‘Good News’: Absurdly Dark, Sarcastic & Weirdly Hilarious--A Must-Watch Movie

 I loved the way the movie jumps straight into the dark side of the moon— A place which exists but we never get to see. It refers to the truth that is hiding in plain sight—the reality, the true heroes, the ‘nobodies’ of our world who keep things moving and together in spite of all the chaos and plunder.

The movie shines light on the miracle workers whose ‘job is to freeze the water’, if their overlords wish to walk on water.

The dark comedy is set alight with ‘the ring of fire’, which doesn’t refer to any seismic zones but literally an arsehole and haemorrhoids.

A morally bankrupt capitalist on his last legs slapping the crap out of a spineless military general, further seals the tone of the narrative taken by director Byun Sung-Hyun.

The movie is about a misguided group of young Japanese revolutionary Marxists charging at the windmills like Don Quixote with a half-baked plan to hijack a plane to Pyongyang, when the windmills are manned by a bunch of unscrupulous spineless bureaucrats.

The plot is inspired by real events and follows what transpired with a heavy dose of sarcasm and the absurd.

Japan Air Lines Flight 351 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Fukuoka that was hijacked by members of the Red Army Faction of the Japan Communist League on March 31, 1970,[1] in an incident usually referred to in Japanese as the Yodogo Hijacking Incident (よど号ハイジャック事件, Yodogō Haijakku Jiken), after the aircraft's official Japan Airlines poetic nickname "Yodo" (meaning "still water").[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_351

I don’t intend to give away the spoilers, but some worthy mentions are in order.

·       ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ played in the background every time the American official spoke, implying that the so-called defenders of democracy sit safely on their thrones while riding heavy on the back of smaller nations who bear all the consequence. It instantly evokes the hollow claims made by Mango Mussolini about ending nine wars.

·       The reference to the Fastest Finger First and Clint Eastwood-style Western showdown between the South Korean and North Korean air traffic controllers, adding a dead Mexican playing maracas to bring in the Mexican standoff into the whole thing, is brilliant.

·       Hvorostovsky’s On the Hills of Manchuria playing as the North Koreans bombard the plane, with the hijackers sold on the idea of it as a welcome cannon salute. This scene illustrates the delusion of foolish idealism that lacks any solid grounding.

The movie momentarily descends into a slower pace in between to provide a moment of retrospection on the maddening events unfolding in the background.

The guileless, filthy rich men and women in power seem like invertebrate parasites—highly advanced creatures who exploit and kill their hosts to survive. They are the vilest of selfish human specimens who worry only about the optics.

The passionate young ones, on the other hand, jump into action without a concrete plan and stumble in the darkness. The situation is saved by a wise and experienced ‘nobody’ who intervenes behind the scenes to save the day.

My only grievance and quite a big one is the lack of a sane female character in the entire movie.

Now, go and watch the movie, before I tell you everything! It is worth it and shines like a pearl in the sea of imitation clams churned out by the corporate rating-chasers.

Let me know what you think, please.

Reclaiming Dhanteras—beyond gold and glitter.

Why do we Celebrate Dhanteras?

A mythic journey from cosmic churning to conscious healing—rediscovering the festival of Dhanteras exploring its roots in Ayurveda, spiritual balance, and mindful living.

Image Generated by Author Using CoPilot

Today is Dhanteras – A festival widely celebrated in many parts of India. While consumerism and profit-driven media portray it as a festival of material wealth and prosperity, its significance is rooted in the spiritual and holistic well-being.

Dhanteras is celebrated in the honour of Lord Dhanvantari, the divinely radiant and youthful physician of the gods.

When the Devas (celestial beings) and Asuras (powerful entities living in the forest realm) found themselves in the midst of an unresolved conflict, the weakened Devas approached Lord Vishnu. He proposed the idea of Sagar Manthan (Churning of the Ocean) with a tug of war to determine a winner.

He explained that the churning will yield the divine nectar or Amrit which would heal the gods and restore their strength. He advised the Devas to seek a temporary truce with the Asuras to help with the mighty task, promising to share the nectar equally.

