My Son Jerry Debnath

---

I once had a son named Jerry Debnath. Actually he was an adopted son. My then girlfriend had two kittens. She named them Tom and Jerry. She gave me Jerry and kept Tom to herself. A few months later we broke up. But Jerry stayed with me. 

The first time Jerry came to my house, he felt really sad at the sudden change of residence. The sadness was evident in his little face. He tried to figure out things in this new place and was getting confused all the time. 

But then I gave him so much love that he felt right at home here. He used to sleep on my bed by my side. He used to curl up to me. I loved his soft touch on my body. When he used to sleep, his face looked so innocent, as if Bhaja Machh Ta Ultey Khetey Jaaney Naa!!! In the morning he would wake me up by constantly licking my face. 

I used to feed him milk, chicken and fish. He loved raw Lotey Machh very very very much. Whenever my Mom used to bring Lotey Machh from the market, Jerry would smell it even from a distance, and suddenly used to be super excited. The way we react to Chicken/Mutton Biriyani, Jerry would react the same way to Lotey Machh.

Then he grew up a bit. I once went to New Market and there are two Pet Shops at the extreme end of the Market. On a whim I bought a small packet of Whiskas Cat Food. Back home Jerry loved this Cat Food very much. He was asking for more, which I didn't have. So the very next day I again went to New Market and bought the largest packet of Whiskas. That evening Jerry ate the Cat Food to his heart's content. 

Once I met this beautiful girl at the Calcutta Film Festival at Nandan. We exchanged our numbers. A few days later we were chatting on Whatsapp at night. Here's how our conversation went :


She : So, how was your day?

Me : I went to Office in the morning and in the evening went to New Market to buy food for my son. 

She : What? You have a son! You are married! I thought you were a bachelor. 

Me : Well, my son is my two year old pet cat. His name is Jerry Debnath.

She : Awwwwww... Thats so sweet...


Jerry got addicted to Whiskas. So much that he refused to touch ordinary food like fish or chicken. He demanded Whiskas every time, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then a crisis emerged. Whiskas suddenly went out of stock in that Pet Shop in New Market. I searched for it in all the other Pet Shops in Calcutta, but it was not available. Some said there was some problem with the distribution company. Some said there was some problem with the parent company. I don't know why, but suddenly Whiskas went out of market. Jerry was hugely disappointed. 

That year I went to Chandannagar on the last day of Jagadhhatri Puja. There in a departmental store I saw a packet of Whiskas. Must be old stock. I immediately bought all the packets available in that shop and brought it to Calcutta. Jerry was supremely happy. 

When Jerry became an adolescent boy, he started to explore our neighbourhood. It became very difficult to keep him indoors. After breakfast he would go out and only return late in the evening for dinner and sleep. Sometimes he would return the next day after having a night-out. Maybe he was busy chasing all the pussies in our neighbourhood. Jerry Debnath was very handsome and healthy and strong. I am sure all the pussies were chasing him, and not the other way round.

Once Jerry was bitten by a street dog. There was blood all over his stomach and it looked as if he would die. The way he looked deep in my eyes and curled up on my lap as if saying that this could be our last time together. Imagine the amount of pain and trauma that my little Jerry had to go through in this near death incident. I immediately took him to a Veterinary Doctor and thankfully his life was saved. By God's mercy and the doctor's help we could cure him completely and he became fine and healthy again. Here is a picture of Jerry's wound:

After recovering from his injury completely, Jerry again resumed his daily activities, as if nothing had happened. He again started going out on his own. Sometimes he would get involved in fights and brawls with the other cats and then return home with injuries. Whenever he used to come home with injuries, his tail would be down, as if he was apologetic for getting involved in a fight. Jerry became a rowdy cat and used to regularly get involved in fights with the other cats of the neighbourhood over territorial issues. We started calling him Rowdy Jerry after the film 'Rowdy Rathore'. 

Whenever the sky used to get cloudy, Jerry would immediately come back home. He sensed that it would rain. He was a very smart cat. Inside he would sit on my bedroom window and watch the rainfall. In those times he looked so philosophical. As if he was pondering over all the mysteries of the universe and over the existential question of life.  

Jerry Debnath loved listening to Kabir Suman's songs. I used to play them constantly in my computer and he used to sit beside me and listen to them. He never asked me to change the songs. Jerry was intellectual enough to understand the deep and hidden meanings and the various layers and sub-layers of Kabir Suman's songs. 

Jerry used to chase and kill all the little rats in our house. But he used to avoid the big mouses. Whenever he used to kill a little rat, he would bring it to me in his mouth as if to tell me proudly that he had done a great job and that I should appreciate the fact that he was a great warrior! 

Then one day Jerry came back home with a massive injury. He did not eat anything that day. The next day he went out again. And never came back. He must have sensed his end and therefore chose to die in some obscure corner in our neighbourhood. We never found his dead body. May his soul rest in peace.  

Here are some pictures of Jerry :

      

P.S. : Here is the link for more pictures of Jerry Debnath...


---