For an academically challenged canine like me, the cloistered life of books isn’t befitted. The other day, Calvy was too busy to play frisbee with me, browsing through his MBA course ware with eyes darted at the page at one instant and on the window at the other; waywardly his retina navigated behind his spectacles…so much for enacting intelligence:)
Dog grins are hard to enshroud, you’d know if you were a dog. Anyway, when he caught me mocking him, he nuzzled in a couch and put off his ‘intelligent glasses’ on the table. With an air of wizardly wand movement he asked me,”Well, what do you think of advertisements? “
“Ahem! Well…It’s promotion of some product or service”, I said.
“…and usually paid for”, he added.
Now that his ego was satisfied, he was back to his notes and devoid of his playtime, the professor in me delved in the pensive cocoon and recollected some of the most cherished commercials I had ever been subjected to. Naturally,all of them had one thing in common…dogs:)
So here’s presenting the succeeding entry in the Dogged reviews…the TV Commercials!
Well, there is no dearth of talent and wits when it comes to copywriters having dogs in their artwork, yet for the sake of succinctness in the post, I’ve taken the liberty of choosing four. However in the coming posts I’d again reiterate on the idea.
So, here’s presenting the TVC with pups in a starring role…
First we have the amazing campaign by dog food makers Pedigree wherein they embark on a pledge to help a shelter dog get adopted each time their product is bought and they sign off with ‘Dogs Rule’ . Though all the commercials under this campaign were high on emotion yet here are the dog’s pick…
…they say that hope and a little prayer never get unanswered so was true for Echo,here he gets adopted:)
Closer home, in India, the suiting majors Raymonds showed with their commercial that the complete man sports a softer side too.
The Mobile service providers Hutch(now known as Vodafone) build their brand in India riding on the back of a pug. The amazingly cute and unforgettable campaign had many of the master pieces yet the following commercial and the accompanying soundtrack is awesome!
Coming to terms with my momentary lewd conscience, I can’t help but leave you with something to feel light about after the emotional drive.
What? The aforementioned four TVC are already done with, well…I lied…here’s the fourth:)
Season’s greetings and a happy new year fellas:)
…till we meet again,here’s yoo-hoo from the Dogville!
The Indian forests have changed a lot from the life and times of Mowgli and the irony couldn’t have been starker. In what seems a modern adaptation of the famed Jungle Book, this tale of a female sloth bear is more heart wrenching than the movies featuring such storylines for this still awaits a happy ending.
Rama Singh Munda (member of the indigenous tribe) from Ruitisila village in Orissa’s Keonjhar district, about 225km from state capital Bhubaneswar, gave shelter to female sloth bear Rani when she followed him home and was 2-3 days old. The bear would have met a certain death at the hands of predators had she not followed Rama. The family christened her as ‘Rani’ and she was the loved new member of the family. The family which was bereaving the loss of Rama’s wife discovered a reason to smile. The 5 year old daughter of Rama, Dulki found a companion to play with. The family used to share their meals with Rani, Rama even used to take her for joyrides on cycle and all through the time they never used new her for any commercial purposes nor did they caused any harm to the furry animal. However the euphoria of the girl and bear was short-lived as the news reached media circles and the officers took away the bear (only on second attempt as Rani had escaped to forest during the first raid. However the bear returned to her only home later in the day where they darted her and took her to the zoo) Rama was held captive in the jail for breaching the law and keeping a sloth bear at home.
It can only happen in factual realms that an innocent tribal who has been keeping the bear for over a year with affection and care was arrested and put behind bars. We have heard time and again about the pitiful state of zoos in India, the conditions at Nandankanan Zoo are no better. How judicious a decision it was on the part of officials to send Rama to jail and Rani to an unkempt cage? Solomon would be deranged in heavens.
The man is now set free but then who cares about the family…the feelings of the bear who found herself in a cage without her family? The court of law, the animal activists, the NGOs must see at affairs from an animal’s viewpoint too. What good are animal laws if they fail to serve the animals?
Motherless Dulki never knew any Archies teddy bear, for her only buddy was her furry friend with animation.
Dear Bear I empathize with you…fiction lore of Rudyard Kipling was better than the realism.