On the thirteenth day of the churning, Lord Dhanavantari emerged out of the ocean holding a pot(kalash) of amrit—the elixir of immortality. He also held a conch shell (Shankha --representing the divine sound of creation), a discus (Chakra-- symbolizing the cycle of life), and medicinal herbs—embodying the wisdom of Ayurveda and nature’s pharmacy.

This day came to be celebrated as Dhanteras or Dhanatrayodashi. The word “Dhan” means wealth, while “Teras” refers to the thirteenth lunar day. However, the wealth celebrated here is not merely material, it refers to health, the foundation of all prosperity. As the saying goes, health is wealth.

Lord Dhanvantari taught sages and physicians the art of healing, herbal remedies, surgery, and the principles of maintaining health through proper diet, clean lifestyle, and spiritual discipline.

Yet today, instead of seeking his blessings for health and wisdom, many are blinded by commercials urging them to buy precious metals on this day. The regrettable shift reflects a loss of connection with the festival’s original intent.

I believe that the metals mentioned may also refer to the essential minerals and nutrients required for our body to function well. These naturally occurring elements are vital to a balanced diet and wellness.

In South India, a special lamp called Yama Deepam is lit in the evening and placed facing south to honour Yama, the god of death. This ritual is performed to ward off untimely death and seek longevity and good health represented by Lord Dhanavantari.

The story of Lord Dhanvantari and Dhanteras offers deep spiritual wisdom.  The churning of the ocean mirrors our own inner struggle where both poison and nectar arise and how through knowledge and mindfulness, we can learn to choose what’s best for us. It also reminds us that opposing forces are nature’s way of maintaining balance on earth and how we must traverse between the material and spiritual to achieve wholeness. 

The teachings of Lord Dhanvantari have been preserved through generations, forming the foundation of Ayurvedic holistic healing.

The traditions we observe are not merely religious customs, they hold deeper spiritual and holistic wisdom, guiding us towards mindful living.

Unfortunately, modern interpretations have often distorted and reduced them to obscene displays of wealth and inane and detrimental practices like bursting of crackers which ruin ecological balance and peace and harm our health.

It is about time that we practice these rituals in their true sense reclaiming the wisdom lost somewhere in the folds of blind faith and religious fanfare.

·       Light earthen diyas to ward off negativity

·       Welcome positive energies by cleaning our homes and hearth to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.

·       Prepare healthy and nourishing homemade food and traditional sweets to prepare our bodies for the winter ahead.

·       Share what we have with our neighbours and those in need.

Wishing everyone a healthy, meaningful, and joyful Dhanteras.

Please feel free to share your wisdom and the rituals you follow to make this festive season fruitful and meaningful. Thank you.

Why 'Chaos' is My Favourite Word?

‘Chaos’ I love this word. It is my favourite word in the English language — the one I believe, to be the genesis of everything, even the universe (Nasadiya Sukta, Hymn of Creation, Rigveda).  

To me, life is a series of chaotic rumblings and stirrings — an unpredictable swirling of randomness. Our brain is wired to seek structure through patterns and repetitions, but that doesn’t mean reality is so.

 Language itself compels us to shape and structure our thoughts and that is precisely why each of us arrive at multiple meanings and different perspectives. How did you first come across this word? Do you remember when you started liking it? Does it remind you of a particular moment, person, or memory?

 “One must have chaos within oneself to give birth to a dancing star.” 

Friedrich Nietzsche from ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’.

 I don’t recall exactly when I first came across this word. However, during my undergrad studies, my favourite philosopher, Nietzsche, mesmerized me with this brilliant quote. It made me reflect deeply on the word itself — its power, its contradiction and paradox. If you had to describe your favourite word to someone who doesn’t know it, how would you do it? It is a paradoxical thing to explain. It is a word that defies all rhyme and reason. It is a giant mess of everything that somehow leads to sense — for what we perceive as chaos is often part of a larger cause and effect. 

