CHENNAI: Do the names Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, and Lhasa Apso ring a bell? These are some of the most popular Indian breed of dogs that many of us are proud to own today.
Talking about the history and different breeds of Indian dogs at his book launch was S Theodore Bhaskaran, a man who has been part of a variety of genres including Tamil cinema, wildlife and its conversation, and of course, the conservation and revival of the Indian dogs. His book titled, The Book of Indian Dogs, was released in Chennai on Friday by Rathin Roy, a dog lover, conservationist and director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).
Theodore traced the history of Indian breeds like the Himalayan Mastiff, Tibetan Terrier, Sindhi hound, Vaghari Hound, Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and others. He also spoke about their representation in history through various sculptures. “The inscriptions found in temples were written by kings. But there are Hero Stones that represent the life of the common man. Inscriptions of dogs can be found in several of these stones,” he explained.
“Our canine culture was nurtured by farmers, hunters and tribal families. These are communities we now describe as Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. Many of the dog breeds were named after these communities.” Talking about the journey of dogs from being used in hunting to becoming companions, he said it was the British who introduced the trend of training dogs as companions.
“Many people would try to raise dogs as companions back then but it was the British, who imported various breeds and made this a trend,” Bhaskaran said.
