More About A Cat

Saru and Shambhu setting out for a walk in the garden

Simba has undergone umpteen changes in name. Though he is still sometimes called that, we felt a Maharashtrian name would be more suitable so Simba became Simbhaji which then turned into Shambaji which was then converted to Shambhu and finally now to Shambhu Maharaj. So for the time being this is it. (Pankaj recently referred to him as the "mini Maharaj".)

He is one of the most peculiar cats I've come across in that he is not greedy. He likes food and willingly gobbles up stuff you give him, which he likes, like cheese or bits of papad. But he doesn't beg or screech like most of the other cats we've had. He just watches with big eyes. He also loves to join us at the dining table when we're having lunch or dinner. I think it's mainly for the company though. He tries to park himself on the table itself, then seeing that that is definitely not on, he goes and curls up on one of the chairs and goes to sleep while the rest of us eat.

Shambhu likes to watch TV. God knows what exactly his little brain registers but he sits intently before the TV screen at times, following every move with his head. On one occasion he was terribly annoyed when Saru switched off the TV set and jumped up to claw the screen. As soon as she switched it back on, he again settled down to watch the programme (I think it was the late night news in Marathi).



Mornings are the time when he tears around the place like a maniac after which he most often settles down for a snooze. Periods of frantic rushing around are interspersed with long periods of rest (luckily for me!)