 Do you like it more for its meaning or for how it sounds? Do you enjoy how the word sounds when spoken aloud? Does the rhythm, length, or spelling of the word play into why you like it? Do you associate your favourite word with a colour, sound, or image?

 The two syllabic word /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ is perfect and sounds exotic! I love the way it stirs sharply at the back of the mouth (/k/ velar), glides seductively forward to the front /eɪ/ and then steps back /ɒ/ and ends with a breathy exhale /s/ and a dramatic flourish. If the word ‘chaos’ were a dance, it would dazzle the world with an emotionally charged volatile tango. It encompasses far more than its length suggests. 

It is an overachiever amongst words — leaping literally from nothing to everything. It goes from the deep, dark midnight blue of the universe to a chromatic whirl of abstract expressionism. 

 The word comes from Ancient Greek word χάος (khaos), which originally meant “abyss” or “a gaping void.” In Hesiod’s Theogony, ‘chaos’ was the primordial emptiness from which everything emerged — a yawning chasm before the birth of the cosmos.

 The term passed into Latin as ‘chaos’, keeping its sense of vast emptiness, and then into Old French in the 14th century. By the time it entered English, it still meant “immeasurable space” or “void”. Around the 1600s, influenced by Classical authors like Ovid, the meaning evolved to signify not just emptiness, but disorder, confusion, and a jumbled mass — the opposite of cosmos, which means order. Source

Press enter or click to view image in full size Nature is painted chaos…somehow it all works. Photo by Author. Shimla 2025 

What does this word mean to you personally? What feelings does the word bring up when you say or hear it? Does it connect to a value, belief, or philosophy you hold? 

 I believe chaos is the most essential seed of all creation. It evokes inspiration, hope, and the confirmation that in spite of or perhaps because of all the chaos in life, we can find our unique path and that life throws us again and again into the swirling mess, till we master the steps and learn to dance to its rhythm. Perhaps, things fall apart so that they can come together in a better way. 

 If your favourite word were a person, what kind of personality would it have? Does the word link to your culture, background, or language in any way? 

 Although, chaos often carries a negative connotation, I agree with Nietzsche that it is a necessary condition for evolution and creation. If Loki, the trickster, had a little more conscience and a little less shadow, I would choose him. But closer to home in Indian mythology, I would go with Shiva, literally ‘that which is not’, the cosmic dancer and the destroyer of negative forces who restores the balance between good and evil. 

 If you had to write a poem or story around your favourite word, what would it be about? 

Mistakes abound. 

I stumbled around. 

Searching semblance, 

orders ordained 

Realisation Reels, 

Nuclear Kneels 

That Chaos inside is 

Clarity in reprise 

That perfection is 

but a mirage. 

Chaos rumbles, 

dances, unifies, & underlines 

It is the ultimate universal update.

 If your favourite word could describe a phase of your life, which one would it be? 

Every single phase! It surrounds every moment. I feel I am a flibbertigibbet forever caught in between a flux of things and change. In any case, only dust settles. We are built for change, growth and wisdom in response to it all. 

 Would you ever get it as a tattoo or use it in art? Why or why not? 

While I admire artistic tattoos on others, I wouldn’t and cannot deliberately mark my body for I believe we as human beings are constantly evolving and a tattoo feels too permanent. 

 Besides, I have trypanophobia!!!!

 If you could give this word to someone else as a gift, who would it be and why?

I would gift it to a certain orange combover buffoon in the hope that he will attain the ultimate knowledge(brahman) and take samadhi somewhere on the vast expanse of his Mar-a-Lago estate and leave the word a better place.

The story is first published on Catharsis Chronicles on Medium and is inspired by a monthly prompt from the Chrysa Stergiou, editor of Catharsis Chronicles.

 © Anu Maheshwari, 2025. All rights reserved.

