Seeing this calm and peace-loving Indie, no one would believe he was named Pondo to rhyme with “londo bhondo”, meaning a mess in Bengali. “He was so restless as a puppy that there could not have been a better name for him,” says Shrestha Bhattacharya.
In the early days, Pondo would tear up clothes, slippers, whatever he laid eyes on. “And seconds after the newspaper man flung the rolled-up paper onto the balcony, Pondo would shred it to bits. My parents would blow their top!” she says.
Shrestha had always wanted a dog but her parents were reluctant till she could assume primary responsibility for one. “During my final exams, I came to know of this rescued puppy who had endured everything from cruelty to dog bites and even the deadly parvovirus. Since I would have time on my hands after college, I decided to adopt him once the exams finished,” says the girl who would from then on spend her days studying, and her nights Googling dog training and puppy-proofing tips.
When Pondo came he, of course, lived up to his name but he was also timid. Due to his traumatic past, he runs under the bed should anyone speak in a raised voice or grave tone.
Pondo loves dressing up. Collar, bow, sweater, jacket…you name it, he has it. “He has more clothes than me,” Shrestha says quite seriously. “When we visited my brother’s place in Chennai, I didn’t bother taking my own clothes since I’d just wear my sister-in-law’s. For Pondo, however, I packed an entire suitcase, and it still wasn’t enough!”
The Chennai trip happily overlapped the festival of Bhai Phonta. “I applied phonta on my brother and since there’s the practice of applying phonta to grandsons, my mother applied one on Pondo, who was garlanded with marigolds and offered a platter of treats,” smiles Shrestha, who works for an editing firm.
Pondo is a “bheto Bangali” who loves his machh bhat and mishti, though minuscule amounts of the latter is given to him. “And he hates the water. If you hear him wail at bath time you’d think he was getting beaten,” Shrestha shakes her head. “This also makes it tough to take him for walks in monsoon. Since water collects on the sides of the road, he’ll only walk in the middle!”
Five years ago, others at home were skeptical of getting a pet but Pondo has bewitched them all. “He’s especially popular with kids,” says Shrestha. “Previously our house used to be ‘pipi-r bari’ for my niece, but now it’s become Pondor bari!”