Nostalgia 2

My parents sometime after their June 1964 wedding. My father looks quite good here. My mother very much the Tamil bride of the 60s.

Nostalgia 1

Pre 1990 there are few pictures of my family. And barely any of the three dogs we had. One picture that has survived is of Mini, our first dog. This was taken when Mini was 13 and dying and is taken in Menaka, the building in Mumbai we stayed in circa 1984. She's on the balcony chair peculiar to Army houses (the one with white strips woven around the frame).

Mini came to us as a companion for my brother who had just had an operation. Story has it that she, a tiny mountain pup (she was a mixed breed Bhutiya), was sent down from the hills to Delhi's hot plains in an ice box. In her 13 years she was to us the bravest and most loyal of dogs with a strong personality to match. All our books were inscribed with her name (usually Mini Moulee or Mini Malini), its a pity that none have survived our transfers. She had a litter every other year and my brother and I would rear her pups and shed many tears when they left home. Two pups stayed on - Cola and Cuddles - but neither came close to Mini's intelligence and sweetness. With time all of them died and we never did have any more dogs - though even today there is the odd day when I open the door and expect to be greeted by three happy furry balls. Simplest and most profound of pleasures.