To Market, To Market: Food & Shopping Recommendations in Hanoi

 

#Travel # Hanoi

Vietnam Day 4

We planned to spend the day checking out some famous Hanoi old quarter streets known for their wares; Hang Gai (Hemp / Silk Street) and Hang Dau (Bags and Shoes) in particular. Many of the streets are named after the wares they sell, there is a silver jewelry street, and one that sells only chocolates, one with wooden handmade products like combs, spoons, etc. I forgot the name of the street which sells chocolates, but it is on the same street where the famous Bach Ma temple is located. Our day was exclusively set for shopping and indulging our taste buds.

We started with some street food right besides our homestay (Hanoi Old Quarter Homestay). We were recommended Bún Dậu Thập Cẩm and but maybe because the rice vermicelli noodle cake was served cold, the sausages and fried tofu were dripping oil, and the shrimp paste was quite pungent …we didn’t enjoy it very much.

I suggest going for fresh grilled dishes with rice/rice noodles and side dishes, instead of fried ones. We had a great time grilling our own food in one of those Korean style barbeque pavement joints (around the corner from our homestay) where we selected our own meat and veggies and had an exciting time listening to the sizzle on our stove grill and gobbling them down with chopsticks. This tabletop K Town grill experience is a must, especially for all the crazy K Drama fans!

For a quick bite while shopping, you can try Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake) Vietnamese omelette loaded with all the goodies you can think of! One must savour steaming hot Banh Bao (easily available in any of the street food joints) and Salty Cheese Buns at King Roti (Really yum…melts in your mouth!). The liquid nitrogen infused cereal balls also known as Dragon’s Breath are also a fun treat if you want some great videos of vapours escaping your nose and mouth! It tastes okay and we were fine after eating. However, do not indulge little kids just to be on the safe side.

For lunch, you can try Noodle & Roll. They have a great menu to choose from including vegan options. We went there twice as it was right behind our alley and was quite reasonable. We got to finally try fresh Vietnamese Spring rolls (Goi Cuon), and they immediately registered into our favourite food list along with Bun Bo Nam Bo and grilled meat on lettuce wraps! Many a times we have had Bánh mì (Vietnamese Bread Sandwich with choice of fillings) for an early lunch. Make sure, you have it at a street joint popular with locals and fresh and hot. It is a safe bet and fills you up for all the walking around.

For dinner, the quintessential Vietnamese Pho is a must try, although you can get it everywhere throughout the day. If you want to eat at a good restaurant with a decently priced menu, I highly recommend Gecko. Must try their Fish/Veg options in lemongrass flavoured tangy sauce with a side of rice and Cinnamon and Honey tea for a drink. We could never try any of the high-end restaurants as we would always grab a quick bite of something while roaming around and then would not be hungry enough for a proper fine-dining experience! We also missed out Cha Ca La Vong, Vietnamese turmeric fish with dill and noodles. I suggest you don’t miss it… and try it when you are there!

Our meal at Gecko, Hanoi.Photo by Author

The coffee lovers can try all sorts of coffee here. I personally liked the cold versions of Vietnamese coffee and make sure you load yourself with the Vietnamese instant coffee sachets for a steaming cuppa wherever you go! My sisters tried Vietnamese local beer and found it quite light and breezy. There are all sorts of international fast-food joints around the Hoan Kiem Lake area, but we avoided them like plague to save space for local cuisine at all times. Best decision ever!

The entire Old Quarter is a shopper’s delight. It has all sorts of bric-a-brac and is a lucky treasure hunt sort of experience overall. We got some nice bargains for good fancy bags, shoes, clothes, and souvenirs. The Hang Gai Street tailors promise you a customised outfit in 24 hours at a good bargain. We can buy the Vietnamese traditional costume Áo dài for just around (250000 VND/ 773 Rupees/ 11 $), or you can get it custom made in pure silk for around Rs 4000/- (55 $).

The Hanoi Night Market area (personal favourite) is lively during the day also with shops where you can drive a hard bargain and come out smiling ear to ear! Beautiful dresses, shoes, trinkets, caps, hats, silk scarves and shawls, you name it …and the place’s got it!

