The Gurgaon Pigs

The title of this article might be a little misleading. Given the way the last word of the title is generally used, I shall not be in a position to blame the reader for any misunderstanding. No I am not going to launch in to a tirade against some unscrupulous neighbours of mine in the city of Gurgaon. I am not complaining against some corrupt leaders of this city by calling them ‘pigs’. I am not venting my anger against the man who nearly rammed his car in to mine. The use of the word in the title is ‘as much as possible’- harmless.

The reader has got it wrong again. Gurgaon Pigs is not the name of the latest IPL franchise. I meant the word in the literal sense. Yes indeed, I was referring to a litter of pigs which is now the single most dominant specie (after the Gurgaonite) on the streets of Gurgaon. I am talking about a particular litter just outside my apartments (opposite Park Plaza Hotel as I tell everyone). Yes indeed, the Millennium City of Gurgaon also has its fair share of wildlife.

To grasp the finer details of this litter, one has to go back in time and space. One has to find out the ownership or wild status of the litter. However I do not have that luxury as I was not staying in the city for nearly two years. Since I have come back to my city, I have been observing this litter over time. Everyday I have been reaching office 5 minutes later (not late but later than otherwise) primarily because of this observation time. In the summer, I observed frantic mating. It was as if the heat in the air had brought out the best of the lust in the gentle-pigs arousing their virility to the fullest extent. In the winter the piglets came out. The she-pig has been scouring the ends of her earth (between Park Plaza and Gold Souk) for forage to suckle her babies. Recent observation tells me the piglets are maturing in to pigs and scouring the earth themselves. A highlight in the lives of these piglets came about a month back, a day which surely hardened them for the toughest challenges they will face. A lot of us love pork and in fact the internet tells me that it is the maximum consumed meat item in the world. I am one of those who love pork and I could totally empathize with the street dogs on this fateful day. While I was on my way to office, I was met with a scene straight from the Savannah (the Savannah might even be shamed). A duo of street dogs drooling about pork set their sights upon these piglets. The two were attacking from either flank, while the target was being protected again from the two flanks by mama and papa pig. Street dog A attacked from the right wing so the father charged on it with the mother providing protection at the back. Now with A behind, it was the turn of street dog B to attack from the left but now the mother pig from her rear bazooked forward from defence to attack. This went on for fifteen odd minutes at the end of which time it remained a stalemate. I caught the next metro to office hoping to catch on the action after my return. While going I observed another couple of pigs in another corner doing what they do best in the winter chill. When I came back to the spot around twelve hours later I counted the number of piglets. They did not show any change in number. I assumed it was too early for the new couple on the locality so I heaved a sigh of relief for the ‘still safe’ piglets but felt a pang of sadness for the street dogs who missed the royal treat.