Julie, Silky, Tuffy, Rosy, Shambhoo, Kaloo, ‘Cockroach Sena’ and over 100 more are waiting eagerly for her. She will arrive soon with anything from mutton, daliya , dal-rice and eggs to milk and biscuits. As soon as they hear her car, they rush to greet her. She arrives with Chikki, a myna, perched on her shoulder.
Soon, some men haul big vessels full of food from the car. They quickly spread newspapers on the floor and pile food on them in several rows. Some 150 dogs and puppies from around Sector 10 of Dwarka emerge out of nowhere!
The woman who feeds them so lovingly is Shweta Chawla, an astrologer by profession and an animal lover by nature. Each dog is different, says Shweta. “Tuffy will only eat on the boundary wall. He doesn’t eat with the ‘subordinates’ of the area. He has ego hassles as he is their leader,” she says fondly.
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Shambhoo is the jealous type who won’t share a morsel with the others, while Rosy and her friend are scared of receiving a beating from people for no reason at all. They won’t leave the stairs of the broken plot and will have to be served right where they are. Come winters and all of them will sport sweaters knitted by Shweta. In fact, some are already wearing one. “They are more vulnerable than others.”
She also sews jute bags to makes mattresses for them and places them on pavements so they can keep warm during winters every year.
Back at her home in Saksham Apartment, she has four dogs. Her
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Hatchi the pug is an elitist. She drinks beer, especially in the summer, goes for regular walks, sleeps on the sofa and is generally lives in her own world.
Shweta caresses Chikki, who was thrown down by her neighbour from the third floor soon after she was born. Shewta nursed her for three months. “I have been like that since I was a kid. I used to spend all my pocket money on feeding stray dogs and cats, and would gets scolded by my mother.”
Even now, she spends most of her earnings towards looking after animals.