Kriti is a good friend of mine. She’s never done me a favour in her entire life, neither have I done any for her, we argue and quarrel, but we still can’t get rid of each other. But thankfully this story is not about Kriti. It’s about Ravi, Kriti’s boy friend, and his ‘window cat’, Cleopatra.
Now, Ravi is the kindest guy I’ve ever met, the sweetest. Talk to him for ten minutes and you’ll become a diabetic. I was over at their place this evening, and couldn’t help listening to them talk about ‘Patra.’
“Did Patra come in today?” Ravi was asking Kriti.
“Yes, she was here,” Kriti said.
“Who’s Patra?” I wanted to know.
“My clandestine friend,” Ravi responded uninvited, trying to bring in some mystery.
“Oh, she’s our window cat,” Kriti said.
“Oh, I see… ” I said, not seeing at all. “Window cat?”
“Yeah, she comes in to say hi at the kitchen window every morning.”
“Hmmm,” I nodded and kept quiet.
Must be something about wanting to pick up some food. Quite a natural thing to do, I guessed.
“Guess what she was up to this morning, honey,” she said.
“What?” Ravi said, watching the FIFA world cup on TV.
“Patra left a half eaten mouse on the window sill, meowwed me and left,” Kriti beamed.
“What?” I exclaimed. Something didn’t fit in, at least not in my world.
“Cleopatra delivered four kittens last week,” Kriti said.“So… ”“So since then every morning she’d take the sausage and disappear… I followed her Monday and saw that she was feeding her kittens with it. And then she’d return for a piece more… for herself…”
“Okay, I see it all,” I said. “Moms take care of their babies, you know… But what’s it about the half eaten mouse on your kitchen window?”
“That’s how she’s making sure we have something to eat too… ” Ravi said.
It was hot and windy when I headed back home. There was desert sand in the wind. But that didn’t stop me from seeing how it’s possible for people … and cats.. to take care of each other in times of crisis. That includes Kriti. We never let each other down, come what may.
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