DKP’s love for animals

Members of Pattammal’s household included several dogs, cats and cows. The sprawling property accommodated a huge cowshed. Pattammal was particularly fond of Beena, a dog, which adored her. Leaving for a concert tour, before getting into the car, she would speak to Beena, asking her not to starve. “But the dog would curl up near the pillar facing the gate. She wouldn’t touch food. When her car entered the street, she would get up and rush towards the gate. After an emotional reunion, Amma would first feed her,” recollects Lalitha. Gayathri remembers her grandmother calling out to the cows from the bedroom window overlooking the big cowshed, every morning. “And you could see Sridevi and Lakshmi actually pricking up their ears in acknowledgement,” she says. A pregnant cow got special attention. “She would ask all of us to take turns and check on her condition as her time approached. If Amma was travelling, she would make every effort to keep tabs. Those days when communication was not so easy she would call several times to check if the cow had calved. And would relax only after making sure that both mother and child were fine.”