Disclaimer: – The following post may ripple through your religious sentiments…so be it!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”—Mahatma Gandhi
Grr…Grrr…
The nefarious acts against animals seem to be on a never-ending spiral loop
Every 5 years, the otherwise pristine Himalayan state of Nepal witnesses the gory bloodshed which notoriously relates to the ‘World’s largest animal sacrifice’. Animal rights activists have termed the sacrifices a ’shame on Nepal’ and urged for immediate actions to stop the barbaric killing of animals. Come December 2009, the heinous act would be resurrected again and 200,000 animals would go under knives to please goddess Gadimai in Bariyarpur, Bara District. Call me an illiterate canine, if you please but then I fail to understand how the slaying of mute species would please a goddess? Gadimai mela’s carnage has animals attributed as the symbols of the mental smokescreens which are to be removed by the community. How enlightening is that? How can decapitation of 60,000 young buffaloes and 1, 40,000 wild rats, pigs, goats and little birds bring inner peace and sanctity to humans? Such an episode of atrocity and ruthlessness…all in the name of religion! His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his book ‘The Vegetarian Way’ had quoted ‘Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures’.
Don’t you find it trivial that man has always maneuvered religious connotations to kill innocent animal kind? I guess that he’s doing something more vicious – killing the very soul of mankind. If religion calls for this then us animals have learned enough about the dining table preferences of the deities. The epicurean pleasures that Gods seek are idiosyncratic to themselves, Jesus relishes a baked turkey on a Christmas Eve, Allah prefers cattle and Kali mata will have nothing but the warmest of animal blood. All of it while no sacred text has ever called for animal killing.
I wonder if in this world of thousands gods and goddesses there is one who has a fetish for human flesh? For the truth remains that no sacred text, none of the doctrines call for animal sacrifices but the pundits, the padres and the ulemas have their own interpretations.
…And all of this when the so called human Gods have us as Ganesha’s mouse, Durga’s lion or the Shivji’s faithful bovine. Guess Lord Ganesha is himself part animal!
Is this massacre of God’s worthy creations and flowing ravines of innocent blood, the only salvation for human sins? I am brought back to the thought waves which question if the world in which we live (and where some wait to die silently) is a multitude of Gods and Goddesses for the man alone. Is there not a single divinity for the fauna to be blessed with? Where is the God of small things?
We, the animals also kill but never have we connoted a religious background to our killing for food. For we believe that it’s all in the food chain mechanisms and not in gospels. We kill for survival and not to appease the bible. I have always found the killing in the name of religion, the flagitious of all crimes possible. How in the name of sacred texts, the creed, the hymns and mantras can such a massacre be justified?
From what I’ve learned through Facebook pages, ‘Beauty without Cruelty’ has joined hands with Animal Nepal in their campaign “Worship without Cruelty” to eradicate such an atrocious barbaric ritual.
I therefore request you to please sign the petition:
Epilogue: call on your fatwa, charge me with voicing anathematized verses against the Bible…crucify me, slay me on the altars of goddess…for I know no fear as you have made me to believe my fate lies below the machete. I started out with the purest of rage in my bosom but now the feeling is also mingled with melancholy or rather regret. Regret for being the most faithful companion of man. I wonder whether my rage would match the atrocious vigor of you humans, truly you belong to a different race. Superior? I don’t think so.
The erstwhile state of the fauna kingdom akin to cuckoo’s nest can finally slay some cobwebs off the mantle as the twitterers welcome the sanguine news of Indian government’s epic declaration of coronating my whistling amigo from water- the good old deary Dolphin as its national aquatic animal. As a spokesperson of genus Canis and fauna the world over[Aren't I good at self promotion;)] I overwhelmingly applaud this sane move. I hope it helps in saving the pristine yet playful freshwater delight from disappearing from the country’s aqua-map. The dwindling number of Dolphins(less than 2000 as per last census) had earlier cautioned the World Conservation Union to declare it as an endangered species.
India has a national bird(Peacock) and national animal(Tiger) and now Dolphin gets the distinction of completing the triad of Earth,air and water.With this historic declaration,the Government hopes not only to ensure the survival of the species which are endemic to river Ganga but also seek cleansing of the river. The Environment and Forest minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh emphasized on the pivotal role played by my aquatic friend by drawing an analogy with the big feline,the symbol of ecosystem in forests. In his words, ‘Since the river dolphin is at the apex of the aquatic food chain, its presence in adequate numbers symbolizes greater bio diversity in the river system’.
Its hard for me to contain my euphoria over my ultrasonically blessed friend’s probable promising future! Here’s wishing Dear Dolphin all the best:)
PS: The photograph in the post has been taken from web and no matter how much I would have loved it,I ain’t that black dog.
