A cat called Jamnalal Bajaj

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Haan! Aa jaaa...



"me-aoooo."

In the early morning darkness, Jamnalal is at his best - purring in the most ingratiating way possible, startling me while I am working in the silent solitude of the office.

This is Jamnalal Bajaj - he carries himself with all the portly assurance of a king, his throne being a chair with a cushion and of course, the many laps of willing subjects and admirers. He only deigns to honour some, mind you!

He has stolen my chair many times and refused to budge, settling in for a long nap in a variety of poses that are most amusing to watch.

He looks at me dolefully, like I'm an errant, and slightly stupid citizen refusing to give the rightful dues to the king.

Jamnalal has a repertoire of purrs - one to ask for love, another- to ask for food, another - to ask to be let in, and another - to ask to be let out, and yet another one - reserved for kids and one more - for chumps like me who just don't get him.

He has run all over my desk, walked over my laptop, typed some intelligent looking gibberish, while I watched in horror, sniffed around and found a closed packet of cakes that he ingeniously managed to open and polish off. Lesson well learnt! All food to be kept inside the bag!

Sometimes, he just walks in and settles down in my chair. I would like to think that he does it out of regard - to keep me company, but then again, cats! you never know what they're thinking!

So here's to my companion of late nights and early mornings - Jamnalal Bajaj. May you always get away with it!




Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

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