of we humans?

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who are advocating and working for animal welfare. Many thanks to Dibesh and his wonderful family, Aasutosh and Dr. Ram Uncle (Dr. Ram treated Pinchu free of cost) for their help in finding Pinchu a new home. You people are great!

Laxmi Auntie

Dedicating my Shivaratri to the women!

Shivaratri to me has always been about evening walk to Pashupati, Shivaji’s Prasad;) , Babaji, bonfire, street vendors and flow of human crowd.

Crowd  seen during Shivaratri
PC: trekkingnepalhimalaya.wordpress.com

I remember the time, years ago, when public were allowed to enter the premises of Pashupati on Shivaratri without any restriction. Me and my family would go to Pashupati for evening stroll. Maa used to bargain for falam ko bhada while me and my siblings compelled Baba buy us colorful Murali (flute), balloons and cotton candy.

We still follow our Shivaratri ritual but this year, unlike me, everyone in my family already had something planned out. Maa was complaining about having to go to work even on a holiday while brother left early for some volunteer work he was doing at Pashupati. My younger sister was also all dressed up to go to Pashupati with her friends. I stayed home and did some household chores. Since the time I have been engaged in 9 to 5 job, I have come to realize the beauty of staying home doing nothing. Gham tapdai suntala khane pani thulo kura bhako cha!

Today afternoon while I was onto some sun basking, I saw a guy staring at me. This guy was one of the construction workers in the house next to mine. I tried to ignore him for a while, but he was still looking. In a situation like this, I have come up with a strategy to look right back at them in anger until their prying eyes look away. Well the strategy did work for a while but when I looked away, he would be staring again.

Similar incident had happened to me few days ago when I caught another guy (another construction worker) staring through my window. Due to boiling anger, I had absentmindedly blown a punch in air with an annoyed expression and then closed the curtain (feeling Sunny Deol u know! lol :P).

I was really bothered by these incidents, so I called a friend of mine asking for a suggestion to stop this. I also shared about the ‘stare back’ strategy I used on this guy today. However, it was shocking for me to hear that my friend thought I might have provoked the guy and also given an impression that I was interested in him. I know my friend was just trying to warn me for good but it’s really surprising how quickly we become judgmental about a woman’s action in the name of keeping them safe.

Getting back to Shivaratri…me and my friends did go for evening walk today. The excitement of seeing cotton candy, balloon and colorful flute in the streets during Shivaratri was just as it used to be when I was a kid. Another thing that has remained the same is the harassment women have to face during Shivaratri. While walking on the crowded street especially in and around the Pashupati area, staring, ‘accidentally’ pushing, touching, making explicit comments and laughing are completely normal for the perpetrators and I don’t think there would be a single woman who has not been through similar experience.

Eve teasing or catcalling as we say it is an offensive act and a form of harassment. Women are always at its risk, be it in a public vehicle, streets, or any other public place. I myself have been a victim of it, which has caused me mental distress for a long time. In such situation, we usually tend to just gulp down the anger in shame and embarrassment and not speak out against it, fearing the consequences of our action. Since the government also does not have strong law against eve teasing in Nepal, a woman who is confident enough to fight back is instead blamed for her appearance which actually is a lame excuse because how a woman chooses to dress is not the cause, but a sick minded man is.

Every time we women have such bitter experience, we start to think it might have been our fault and some might even wish they were born a man. We also have the 'should’ve..', 'could’ve..' moments later on when we realize the things we must have said and done at that time. 

It's high time we stop compromising and start fighting against any form of violence against women. Thought I myself am not a fight-back type, this women’s day I make a pledge to speak out and not keep the suffering to myself. Women should get the respect they deserve and not be mistreated in anyway, anywhere, be it in their home, public place or workplace. The society and state should ensure support from their level for ending any form of violence against women and men. Men and women should be made aware about gender based violence and gender equality starting from their schools though education because only with the foundation of education and awareness, empowerment is possible. 

Let us raise our voices to stop violence against women and men because the power of change is in our hands! 

Deadly Zika!

The deadly Zika virus has been creating a swirl worldwide and has been a subject of concern for everyone at the moment. Few days ago I heard my fellow coworkers getting quite curious about the virus which resulted in poorly developed head in children. However, they weren’t quite sure about what it actually is and how it is transmitted. So, here I am, taking a moment to write on the must know information about Zika virus.

Originate: Zika virus was discovered in 1947 and in 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected. Zika virus is named after the Zika forest in Uganda.

Causative Agent: The virus Zika is the member of Flaviviridae family. This virus usually remains in the human blood for about a week after infection.

Areas affected: Although there have been number of reported cases of Zika in the tropical Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands in the past, the virus outbreak in 2015 has resulted in declaration of public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by WHO since the confirmation of the virus infection in Brazil on 1^st February, 2016. It is highly likely to spread on other territories/countries in the days to come.

Mode of transmission: The Zika virus is spread mainly through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti Mosquito. However, there have also been evidences that indicate human to human transmission of the virus through unsafe sex.

Symptoms: The symptoms are quite similar to that of flu. Fever, redness of eye, pain in the joint and rashes are common after the virus infection.

PC Antonio Lacerda/EPA

Zika in pregnant women: Consequences of Zika virus is very severe among pregnant woman as the virus can spread from the mother to the fetus. The virus is capable of causing serious congenital birth defect called microchephaly in the babies that are born from pregnant women who are infected by the virus. This defect causes the child’s head/brain to be less than its normal expected size.

Pregnancy after virus infection: As I mentioned earlier, the virus usually remains in the human blood only during the first week of infection. But, planning for pregnancy in future should only be done after consultation with the health service providers.

Prevention and Treatment: Currently, there isn’t any vaccine or medicines available against Zika. However, implementation of preventive public health measure can certainly create a barrier between the agent, host and environment. Using mosquito net/repellent, adoption of personal and environmental protective measure are some of the ways for disease prevention. Pregnant women also need to be extra cautious to make sure they are not exposed to the risk of virus infection. For instance, avoiding travel to the areas affected by the virus, practice of safe sex to prevent sexual transmission, consultation with the health service provider before planning for pregnancy etc. 

Remember the three pillars of Public Health to fight against Zika: Prevention, Promotion and Protection

Be safe and spread the word! 

Reference: Centers for disease control and prevention