In sync with my promise of bridging the (despised) gap between man and canine of late, here I quote what may seem a cliché to you,’a dog is a man’s best friend’…now how many times have you heard that before? A zillion perhaps so what brings me to bring the line back in the lights? …Calling me a self glorifying dog already? Wait, I didn’t came up with this phrase…in fact neither my granddaddy dogs propounded this doctrine either…it was a gentleman from your species who is attributed for coining this immortal phrase. Here in this post, I unearth the relics from the Dog archives and present before you the wonderful tale of Mr. Vest…perhaps the best spokesperson that our muted breed ever had!
Before I go ahead with this amazing tale I’d like to thank my friends Teri Davis & Beckie Long for helping me in bringing this story to the weblog
The year was 1870, the place was peace court in Warrensburg, Missouri, USA. A short yet historic speech, was delivered by George Graham Vest on behalf of a plaintiff seeking damages from a neighbor for killing his dog(named Drum or Old Drum) in a case entitled, Burden v. Hornsby. During the trial, Vest famously stated that he would “win the case or apologize to every dog in Missouri.”
As the case progressed and reached the climatic sequence, none in audience had anticipated what would take place next would go down in the history as a landmark event. Mr. Vest’s closing argument to the jury made no reference to any of the testimony offered during the trial, and instead offered a eulogy of sorts. Mr. Vest’s “Eulogy on the Dog” is one of the most cherished literary masterpieces that were ever written on friendship.
“Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
Gentleman of the jury: A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.”
Mr. Vest’s moving “Eulogy on the Dog” convinced the jury to decide for the plaintiff and became a classic tribute to man’s best friend. There is more to the following great lines than mere words…its a timeless gem, a transcript that our species holds in reverence…there have been never been any greeting cards for my species on any friendship day and nor do we need any; for Mr. Vest’s testimonial suffices for our friendship with anthropoids.
Turning over the maple leaf, commencing today ‘Dog with the blog’ presents a new column i.e. ‘Dogged reviews’ pertaining to motion pictures, soundtracks, novels, websites, magazine articles etcetera as long as they have a compassionate content for the pawed species…Come on, don’t give me that look…at dogville all that you have is the Hobson’s choice:) As sane souls like Runa and Calvy always say,’Dogs are and would always remain more closer to me than humans, the best of friends fade under the savageness of the shimmering Sun, too many a souls have bidden farewells under moonlit nights…Guess, sooner or later everyone becomes the shadow of how I remembered them once…the frame remains the same but the picture fades. And you ask me why I love and trust a dog more than humans?‘
Hachiko monogatari, the 1987 movie based on the true incident of a dog’s undying loyalty to his master even after his death remains my favourite movie to date! I guess Japanese directors are the masters of the craft! In one of these posts, I’d also cover another gem from Japan…Nankyoku monogatari (Antarctica).
Coming over to Hachiko, I remember how Gucci, Runa, Calvy & I were all in tears by the time the credits rolled…the face of Hachi was never obscured from my head nor was the legacy that he had left behind. Perhaps beneath the veil that transcends social circles…there is a society, where none intrudes. The utopian dream is realised…believe me, if this story fails to arouse an emotional outburst (though unknown to prying eyes…so be it ) through your lachrymal glands then perhaps you need seek psychiatry help! Adorned with the 1987 Genesis Awards (awarded for films that contribute to the humane treatment of animals) the motion picture’s honors bears a testimony to its legendary cult status in the genre of movies celebrating the bond between man and canine!
This poignant tale, the profound commentary on the concept of “interspecies altruism” is directed in a subtle manner unlike most of the other movies in the genre. This film presents to us the inexplicable bond between two souls of different species. None of the other characters in the film seem to understand it; the man’s own family cannot appreciate it; and I wouldn’t be surprised if we, the audience, are not expected to understand it either. This adds even more value to the magical bond which Professor Ueno & Hachi shared. A review on Imdb.com reads,” If this movie doesn’t affect you, you are THE DEVIL!”, I couldn’t have agreed more! If you’re an animal lover, you’ll be hooked from the first minute. If you’re not an animal lover, then you’ll be one by the time the movie’s over.
There once was a man so an old story goes
Went to the station every day rain or snow
His faithful dog would walk right by his side
And sit there and wait till he came home at night
And when the man died the dog still would go
To the station each day … why? no one knows
He was waiting for someone he loved
Waiting for someone he loved
Someone he believed in someone he could trust
Day after day waiting for someone he loved
Days turned to weeks and months turned to years
Trains came and went but the dog still appeared
Hoping to see the face he adored
His old true companion – the one he lived for
But then came the night when the dog finally died
Now I know hes there walking by his masters side
He’s been waiting for someone he loved
Waiting for someone he loved
Someone he believed in someone he could trust
Dont you think humans could learn from that dog ?
