The Noble Cat! My Hero!

What is the best thing that you have seen till date? I am sure this question will be difficult to answer for everyone with the gift of vision. So many things we see every day! Thousands of visual memories are stored inside. It’s extremely difficult to choose one.
If I would have been asked this question even few weeks back I would have struggled to provide an answer. But now I have my answer. The answer was disclosed to me while I was on my way to Kolkata airport last month.

It was a Saturday. Our flight for Delhi was at 12.25pm. My wife and I left our home at Panskura around 7.30am. We planned to take a train to Howrah from Panskura station. We reached the station only to know that the trains are not running for the last two hours and no one has any idea. I could not find the station master. Been a Bengali and by virtue of spending twenty years in Bengal amidst bandhs and strikes I got the signal. And considering the CPM Trinamool standoff, it will take some time to resolve the crisis. I can’t wait for the resolution. I hired a local cab and told him to take us to the airport. The guy never went to Kolkata before. Both of us convinced him that he can do it. Been a driver he should be ready to go anywhere. We are not asking you to take us to the jungles where Maoists stay; we want you to take us to the Kolkata airport. We convinced him that he can do it. My wife gave him some extra confidence by saying that she knows the route and will guide him. He was convinced. Our journey started. After going smoothly for a while we faced a huge traffic jam. Lots of cars were turning back. We enquired. Some hawker union has blocked the highway demanding the government to look into some of their issues. As usual. Bengali Bandh culture. My driver turned the car back and took an alternate route. Both of us got tensed. We have to reach the airport by 12am. The driver informed that the alternate route will increase the journey by around 30 km. We both were flabbergasted. My wife gave a “cursory monetizing look” at me. This phrase “cursory monetizing look” is my invention. My wife always throws this at me when she wants me to pay some extra money or give some tips with the bill at the restaurant. I told the driver to hurry up and not to worry as I will compensate. And he pressed the gas! Money means motivation! Money means more gas!

Despite the driver’s best intention, our car could not cross the 30kmph mark. It was a one way road. In normal circumstances this road hardly gets any traffic. But lots of people are taking this route due to the blockade. So traffic was heavy from both the direction. The road passed through semi village areas. Soon our car entered a small market and got stuck in a jam. It looked like a weekly bazaar as most of the shops looked temporary. As the car inched forward I saw the unforgettable scene. There was a fish shop just meters away from me. And although few customers were present I could not see the shopkeeper. To my greatest surprise instead of the owner there was a cat sitting lazily at the left side. A cat manning a fish shop! Fish and Cat never go well together. It’s a deadly combination. The cat kept looking at the fishes with eyes half closed. I could feel its greed despite its responsible position. The car moved forward. I turned back and kept looking at the shop. Soon the owner came back and took his position. So for about five minutes the shop was totally in the hands of this cat. For five whole minutes, it was the cat that guarded the fish shop. Not a single fish went missing!

Oh Cat! My Cat! How could you do this? Nobody has ever associated a cat with honesty, integrity and uprightness. But you have proved them wrong. I admire you. You are inspiring. For five long minutes it was just you and the fishes. You took care of them. You protected them. I am not sure how would I react when I am given the responsibility to guard a huge amount of money. Probably I would pocket a few currency notes when no one is around. But your self control is enviable. Now I can understand why cats were worshiped in the ancient ages. There is a proverb “Keep an eye on the cat and another on the frying pan.” This is not for you.

The great American satirist, P.J. O'Rourke in his book Modern Manners: An Etiquette Book for Rude People wrote “Cats are to dogs what modern people are to the people we used to have. Cats are slimmer, cleaner, more attractive, disloyal, and lazy. It's easy to understand why the cat has eclipsed the dog as modern America's favorite pet. People like pets to possess the same qualities they do. Cats are irresponsible and recognize no authority, yet are completely dependent on others for their material needs. Cats cannot be made to do anything useful. Cats are mean for the fun of it. In fact, cats possess so many of the same qualities as some people (expensive girlfriends, for instance) that it's often hard to tell the people and the cats apart.”
Well Mr. O’Rourke, I think you need to see this cat before you can write off the cat as irresponsible. Well some are but that does not give you the right to paint the entire community in one color. I am sure one day you will meet an angry cat you will confront you for this blasphemous write up. And this angry cat will also show you that men are not the only dangerous creatures in this planet.

This image of the cat will remain with me forever till the time I have a memory loss or I say good bye to the planet. Now, whenever I face any difficult situation in my life, I always think of the cat. If the cat can manage the fishes without tasting a single one of them, why can’t I do the difficult things? The Cat has changed my life. Whenever a problem arises I close my eyes and this of the Cat and say in Obama tone, “Yes I can”.