Up, close amp; then some

As it is, the division between the sexesis blurring. No more are there the clear-cut divisions which decreed man the hunter and procurer. And females the little women back home, who cooked and tended to babies. Today, women are out and about. Equally the hunter and procurers. Nothing can be taken for granted anymore, as far as role-playing is concerned. But one thing has been accepted unconditionally. That maternal instinct is natural to women. Yet Hrdy claims that despite a genetic disposition toward maternal love, it may not always come forth. She suggests that the instinct8217; is conditional, contingent to circumstances.

In the thousands of past years, fertility led women to be pregnant and home bound anyway. Now, the scenario is vastly different. Birth control frees women from motherhood in a way that has revolutionised thought processes. Women can delay having babies for considerations like careers, or monetary solvency. They can put back the biological clock, or even ignore it altogether. Adoption of another8217;s baby is an option, should shechange her mind. Ambition, in conflict with reproduction? A woman eschewing a family altogether, how does that jive with the takers of maternal instinct? The second of my books is called Dogs that know when their owners are coming home amp; other unexplained powers of animals. The writer is Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist from Britain. The title of the book is self-explanatory. Anyone who has had a pet would relate to it. I have had dogs as pets. I love the creatures madly. My dog Snuffy, a gold Spaniel, came to me when he was five weeks old. He grew into this incredibly friendly animal, with a most winning disposition. He had more invitations to people8217;s homes than I did. I swear. Friends would call and ask after him, often I was asked to bring him over. quot;And, oh! You come for dinner too!quot;

Going out of town was usually no problem for me. Snuffy happily found homes to move into. One time I rushed off to Delhi. My return was unexpectedly delayed, I came back four days after my original date. Without notice to myfriends, the Vyas8217;s, temporary owners of Snuffy. I walked in straight from the morning flight, singing, quot;Surprisequot;. But they grinned happily and said, quot;We were sure you8217;d be returning today.quot; How? They said that when I did not return on the prior mentioned date, Snuffy went into a sort of blue funk. He was depressed and off food. They were worried he might be sick. Then suddenly, the evening before, from about 5.30 pm, he perked up and was his exuberant, greedy self again. And on THE morn, he was on sort of on tenterhooks.

Strangely, it was around 5.30 the previous evening, that my program to return started to map out. This was only one in a series of such stories. On a daily basis, one could witness manifestations of things that go beyond the realm of a dog8217;s famed sense of smell and acute hearing. Friends would testify that Snuffy was human.

Then there8217;s the dog who got lost whilst on holiday with his family, 1,000 miles from home. Nine months later, the dog arrived at their doorstep, emaciated anddisease-ridden. How on earth did this dog traverse the great distance? Could he read a map? According to Sheldrake8217;s fascinating book, pets bond to their owners and homes in powerful ways. Uncanny animal behaviour is explicable by expanding on ideas about morphic fields.

Telepathy, sense of direction and premonitions are the three categories his work is based on. Not all animals are reactive. Even breeds may differ in response. He has spent five years of research, spanning various countries. His claim is that there are some things that science has not managed to explain. quot;The wealth of experience of animals s generally dismissed as anecdotal. I looked up the origins of this word. It comes from the Greek root anekdotos, meaning not published8217;.quot; But, he says, quot;Research, especially medicine, rely heavily on anecdotes, but once published, they cease to be anecdotes and are promoted to the ranks of Case Histories.quot;So, the next time you want to communicate with an animal, just use telepathy.

AnuradhaTandon is a film-maker.