Names
Those of you who remember the saga of Chime and her various offspring may be interested in the latest developments. A year ago last May, Chime brought a kitten to our door. Literally:
This cat got named Tsilu, and grew up to replace Leopard once he struck out on his own on the hillside to find a good female to settle down with and raise a family. Once Leopard moved on, Tsilu grew up as the Only Child for many months.
Then the siblings arrived. In early July I visited the statue of Padmasambhava, and after a cup of chai one of the construction workers led me down into the basement room, where Chime’s latest litter resided. At the time the kittens were only five days old, and Chime was still nursing them. I eyed them dubiously. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that the life expectancy of a baby anything in Rewalsar is kind of dicey. I told the workers that if the kittens were still alive in three weeks, I would take them.
Time passed. Then one day a friend from the construction site turned up, with too little kittens in tow. The younguns were frightened by the trip up the hill, dusty from living in a construction area, and full of fleas from their feral mother. Chinta and I set to work cleaning them up, and three days later we had kittens that were actually presentable for the camera.
First up: Pixit. A mighty but playful adventuress who thinks nothing of satisfying her curiousity come what may.
She also quickly figured an escape route out of the little kitty house she and her brother were stashed in.
Next: Dixit. His name in Hindi means “scholar,” and he earned it by being the shyer, more reticent of the two. Like his continually bad-tempered mother, Dixit often has a grumpy, and seems to be of two minds as to whether to share.
