This is the story of Panneer Selvi, a simple woman who resides in Thane, Mumbai with her son, grandson and daughter-in-law. A handful of people may know her by her name but everybody else in the neighbourhood and surrounding areas recognise her as ‘the lady who feeds the animals.’ While a few may admire her for this, not everybody feels the same way.
Ms Selvi is an LIC agent by day and a 24/7 animal feeder. Her profound love for animals wasn’t sudden or newfound - but it all started for her during the lockdown. She would see animals roaming the empty streets in search of food and water. With the onset of waste separation into wet and dry, the animals’ access to bins for waste food was restricted and it was even more challenging to fend for themselves. Ms Selvi then decided to look after the strays in her lane and neighbouring areas.
A Day In Her Life…
Apart from her day job, this is what a day in Mrs Selvi’s life looks like. In the mornings, she leaves out a bowl of sugar or rice flour for the ants to feed on. At noon, she feeds the birds wheat or boiled rice (depending on the kind of birds). After returning from work, at night, she feeds the cats, dogs and whichever other animal is in sight. She feeds them chicken, bones, meat scraps and boiled rice. It doesn’t end there; Mrs Selvi takes a bus at 1 am every night without fail to feed animals at another location which is very dear to her – Gandhi Nagar in Thane. The bus driver and conductor too are aware of this routine, they wait for her on their return route to drop her off home safely.
This small, frail woman in her 70s carrying bucket loads of food twice her size, boarding the at 1 am bus every night - is an inspiring sight to witness! She’s always found draped in saree that is firmly gathered and tucked in at her waist, so it doesn’t come in her way of feeding.
The Purest Form Of Love And Affection
Nothing can ever come between Mrs Selvi’s compassion for feeding and nurturing the animals, not even her own family. At some point, there are limitations to being supportive, and she may have gradually lost her family’s backing as it is not easy being an animal feeder in India.
People adore and appreciate Selvi aunty (as called in her neighbourhood) but many also abuse her for feeding the animals. In fact, very recently on one of her feeding trips to Gandhi Nagar, she was bitten to the bone by a wild pig on her hand. She was so close to not surviving the incident. She underwent surgery, after getting herself stitched up and bandaged, and a few weeks later, she was spotted back on the streets scurrying with her food trolley. On asking her about this incident, she explains that because of the dimly-lit lane and the dogs barking, it’s possible that the pig may have got scared and hurt her to protect itself. Even in this scenario where she was hurt, she was more sympathetic towards the animal.
‘I don’t leave out any animal. Wherever I go, I carry food, I cannot go without food, if I miss out on feeding them even for a day, I feel hurt and restless. I cannot understand why but I feel this way.’
The Rush Of Emotion
Mrs Selvi covers the distance from Pawar Nagar to Hiranandani Meadows (Thane) to feed animals. Then she returns home to stock up more food and leaves for Gandhi Nagar. ‘The area is very special to me because I’ve been living there for 22 years with my husband and son. Everything started from there for me in life, so I have a strong sentiment towards the place. Sometimes I reach there post 1 am, the cats and dogs run towards me in that small, dingy lane. I’m quite tired and worn out at that hour of the night but the moment I see them running towards me, my energy returns!’
‘The area that I cover at Gandhi Nagar is quite vast. The animals over there have no other source of food, whatever I provide them is their only meal. For crows, I keep fruits like papaya, for pigeons I scatter wheat. With the sound of my trolley, they come looking for me or wait for me.’
‘I used to be a teacher before and now I am an LIC agent. When I was a teacher or even at my present workplace, only a particular set people know of me. Now wherever I go, people identify me as the one who feeds - ‘We’ve seen you, you’re doing a good thing’. It’s not the appreciation or recognition that matters to me, what matters is at the end of the day when I go to sleep, I feel satisfied.’
Her Perspective
‘People should realise that it is everybody’s duty to feed the animals because they cannot work, they cannot earn money and they cannot cook food for themselves. Many a times, I’m told to take the animals home and feed them there and not in public places. I serve the food on plates, I don’t appreciate any wastage so, I clean up and ensure the place is not littered behind me. People say animals bite, they defecate or they smell, but that cannot be the reason. It is all nature’s design. All these animals seek is for a portion of food, that is all.’
‘There is a rough estimation - among every 50 household or so, if one or two animals are being taken care of, it’s more than enough. Compared to the human population, that of animals is far lesser. So those who are feeding should never stop this good deed!’
Love Does Cost A Thing Or Two
Mrs Selvi takes care of all feeding expenses from what she makes on her day job. A handful of people who are animal enthusiasts such as herself help her out by voluntarily contributing to the noble cause that she has started.