Every minute we had, after our walking sight-seeing tours, we headed straight to Old Quarter to explore a new street each evening. The Dong Xuan Market is a wholesale market, you can skip it unless you are looking for some good quality leather bags (inspired design copies and not in your face fake).

The French Quarter is mostly a high-end shopping area with elegant French architecture and wide-open spaces and roads, a complete opposite of the Old Quarter, but showcasing another part of Hanoi history and lifestyle. Do try Mochi Ice-cream at Kem Trang Tien, while checking out the Trang Tien Plaza. We didn’t buy anything inside the plaza, but it provides the cleanest place for a toilet break in the area!

Human Farming: The Dystopian Novel Plots are Turning Real One by One!

 Human Farming: The Dystopian Novel Plots are Turning Real One by One! | by Anu maheshwari | Feb, 2025 | Medium

“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” Philip K. Dick

“There’s the story, then there’s the real story, then there’s the story of how the story came to be told. Then there’s what you leave out of the story. Which is part of the story too.” Margaret Atwood

Horrified at the new article I came across about enslaved and trafficked Thai women being injected with hormones and their eggs being harvested by Chinese gangsters in Georgia. A truly mafia-like cabal of global proportion! A globalised dystopian reality which cannot be unread/undone as it unfolds right before us.

While reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, I was plagued by nightmarish scenarios of it all coming true. With declining birth rates in countries across the globe, the situation is already at panic level. I somehow fail to understand this need to go to such inhuman lengths to ironically secure human survival.

The ideal approach would be to fix our family system itself which becomes a shackling strain for many women. Unless, both partners begin to actively contribute and support the relationship, the ‘family’ as we know it is set to dissolve. Without a support structure in place, it is difficult to raise a child. The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is absolutely true.

We need to make the entire ecosystem around a child better; from providing safe places at work to helping parents in need to providing equal pay for equal work to making parental leave for both parents mandatory to making our public spaces child friendly. Everything adds up and helps. The entire stigma around childbirth at workplace needs to go. Men still cannot give birth and men don’t menstruate, but they can empathize and be understanding towards those who do.

We are not at a stage and time where we can blame parenting for not being sensitive and humane enough. There is enough media available on these issues which one must come across on a daily basis. So, there is no hiding behind bad parenting if you still cannot get rid of toxic masculinity and shackles of patriarchal impositions.

What also helps is promoting farm fresh and organic food devoid of all chemicals and hormones. We need to immediately reduce the time and distance between the source and consumption of food items. Processed food items should not find an aisle in our lifestyle. That, in turn can also curb the rapid rise in cancer and lifestyle diseases which further lead to infertility in both men and women( there is nothing wrong with not wanting to reproduce, but I suppose if one wants and cannot, it becomes an issue which can topple governments and systems).

Every little change for the better contributes towards a better future. We need to seriously evaluate the very purpose of life. If the ultimate goal is happiness, the path might be closer and easier to achieve.

“Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” — C.S. Lewis

War, apartheid, misogyny, exploitation, consumerism, violence and the evils that plague our planet today are not part of some dystopian future, but very much present right here, right now. No avatar is standing on the horizon to rescue us anytime soon. Even the Avatars the internet is talking about are fictional ones. For now, we are the avatars and this is it. Let us live a better life.

“I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up.”

-Jake Sully.

Why Pakistan is Living in the Past? And Still Not Learning from the Past!

 First Published on My Medium Blog Why Pakistan is Living in the Past? | by Anu maheshwari | Feb, 2025 | Medium

The govt of Pakistan is celebrating shooting down of Indian fighter jet in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), 2019.

Why?

It is as if their administration has run out of things to celebrate.

No achievements, no success stories, no reason to celebrate for the entire country!

Last time they came together to celebrate something was their 2024 Olympic triumph in javelin throw inching ahead of India at second place.

Why does this country applaud guns, terrorism and religious extremism and not try to alleviate the condition of their citizens first. Are they so out of options that the only way to deflect the citizens from protesting their plight is to pick up a fight against their neighbour???

