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Pooches and SMOOCHES
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CUPA's unusual fashion show last weekend saw people queuing up for a really wet kiss
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LITTLE RENUKA was all dressed for the fashion show. She had worn her best frock. A neat little pale yellow number with patterns on the edges. Her hair untied, with the scraggly tresses flowing down her back, threatening to crowd her face, in a certain defiance against the world. On an old rope decorated with shiny, colourful paper that hung in tassels was her best friend, Sukmi, obviously the runt of the litter, who she was plying with biscuits.
When her turn came at the ramp, she could have beaten any supermodel hollow in sheer attitude. Only, Sukhmi would have none of it. Awfully media shy, he had to be picked up by one of the hosts so that he could be paraded before the judges and win a prize in the 3M Most Innovative Breed category. The hosts got so taken in by the duo that an impromptu auction was set up for a "kiss from Sukmi". Soon, there were children and adults alike crowding the ramp, willing to pay the Rs. 100 for a wet kiss from the mongrel.
If there was any one moment that could be marked as the essence of the CUPA show, Fashion Compassion, held one cold, drizzly Saturday evening in Bangalore, it was this. A dog show and a fashion show with a difference, it said, and it was. None of your serious kennel stuff where snooty owners and snootier pets preen alike. No comparing pedigrees that run into several human and canine generations. Of course, notes were compared. Like Harini Srinivasan, who was wistfully watching the stall housing the participants of the Most Disobedient Dog category. "I should have brought my dog, but he is too disobedient for me to handle alone!" she said.
The ambience was that of fun and owners had brought in their pets for a lark. As for the competition, it was nearly non-existent. It didn't matter who won. All that mattered was that enough money was raised to make that hydraulic lift CUPA wants and that there was a smile on every face.
For the uninitiated, CUPA stands for Compassion Unlimited Plus Action. A registered public charitable trust that has been working with civic and animal welfare issues in Bangalore since 1994, it has been active, as the note says, "in the field of resolution of the man-animal conflict issues in the city and suburbs". It has a state-of-the-art hospital and shelter for animals that provides medical relief and rescue of animals in distress round the clock. And that is not just for otherwise well looked after pets.
It has been working with and holding medical health camps for large animals in urban and rural Bangalore. And that was the raison d'etre for the fashion show. Try as it does, CUPA has been able to reach out only to a limited number. The members and trustees want to intensify their efforts and expand their services for larger animals by purchasing an ambulance with a hydraulic lifting device to help lift injured cows and horses with minimal discomfort.
The bonhomie that prevailed in the grounds where Fashion Compassion was held spoke eloquently of the numbers supporting CUPA's cause. There were those who came in without their dogs, because they wanted to either support CUPA or thank it for being there when their pets needed them the most. Perfect strangers walked up to one another to discuss their dogs, in the true spirit of dog lovers. I'm sure it was the dogs' names that were exchanged first. Humans, of course, were irrelevant.
Photos: K. Bhagya Prakash
And, those who thought dogs' names were restricted to Tommy and Sammy, or at the most a Caesar, were in for an awakening. From the slightly obvious Spotty and Brownie and even Cocoa, the names got both exotic and tongue-in-cheek. A large boxer went by the name of Asterisk (incidentally, he gave his owner a tough time on the ramp and walked away with the Most Disobedient Dog prize), a pitch black one was called Snowy and a mauve-coloured punk with a really unusual build and face, which won the Most Innovative Breed category, was called Zena. Then there was dignified Malcolm and an even more stately (more in the name and less in his behaviour) Lobsang Rampa.
The categories were as interesting as the dogs. Apart from the Innovative Breed and the Most Disobedient Dog (which seemed to have a large contingent that actually turned otherwise on the ramp), there was Curliest Tail, Ms. / Mr. Congeniality, Ms. / Mr. Universe, the Shiniest Coat, and the Most Beautiful Eyes. Prizes were also given away for rescued dogs, oldest dogs (won by a sprightly 15-year-old), and for doctor dogs. The latter had CUPA's Jenny win hands down (she has been working with autistic children to great effect) followed closely by Tom with his owner, a special child studying at the Spastics Society of Karnataka.
The event was fairly well organised with water and other conveniences thoughtfully provided for the dogs. Obviously, they were priority: humans could survive on that tepid cup of coffee. Celebrity judges made it worth the while for the participating owners and audience. It was quite a treat to see a Javagal Srinath, one of the judges, gamely walk up to kiss Sukhmi for a price.
The fashion show that followed attracted names like Vani Ganapathy and Nisha Millet, but of course, the stars were the dogs. Credit must be given to Prasad Bidappa who came up with the idea and choreographed the models for the show. And to Ruby Chakravarthy and Judith Bidappa who, as hosts, made the whole show entertaining with their takes on humans and their owners and their obvious affiliation to the cause of those dumb creatures we often take for granted.
KANCHAN KAUR
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