The last time we saw him was on Xmas day. I was frying chicken. He came right into my kitchen demanding that he be appeased immediately - regardless of whether the cooking process was complete or not. He circled the first piece ravenously, then tore off chunks that he almost swallowed, without his usual appreciative noises. And once there was no trace of that piece left, not even a bone fragment, he asked me for another. Which went the same way. Having appeased his greed for the time being, he stretched out on the verandah and chatted to us at length, possibly about the delicious smells wafting around the neighborhood on Christmas day.
Our Akrami whom you have met in this post hasn't come to our doorstep for a month now. His family - his spouse Chunchu and his daughter Pirate who were introduced to us last year, come regularly to our house and deign to accept food from us. But they are not great conversationalists. Every time we cook chicken or fish, we go out and holler, "Akramiiiiiii.....", but no yellow and white tomcat bounds over our wall and meows his way into our home. In vain DH has twice bought his favorite ulli vadas from Sushama tea stall at Pothencode to tempt him. They had to be given to our dog.
I was sorting our photos last week and found several of Akrami. Here he is when he still liked to climb in our laps and be petted before he considered himself too grown up...
Cuddling up on the shelf in the garage..
Displaying his yogic prowess...
Making friends with our new car Gertie so that he can be warm in the heavy monsoon...
Curled up as small as possible on our front mat...
A good way to know what has happened to him would be to ask our neighboring auntie at whose house he was as frequent a visitor as he was at ours. DH mentions it frequently, but we haven't the heart to go and ask. We would like to think he has gone on a walkabout...
Meanwhile, if you see a large yellow and white tomcat wandering in your neighborhood, please try calling him Akrami... If he answers, try enticing him with fried puris, crisp ulli vadas, chicken or dried anchovies. No milk please. Please make sure to give him food in small doses and wait till he asks for more like in this video...
Once his tummy is full and when he stretches out in a chatty mood, please tell him there is a family of four eagerly awaiting his return.
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