Image Source; SpiritualCleansing.Org

They are living on foreign aid and still buy guns and ammo to fight against a country which has never been an aggressor ever! India has never lifted a finger against Pakistan other than defending its own border and rampant acts of terror in Kashmir and even its metros by foreign mercenaries or jihadis trained in POK.

India didn’t even fight to get back the occupied territories in Kashmir because it valued the life of its own citizens first. India had all the reasons to go into POK and get it back. But at what cost? Our soldiers are motivated and trained for any eventualities, but our democratic government and citizens would never agree to put them through it in the first place.

“Who wishes to fight must first count the cost” The Art of War, Sun Tzu.

Pakistan Prime Minister has now decided to change his name if they don’t surpass India in economy and development. Seriously, he must be bored of his own name or perhaps too embarrassed of himself. Is he preparing to change his name and flee the country already like his predecessors? Perhaps he sniffed another military coup on the horizon. Is he so scared and afraid for his own survival that he relies on hate to fuel his ride to electoral victory?

And why defeat India? Why can’t you first stand on your own feet? For a few fist bumps and ill-driven electoral gains, you admit that your entire life agenda is based on revenge! It is pathetic! Compassion and love for your own countrymen and their well-being clearly don’t motivate you enough.

The only Pakistani man in power who had partly ditched this narrative around revenge and hatred against India and who batted for peace and sustainable relations was Mr. Imran Khan, a former international cricketer, and who is now behind bars under numerous baloney charges. The Pakistan army couldn’t digest his words of peace and decided to install a puppet in place once again.

To reach any level of development, one has to put some planning into action. One can’t lease entire province to another country (China in Gwadar and POK) in the name of economic development? Why would China develop Pakistan and help them? They are clearly there to secure their own economic and territorial expansion.

Creation of jobs? Many news reports from the area suggest that local people are not even allowed on their own land now. China is importing even the workers and officials for construction. China is not giving any grants (not even pretending) or running any charity missions in Pakistan or any other country. They invest and get the best out of other countries. Not that one can fault China for looking after themselves. The fault squarely lies on the heads of those in charge who sell their country in order to line their own pockets.

I have nothing but respect for my friends and people in Pakistan who have to survive all this. They are proud people who won’t speak against their country or perhaps can’t for the fear of censure and prosecution. I just hope their awaam/common people get fed up and rise together to bring about change in their system.

It has been more than 75 years since both India and Pakistan got their independence. Let us stop fueling this rhetoric of hatred and revenge to rile up the populace when all our people want is peace and opportunities to lead good life as neighbours. Focus on creating actual jobs instead of forcing your youth towards extremists’ camps and drugs with the lure of money and ‘jannat’. All the roads through the path of hatred and violence lead to hell.

India is moving ahead, and I wish the people in charge in Pakistan do the same.

The Great Indian Kitchen/Mrs.: The Future of Family System

 The Great Indian Kitchen/Mrs. : The Future of Family System | by Anu maheshwari | Feb, 2025 | Medium

“This is what I want”, Joan Brandwyn boldly asserts to Prof Watson in the iconic movie Mona Lisa Smile. The right to choose your own path to happiness regardless of your gender, is what it is all about.

I am not saying everybody in the world has or can have this privilege. There are financial obligations of course. Some amongst us who have found their vocation will call it financial freedom. There are people who would love to stay at home, take care of the household and indulge in their passion but are not able to for various reasons. But the entire hullabaloo is not about who is doing what! Let us keep gender aside for a moment…forever if we can!

The point is the attitude and lack of emotional support and understanding…the point is the lack of freedom to choose your path…the point is that we are missing the whole point!

I have only watched the original Malayalam movie The Great Indian Kitchen of which Mrs. is the Hindi remake. That movie is a masterpiece! The sheer frustration and disgust that the director was able to evoke from the audience just from the depiction of the never-ending cycle of mundane tasks that the ‘wife’ goes through without respite is brilliant. The intent is not to prove that household work is menial, as the house-help and the aunt were doing the same tasks and not seemingly bothered. The house-help even hummed-aloud doing her ‘job’. However, the ‘wife’ had no agency in that marriage and was a slave in that house.

