Octogenarian ends life after cat killed her pet parrot

Every once in a while, someone touches our lives so deeply that we wonder how we managed to survive for long without them.

MADURAI: Every once in a while, someone touches our lives so deeply that we wonder how we managed to survive for long without them. They become so integral to us that a life without them becomes unimaginable. That was Meenu, a parrot, for 82-year-old Dhanalakshmi.

Dhanalakshmi
Dhanalakshmi

The winged friend had transformed the lonely, monotonous life of the widow so much that the when her pet was killed by a cat, the octogenarian decided that there was no point to continue living and ended her life as well.

Dhanalakshmi, was living with her son Sakthivel Pandian in Sourashtra Teachers Colony of Madurai after her husband Kasimani died in 2005.
Two years ago, she got a parrot, Meenu, and it soon became a part of the elderly woman’s life. “My mother was very possessive about the bird. She never let anyone else go near it. She used to feed the parrot its favourite food with her own hands and took care of it more than herself. If the parrot did not eat, my mom too stayed hungry and would remain upset the whole day,” said Sakthivel. Although she had age-related ailments, Dhanalakshmi was active, he added.

However, on June 23, she received the shock of her life on seeing her Meenu lying dead. The parrot was killed by a cat. This put Dhanalakshmi into a state of depression.
Hours after Meenu’s death, Dhanalakshmi was found unconscious, police said, adding that she had consumed pesticide to end her life. Relatives rushed her to Government Rajaji Hospital, where she was admitted for the past three days. Even in her semi-conscious state, it was only Meenu that she kept asking about, said the police. Dhanalakshmi, however, failed to recover and died on Monday.

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