When no one helped, this is how we rescued a three day old kitten from a thirty feet deep bore well.
What is the value of one’s life?
Are we human’s superior to other beings of nature in any way?
What makes us humans humane?
This is the story of a three-day-old kitten captured in a thirty feet. deep uncovered bore well in a small district of Bangalore.
***
The Fiasco
My colleague at Microsoft, Ashish Singh – a bright self-styled geek hailing from a small town of Madhya Pradesh – loves to be early to work. It was unusual not to be greeted with his bright grinning face behind the glass wielded eyes on a Thursday morning. We had our weekly skype call meeting scheduled at eleven in the morning and there was no sign of Ashish. It was rather strange I thought. When my call went unanswered I dropped a curious WhatsApp text in the hope of a reply.
He pinged me back after an hour with the following picture:
You might be confused like me seeing the image at first glance. Try zooming in.
My heart beat pulsated when I saw an innocent kitten’s neck smeared against a rusty iron pillar. With no space to make any movement, she was looking upward with hopeful eyes.
Moments later Ashish called.
“I think I am going to be late for work. This is not working. This is impossible. The people here are the same. Same Everywhere! There’s this kitten. A three-day-old kitten stuck in an unmanaged 30 ft. bore well in front of my apartment. Her mother is crying for help. Nothing is working man! I’ll be late to work. I am trying to get her out. Please drop a mail on my behalf. Will you?”
His voice cracked as he finished the last sentence.
Ashish is a sensitive, kind-hearted, honest, humble youth. He believes in conserving nature, aid children in shelters, helping people in distress, been an elder brother for me in a foreign land. He lives in a rented apartment in a small locality named Murgeshpalya – not far from our office in Domlur.
I drafted the mail on his behalf and frantically started searching for help on Google.
The Excuses
In India, as kids, we are instructed to memorize a three-digit number – on the lines of the ubiquitous 911 helplines in America - to dial in critical moments of accidental emergencies.
When you hit the digits 101 in sequence from any Indian SIM card, it connects you to the fire department.
The phone was answered after several long rings. Thirty seconds of the conversation, the firefighter and I decided English as the preferred mode of communication. I did not understand Kannada (local language in Karnataka), he had a problem interpreting my Hindi (India’s official language).
The phone was answered after several long rings. Thirty seconds of the conversation, the firefighter and I decided English as the preferred mode of communication. I did not understand Kannada (local language in Karnataka), he had a problem interpreting my Hindi (India’s official language).
I explained him the entire situation taking calm, long pauses. I was perplexed as to why he would confuse the kitten with a puppy or a human infant, and react differently on each occasion. I disconnected the phone after he argued that I had dialled in the wrong department for cat rescue and suggested me to contact “someone” else.
Isn’t noon time a little too early to be tipsy? I thought.
Ashish finally reached office. Distraught and dismayed he recalled the sequence of events. I listened patiently, noticing the worry and fear on his face.
There was a small passage in between the outer and inner concentric circle outlining the bore well. A couple of inches- small enough to barely slide your wrist through- was big enough for the mischievous small kitten to get stuck in. Some observers gathered around Ashish while he applied his engineering skills and utilized as many household items around him as he could since morning.
Ashish finally reached office. Distraught and dismayed he recalled the sequence of events. I listened patiently, noticing the worry and fear on his face.
There was a small passage in between the outer and inner concentric circle outlining the bore well. A couple of inches- small enough to barely slide your wrist through- was big enough for the mischievous small kitten to get stuck in. Some observers gathered around Ashish while he applied his engineering skills and utilized as many household items around him as he could since morning.
Nothing helped.
He managed to call in a volunteer from a recognized non-profit organization who instead of helping, coaxed Ashish to quit trying and suggested him not to worry as the kitten would soon die and his body would easily rot away in the perfect makeshift graveyard!
“What can we do Arnab? Why are people so insensitive?”
He looked famished. I convinced him to join for lunch and promised him help. My nerves rattled in shame and helplessness. Nearly choked with flashbacks of the cute kitten’s face and his miserable plight I had trouble gulping my food.
Back at our seat, we decided to approach the issue with a plan. We spent nearly half an hour collecting helpline numbers of as many animal rescue organizations or non-profit agencies who swear to go to any extent to safeguard any animals’ life and boasted about several success stories on their websites. Contact details were neatly on display along with account details inviting donations. We were hopeful.
We started dialling and then the illusion was shattered!
While one renowned NGO (PFA- People’s for Animals) argued that the location was too far to travel on a bright sunny afternoon, another explained that their organization only rescues “wild” animals. I lost the debate supporting my claim that our innocent three-day-old kitten was wild enough to get your attention. He disconnected too.
He managed to call in a volunteer from a recognized non-profit organization who instead of helping, coaxed Ashish to quit trying and suggested him not to worry as the kitten would soon die and his body would easily rot away in the perfect makeshift graveyard!
“What can we do Arnab? Why are people so insensitive?”
He looked famished. I convinced him to join for lunch and promised him help. My nerves rattled in shame and helplessness. Nearly choked with flashbacks of the cute kitten’s face and his miserable plight I had trouble gulping my food.
Back at our seat, we decided to approach the issue with a plan. We spent nearly half an hour collecting helpline numbers of as many animal rescue organizations or non-profit agencies who swear to go to any extent to safeguard any animals’ life and boasted about several success stories on their websites. Contact details were neatly on display along with account details inviting donations. We were hopeful.
We started dialling and then the illusion was shattered!
While one renowned NGO (PFA- People’s for Animals) argued that the location was too far to travel on a bright sunny afternoon, another explained that their organization only rescues “wild” animals. I lost the debate supporting my claim that our innocent three-day-old kitten was wild enough to get your attention. He disconnected too.