Even within the boundaries of that traditional family set-up, the ‘husband’ could have empathized, helped and listened when she expressed her desire to work. She could have worked and been happier. Both could have run the household together with senior members contributing to a perfect environment for every human being inside that house. But the weight of superstitions, baggage of ‘man-made traditions’, internalization of patriarchal impositions and the confluence of all things wrong is what erodes that family and most of the families today. The end result is outright revolt where men and women fear marriage and all that paraphernalia that weighs them down after it.

The only way family systems can survive is if it evolves with time and takes the best of traditions along. Family system should act as a support structure, a safe place not otherwise. Traditions are good to have if superstitions are filtered away. Bigotry, hypocrisy and herd mentality have no place in the comfort of a home and family. Families should only have individuals who respect and value each other and help navigate the ups and downs of life together.

Boss Babies Who Never Grow Up! Pets: love with responsibility and commitment

 Boss Babies Who Never Grow Up! Pets: Love with Responsibility and Commitment | Medium

Are you familiar with a movie called Boss Baby about corporate manufactured babies who drink secret baby formula to gain intelligence yet remain as babies?

I think my bossy beagle is one of them!

He is blessed with cuteness unparalleled and wants tender love and care 24/7 and would fall over your feet hankering for a generous belly rub every time he sees you.

Designed by the Author using Microsoft Designer

These guys are cuteness overload and have a capacity for whining their way into everything they want and into every space they want to get into. They are tiny bundles of joy with bottomless pit for a tummy.

NO, I AM NOT EXAGERRATING!

Sleeping Mishko as a puppy! Photo by Author

You bring out anything remotely edible in the household, these super sniffer hounds will magically materialise before you and they will look into your soul begging for a taste. Their innocent stare will knock down all your defenses and you will hand them whatever they want. No matter what the size of the treat is, it will be gobbled up before two shakes of a lamb’s tail as these cuddle monsters lack a system for elaborate chewing. Sometimes, one wonders if they sniff the food directly into their tummies.

My bossy 3-year-old beagle is named Mishko and other beagle parents have informed me that these guys tend to mellow down once they turn four. My beagle is as such very well-behaved contrary to the popular opinion about them. He is super intelligent and senses out emotions and moods and behaves accordingly. He even takes permission before waking us up in the morning, i.e., if we as much as look into his direction and smile, he will run into us at the speed of light.

He doesn’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to him and sleeps all day unless he is called, required or if he finds something interesting enough to pique his curiosity. He loves to play with nice people and growls at anyone who insults his intelligence and disrespects him. He is too smart to do menial tasks without reward and has a mind of his own. He remembers people who are good to him and loves them wholeheartedly. He instinctively knows if you are feeling sad and cuddles up to you if you want company. He is as his name suggests ‘God’s ideal gift’ in Russian. My daughter had allergy issues before, but Mishko cured that for her somehow.

Although, these beautiful creatures make our lives better, many people are not aware of the tremendous amount of care these wonderful beings require.

Just like babies and children, they need love, time and attention. They have inclinations, tendencies and requirements unique to their breed and personalities. One cannot keep them as props to satisfy one’s whims and fancies. They are not genies who present themselves only when you beckon. These babies will be part of your family and need total commitment from each member. They are not wild animals who can survive on their own. They are your companions and member of your pack.

Mishko Looking at the Langurs outside. Photo taken by Author

After Mishko joined us, we haven’t taken a flight together as family as we don’t want him to be traumatized in the airplane. We travel by road everywhere and Mishko has the entire backseat reserved for him. He cannot do without a window seat!

They also have their own language, and we need to learn that to communicate and read their thoughts. Of course, there can be misunderstandings as with any form of communication. We need to be patient and kind if we decide to adopt them into our lives. I wish and hope that people adopt pets into their lives only if they are willingly to commit themselves to these babies for the entirety of their lifetime.