In death too, Kesri’s dog follows its master

For Kesri’s visitors, his dogs have always been familiar hosts. They would pop in to and out from the visitors’ room, they would stare at the cameras when photographers came looking for their master, once the most important political leader in Delhi. And when all the visitors left and colleagues avoided Kesri in the autumn of his life, they remained his companions.

This evening, a few trusted aides huddled together at the Purana Quila Road residence, as silence hung over it. Two of Ruchi’s pups, Jackie and Pinky, were tied to the pole near the bed where Kesri’s body lay. They were restless. “They will all die, they miss him a lot,” said one of the aides.

Ruchi lay dead outside. “She had been rooted to this spot since morning,” said one. “She was almost in an unconscious state.” They said they planned to give her a proper burial tomorrow.

Kesri had given a grand status to Ruchi, pups Jackie, Pinky and Pappu, and even the two cows that he owned. So much so that his aides believe that Kesri’s pets knew not just their master but his politics as well.

“When he was removed from Congress presidentship, she did not eat for four days,”said Nikhil. His grandfather, an MLA from Bihar had been a friend of Kesri’s. So, he would come to meet `dadaji’ daily for a chat. No wonder Ruchi died, he said, she had stopped eating normally since Kesri fell ill.

“Whenever I used to go to the airport to pick him up, Ruchi would start hassling me, as if she wanted to come along,” said Harinder Kumar Sharma. In fact, according to the staff, Ruchi was really possessive about Kesri. “She would not let the other dogs in his room,” they said.

Ruchi would sleep under his bed, she would take bits from him when he ate and some times, he would take her for a drive to India Gate, for an ice-cream. “She has even accompanied him on trips to various places.”

Kesri’s other pets, his aides say, have not been behaving normally as well. Pappu has refused to come out from under the couch. The cows in their shed behind are showing restlessness, they say.