While some (KRUPA) would suggest me to contact the fire department and explained their dependency on them for such rescue operation, other would blatantly pass on random contact numbers as both of us frantically continued our quest for help!
Bound by our work duties we couldn't leave the office for another few hours. We decided to keep on dialling – our only feasible way out, we thought.
People kept giving contacts and kept passing the buck. It was close to four in the afternoon. I tried the fire department again. The guy at the other end scolded me for trying them the fourth time, this time stating they didn't have climbers and added all fire engines were disbursed across the city. I tried explaining there would be no need for a climber as the cat was locked in a bore well deep inside the Earth. The guy from the fire department got even more rude and asked me to approach the media for more attention. I got the answer and hung up in disgust.
Other office colleagues chose to passively listen to our helpless phone communication and even mock us to be over sensitive for just an animal’s life.
Bound by our work duties we couldn't leave the office for another few hours. We decided to keep on dialling – our only feasible way out, we thought.
People kept giving contacts and kept passing the buck. It was close to four in the afternoon. I tried the fire department again. The guy at the other end scolded me for trying them the fourth time, this time stating they didn't have climbers and added all fire engines were disbursed across the city. I tried explaining there would be no need for a climber as the cat was locked in a bore well deep inside the Earth. The guy from the fire department got even more rude and asked me to approach the media for more attention. I got the answer and hung up in disgust.
Other office colleagues chose to passively listen to our helpless phone communication and even mock us to be over sensitive for just an animal’s life.
We managed to leave work a bit early. Reaching the spot, we tried to gather the neighbour’s attention and sought as much help as we could.
The Mission Impossible
There was so little space around the borewell hole that moving the inner rod or inserting something to pull out the kitten would have hurt her. We kept thinking.
Some kind people gathered around.
Ultimately the circle of life fulfils with likeness and kindness coming in closer. That’s the base of our society and the world around. Someone brought a wire from a hardware shop. A lady brought her old sari (traditional Indian female garment). A kind neighbour provided us with torches, emergency light and heavy words of inspiration.
We made a loop of a long metal wire. Tearing the old sari to half, we looped it around the flexible aluminium wire’s length. We inserted this makeshift fishing rod inside.
In the commotion, the bore well rod moved a bit and the kitten fell further inside. Everyone gasped in agony!
On peeking inside, we realised the kitten was fine but was now thirty feet deep inside the borewell. It had hit rock bottom. For a moment, I cried. My hopes shattered as I silently heard the kitten wail.
After a round of heated discussions, we further stretched the wire inside until we imagined it to be within her reach. We had no choice but to wait for the kitten to climb onto the wire loop, so we could slowly pull her out. Everyone waited.
The mother cat purred impatiently around us, motivating her child and us to hasten the rescue. The kitten was devoid of food or water for more than twelve hours.
Was she alive and breathing down there?
People murmured; some gossiped; some kept making fun; some still questioned and wondered how did these two guys find time for all this without realizing how did they manage to find time to question these guys? Nervous moments ticked by. We answered some obnoxious questions and re-narrated the same stories.
Amongst all these thought bubbles came light!
We suddenly heard faint scratching sound. We flashed our torch and cheered hysterically as the kitten’s tiny paws clawed against the sari motioning it upward. The cat continued her shrill meows. The kitten responded and slowly continued moving towards our flashes of light. Her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the white light. Our eyes sparkled due to the tears of joy!
After vying for space and taking intermittent pauses, the kitten managed to crawl more than half the borewell’s length in half an hour. We stood in silence, witnessing a perfect climax! I bit my lips in silent prayers that she shouldn’t slip back the inner rod into the hell hole again.
With the help of the sari, her mother’s woeful cries and a major stroke of luck, the cute kitten proved that the cat has nine lives phrase is true!
She jumped into our arms and held on to our garments tightly. We purred and gently pat her delicate body. She was frightened! A near death experience, a long wait to be rescued, a hungry thirsty encounter with the delicacy of life.
The assembled crowd cheered for the heroes of the night. While a lady thanked Tirupati Balaji (major holy place celebrating the Indian Lord Vishnu), one swore to offer milk to the Shiva Lingam (a symbolic form of worship the famous Indian God – Shiva).
Someone suggested taking a selfie. We obliged.
I tread back to my mind loops, questioning the concept of humanity. What about our ability to imagine and decide to empathise with the sensitive ecosystem around?
Shouldn’t the approach of the firefighters and the non-profit organizations have been more proactive, instead of simply passing around numbers and comments? Have we become lazy or simply insensitive or do we act only when the circumstances favour us?
In a country exploding in a population with every keystroke that I have typed so far, who do we approach when caught in such sensitive scenarios? Are enough organizations, volunteers, established in good numbers to offer help?
Why do we categorize ourselves superior to life forms around us? Why have we applied labels to everything? Why are we becoming self-centric and have chosen to shun our ability to empathise and embrace everyone around? Isn't a life just a life?
As the inner debate that if we at all believe in Karuna (grace/mercy) in this Kali Yuga (the last of the four stages of the world as per ancient Indian scriptures) still prevails, the kitten lives on – united with her nervous, caring mother sipping warm milk offered by another generous woman.
Do I rename this article as to something as
Also published at Youth Ki Awaaz.
As the inner debate that if we at all believe in Karuna (grace/mercy) in this Kali Yuga (the last of the four stages of the world as per ancient Indian scriptures) still prevails, the kitten lives on – united with her nervous, caring mother sipping warm milk offered by another generous woman.
Do I rename this article as to something as
“Rescued Kitten: Faith in Humanity Restored!”
or
“Rescued a wild Kitten: Whose wilder - Us or Them?”
* * *
Also published at Youth Ki Awaaz.
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