MADURAI: Five-year-old Mani was the most pampered among the three children of the couple — V Vijaya (47) and P Vasagaraja (57), a lorry driver from Bethaniyapuram in the district. He showered nothing but love and was envied by his two siblings for the love that their parents have for Mani.
However, his sudden demise three months ago left the family devastated, and they buried him at the entrance of their house, building a memorial over it. If you are wondering what is odd about it, Mani is a son to the family while the rest of the world identifies him as a dog.
As she begins to take a trip down memory lane, Vijaya chokes with grief and tears start rolling down her cheeks. “Five years ago, my son who was then in high school brought Mani home when he was just a week old. Over the years, he became the most loved and pampered son that even my daughter and son envied.”
He grew up to be an intelligent, innocent, well-behaved son, Vijaya said, adding that he always had his meal only by lying on her lap and would rather starve if she went out of town. “He would not eat if fed by any other person, except when my husband offers him meat. Deeply worried about Mani and how he would survive in my absence, I would rush back home within a day or two,” she shared. Even, the family bought a car to take him along wherever they went but he was not the kind who liked long trips.
Vijaya used to enjoy decking up Mani with a gold chain or even sunglasses and make him pose for pictures. Mani would always sleep with his ‘father and mother’ on their bed.
On November 5, Mani who fell sick the previous night, breathed his last due to an unknown illness. “Mani’s final moments at the veterinary clinic were heart-wrenching. Nursing him on my lap while the doctors treated him, my son and I wailed inconsolably after watching him suffer from seizures for four long hours. His condition continued to deteriorate despite being given nearly 15 injections. Many asked why I sobbed so much for a dog while my relatives said that they had not watched me cry to that extent even when my parents died,” Vijaya said.
Devastated by Mani’s loss, the family decided to have him buried at the entrance of the house where he would usually wait for his ‘mother/father/sister/brother’. A couple of days after Mani’s demise, Vijaya had a memorial built at the spot where he was buried. Three months on after his death, she still lights a lamp everyday at the memorial that bears Mani’s photo and offers a special puja twice a week.
“Weeks after his demise, we adopted a one-month old puppy that resembles Mani and named the puppy after him, just to console our wounded hearts. Nevertheless, Mani is irreplaceable,” Vijaya signed off.