Jagjiwan Ram, Hassan Aly and a Bitch

A 470-word story on November 12 informed our billion-strong nation that (Mr) Selvakumar, 34, from Tamilnadu’s Sivangana district has at last, after a long bride-hunting, tied the nuptial knot with a 4-year old dog read bitch, Selvi, at Madurai. The bride is brown and comes from a high-breed family. Over 200 guests attended the wedding, followed by a grand feast. The marriage was solemnised at the Ganapathy Temple. The bridegroom tied the Saffron thread to which a thali of gold was strung around the coy bride’s neck. Some local TV channels as well as BBC gave appropriate coverage to the historic event. My personal feeling is (Mr.) Selvakumar, an agricultural labourer, is a trail-blazer and a ray of hope not only for cats and monkeys but also for the States like Haryana and Punjab, which have stopped producing girls with the result, of late, brides are being “purchased” from Southern States. The fact is, the dog, because of his pristine qualities of head and heart, deserved upgrading. I am sure (Mr) Selvakumar has already taken all the precautions to ensure the success of the alliance. I am confident the groom has already dug up a pit for the puppies that (Mrs) Selvi would soon produce for him. One hope he has gone through a recent study on dogs, which says: ears close to the head indicate tense posture, while straight tail says “don’t mess me with.” The vigorously wagging tail informs: “I am 6000 happy to see you.” The pedigree of the bride is, no doubt, classic. Trust (Mrs) Selvi Selvakumar proves a totally faithful and utterly loyal wife. I have no idea about the hubby’s food-habits. Sure he provided her what the dogs usually eat. Unfortunately no historical proof exists of dog’s origin. Neither Aristotle nor Plato nor Toynbee shed light on the issue. Similarly, all the holy Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagwad Geeta and the Ramayana are silent on the matrimonial alliance between man and canine. Maybe, the learned Jagadgurus, the Shankaracharyas and the various Bhagwans know something on the ticklish issue. The nation wonders at their silence and awaits their findings after an in-depth study. As far as the Criminal Procedure Code is concerned, it is highly un-chivalrous. In fact, a law attracts such ties. Both the State and the Central Governments would, therefore, do better to look into the issue of man-dog matrimonial alliances objectively. It is in national interest. But the need of the hour is to adopt a sympathetic view, beyond rabies and abundance of street-smart dogs. Today the National Capital, Delhi has at least three lakh stray dogs. Why not give a dignified name to the canine, for example civil dogs or urban dogs? This contempt must go. It is good that a Municipal Corporation-sponsored consensus in on to find out the total canine population. Hope a consensus of eligible bachelors too would soon be conducted. When a “Maliksh” enters a temple, the abode of gods is cleansed with milk. This cleansing ends the profanity. Decades ago, Babu Jagjiwan Ram, a Dalit by birth, visited a temple in Varanasi. Soon after his departure, the deities were washed with milk. Only recently, in June this year, Mr. Hasan Aly, a DMK MLA visited the Sri Ramanathanaswamy Temple in Rameshwaram. Soon our brethren belonging to the RSS, Hindu Mannani and BJP demanded “cleansing” and parikarma or atonement pooja. Maybe, a dog is not a “Maliksh” or as “Maliksh” as Babu Jagjiwan Ram was or Hasan Aly is. Otherwise till date no demand has come to public notice for the “cleansing” of Gunapthy Temple where the marriage of (Mr) Selvakumar and (Mrs) Selvi was solemnised.