Remembering Banku.....

I can see that Mani -  my cat is unhappy. I know the reason behind it and yet I can't do anything to reverse it back. If I could, believe me, I would. I miss Banku as much as she misses him. To her her was her friend, her companion, her playmate, the one who showed her the lighter side of life. The one with whom she could play, run, chase, sleep, eat and banter with. I miss him, because he was like our baby, a family member who we took care of, fed, played with. 

         I still remember the day we got Banku home. He was so tiny that we wondered whether he would be able to make it through. At that time we were in the process of shifting our belongings to another house and we had a bag full of Cd's. That night he went and slept inside that bag and when we searched for him in the morning he was nowhere to be found. And we found him to be sound asleep inside that bag. He was so tiny and in that too, he had curled his body inside it. He loved sleeping in enclosed spaces...it must have felt cocoon like for him. Mom named him "Banku" after a mischievous child actor in a film called Bhoothnath. And mischievous he was. He was naughty, innocent and adorable.

        Somewhere along the way...my dad also started loving them. He initially did not like pets. But the both of them were so endearing that it was impossible not to like them and love them back. In the winters they just came uninvited and sat on our laps for hours together, and believe me, it felt so damn good.. Pets give you such love, that no matter what you do, you cannot defy it. And you have to give it back. 

         Banku had this annoying habit of going and sitting on top of elevators - the place above the fan. And it was so difficult to get him out of there.We always wondered what he saw there, because there were no rats there either. And so we had to lure him out of there with a piece of bread or chapati and then he would slowly come out. Once out from the elevator, he would try and run away from us. In fact I think my cat learned that from him too. He used to be covered in grease and it was tedious work to remove and clean him and restore his fur clean. 

When my two cats were introduced to each other for the first time, we were a little anxious about what the outcome would be. Banku was a little bigger in size compared to Mani and she seemed a little scared of him. Not to mention, we were showering a lot of our attention on her, he must have been jealous and possessive, But soon, they became the best of friends. Seeing that they were of the same age, it must not have been difficult. Mani and Banku were inseparable... Whatever new action Banku did, Mani was always eager to mimic him. Life for her was changing with him around.  Somewhere along the way, they became each other's world. 

        Once, Banku dragged a huge rat till the first floor of our building and hence my dad was furious with him. And he was not even ashamed of what he'd done - I mean duh- Yeah he wouldn't be. He was just being a cat! But honestly,  he was so adorable that a person couldn't even stay mad at him for a long time. And he was just a baby. So we didn't mind all these little things that brought small joys into our family. 

Everyday after going home, the first thing I did was to hold him close to him, tickle him and swirl him around the room. The both of them were such stress busters to all of us - anyone would feel great in their company. He had a typical way of letting us know that he was hungry. He would start meowing slowly at first and then his voice would gain momentum. Then he would start rubbing his head against our feet. The feeling was indescribable.

Both - Mani and Banku have a personality of their own. He was the "fun-to-be-around" types and she was "Miss Perfectionist". 

I wonder what Mani must be feeling now. What I would give for being able to read her thoughts. She misses him terribly - that much I know. She seems to be always alert, cautious. Does she know that he isn't ever going to come back? And how soon will she accept this? One thing is for sure. He held a very special place in our heart and losing him this way has not been easy for us. Its been difficult...these past few days. Life seems different without him. Dull, Boring. We never imagined that we would lose him this way, just snapped out of our lives forever. In body he may not be present with us.. but mentally hes always on our mind. He lives in our memories... and he reminds us of happy moments, happy times. Perhaps he lives in her memories too..reminding her that whenever life gets serious...its never too late to have some fun. We have too many memories...and I don't have enough words to express them all. Nothing and no one can replace him or his memory. We all believe that he lives with us...everyday. But I'm glad, that for how much ever time he was in our lives, he made it worth it. I'm glad to have had him in my life. 

This sounds melodramatic maybe?

Well, who cares? As long as he can hear me say this, it doesn't even matter.

I love you Bokya.

Thanks for the memories.

Banku and Mani - inseparable as usual. Banku is the one on the left.