Oscar

          Coming from a town that is a 50km away from a metropolitan city, Mumbai, you don’t see many pets around here. Ulhasnagar is the town where I am from, it is mostly known for its Sindhi population, Jeans’ markets, awesome delicious mouth-watering Sindhi food and India’s own ‘Made in China’ products (you know what I mean). Getting a pet here is a struggle on its own. I first told my Parents and others in my family about my wish of having a pet and, as anyone in a joint family like mine, I was not allowed. Overtime I let it go.

          A few years passed by, I got enrolled in degree college. All excited about this new journey I was about to start. Many things were about to change in my life. Out of those many, one was me developing a liking towards cats. There were a number cats who used to roam around in our college. In those days of the semester, when there wasn’t anything particularly to do apart from attending practical and roaming around in the campus with friends, also since we used to bunk almost all the lectures, I started spending time with these adorable felines. I would gently pat them or move my hand over their head or scratch their chins, and they would sit beside me, sometimes purring. I grew more and more fond of them.

          At this point, I asked my family to pet a cat. They, as always, refused. But, this time, I was not going to take no for an answer. I was adamant and urged them again and again for a few months. Finally, my parents said that they would let me have a cat, if I managed to get a 9 pointer in my next semester (Ugh!! Typical Indian Parents). But, I was happy that at least they considered my wish, and I knew, that even if I don't get a 9 pointer, I would be able to convince them with a little bit more persistence. Also, I knew my father, he said that he would let me have a cat if I secured a 9 pointer, but the only thing he wanted was me concentrating on my studies a bit more. He succeeded in doing that, because, let's face it, we all work a bit harder, study a little more, when we have motivation. My father has a way of helping people find motivation (or giving them in this case) towards something that they themselves wanna do, or is good for them.

          Come next semester, I studied harder, but once you have tasted the sweet nectar of the fun you can have in engineering, there is no going back. I couldn't get a 9 pointer. So, now when I approached my family with the same wish, they had a reason for turning me down. I lost my will of persistence. Though I kept trying to slip it in between conversations from time to time, but to no avail. The only way out was to try and score a 9 pointer in the next semester (Ugh!!). I was mentally prepared myself for this. On the day following my birthday, I woke up to the noise of my parents asking me to wake up, that they had a surprise for me. My dad had brought home a lovely kitten, neither an infant nor a full grown cat, in a cardboard box. He found him in an ashram we visit, separated from his family. I woke up, opened up the box, and he jumped out of it and looked at us and meowed. I was so happy. I was on cloud nine. I couldn't believe that after maybe a year, I finally had a pet. I took him in my lap and he didn't even panic, he felt right at home. I was filled with joy. I had tears of happiness in my eyes. I couldn't have asked for a better gift for my birthday. I am so so grateful to have such a loving family. And now, there was one more member in the family, Oscar.

Oscar, on his first day at home