Now I dont know about all of you
But I wish that my heart was so true
To think he could miss him that much
He spent all his life waiting for someone he loved
Waiting for someone he loved!
Copyright – Jimmy Scott
Come summer 2009 and Hachiko would be brought back to the silver screen, this time in a hollywood production starring Richard Gere. For those who came in late, Hachiko is the immortal legendary dog who has been the testimony of loyalty for about 85 years now. In 1924, Hachiko was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner’s life Hachiko saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn’t return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachiko was given away after his master’s death, but he religiously escaped, turning up time and again at his old home. With the passage of time, Hachiko apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. This marked the beginning of one of the utmost heart wrenching love stories you’ll ever pay an audience to….a decade on trot, Hachiko waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn’t see his friend among the commuters at the station.
In 1932 one of these articles, published in Tokyo’s largest newspaper, threw the dog into the national spotlight. Hachiko became a national sensation. His faithfulness to his long dead master impressed the people of Japan as a spirit of family loyalty all should strive to achieve. Teachers and parents used Hachiko’s vigil as an example for children to follow. A well-known Japanese artist rendered a sculpture of the dog, and throughout the country a new awareness of the Akita breed grew. Eventually, Hachiko’s legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty. An annual ceremony celebrated each year on April 8, Hachiko’s devotion is honored with a solemn ceremony of remembrance at Tokyo’s Shibuya railroad station.
…this movie would surely capture your imagination and catapult you to a world which has only lived in your vivid memories like those of Grimm Brothers fairy tales, here’s my homage…a silent nod to Hachiko’s immortal love and loyalty!
The plight of dog folk in Korea is not a new newsbyte and yet no significant measures have been made to take care of the same. Time and again hue and cry have been raised by the pet lovers and advocates of animal rights over the deplorable condition of animals in states of Korea and China. The activists are gravely concerned over the repeated ill-treatment of animals in Korea and so am I.
It’s an appeal to my human friends that since ‘International Day of Action for Dogs and Cats in Korea’ is on July 14, 2009,kindly take this oath to care for animal rights, join ‘In Defense of Animals’ …I aren’t asking you to turn vegetarian overnight but would it hurt if you raise your voice atleast once when you see someone smacking a street dog in the shed or would it be a herculean effort if you would kindly put some water for a thirsty canine in a midsummer noon?
In Defense of Animals (IDA) will again be co-sponsoring this worldwide event to stop the terrible suffering these animals endure. IDA is working with the South Korean animal protection organizations Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) and Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) to end the brutal slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. Forced to live in tiny, filthy cages and killed in unimaginably cruel ways, they deserve a voice. I understand that’s its not possible for everyone of us to be there at US Embassy for the event but wherever you are please take out a brief moment from your strict schedules and think for the canines & cats suffering in Korea.
Recently, Calvy read me a news story about the Karnataka Tourism Minister (Mr. Gali Janardhan Reddy) who ‘gifted’ a 42 crore worth of a diamond-studded crown to the ‘GOD’! I understand the fact that the minister is a mine baron and has obscene amounts of currency at disposal yet I wonder, pardon me if I sound naive, why would god need such a gift? The dogged intuition that I inherited gives me this much of an insight that Gods don’t crave for materialistic desires…the halo over their head requires no diamond studded crown to add sheen to its aura. What can a human offer to the great one? I thought it was in camaraderie and cordial coexistence of species that God would have drawn a probable gift from us.
Benevolence is often misinterpreted to be lavish show of money in sanctified places. Be it Jesus or Jagannath,Mecca or Mathura, trillions worth of offerings are made to the supreme being…all in the name of religion or god, misunderstood sometimes as the ticket to heaven such donations which in no way can add to the lord’s bank balance, only show the hideous state of careless and crippled orthodox minds. I’m quite sure that god would have loved it more if that gift was used to feed the poorer section of the society, which laments in all seasons without shelter and is forced to live on meager handful of grains. I’m not advocating to sign claques for animal welfare…if humans have no heart for their own species then expecting them to take care of others is way out of the line. Philanthropy, I guess is long forgotten. Call me an atheist, if you wish to, but I’d always believe that kind acts that touch a soul are way greater than the money vested in driving faux displays of piety. I would always stand by my beliefs that direct me to believe in actual efforts rather than reciting rituals. The only ticket that’s accepted at heaven’s gate has a price that no denomination can buy; it’s with your acts that you become owner of one.
Reminds me of these lines from a song, ‘कभी प्यासे को पानी पिलाया नहीं, बाद अमृत पिलाने से क्या फायदा?’ ( If we can’t provide water to the thirsty, then offering even the elixir of life is of no use.)
