Every day is an adventure for Maju, the travelling dog

When a barely two-month-old Maju decided to play with a group of tourists from Kerala in the little village he was born in — the river island of Majuli in Assam—he would never have thought his life was going to take a 180 degree turn. Not only did the tourists take him along on their two week trip across the North East, they decided to bring him all the way down to Kerala, where he still continues to travel.

“Maju has been to the beaches of Kochi where he swam in the sea. He has also climbed mountains at Swargamedu, Idukki, where I have a farm. We plan to make him a proper travel dog, he will be accompanying us in all our trips,” says Eldo Pachilakkadan, one of his owners.
And how did he become part of their group? “There were 13 of us friends, all travel junkies and it was the first day of our trip to the North East. We were sitting by the riverside at Majuli, Assam when this very cute puppy came running to us. He became friendly with all of us instantly. We didnt feel like leaving him behind, and the next day, we located his mom and siblings. We took him only after saying bye to them.”

And how did a small puppy withstand such strenuous travel? “He took to travel naturally,” says Eldo. “We never had to carry him and he insisted on walking the entire way.” Their next stop was the Hornbill Festival at Nagaland, where Maju was the star, apparently. “He has this habit of making friends wherever he goes. He was the favourite of the stall owners at the festival.”

From there, they went to Dzukou Valley, one of the toughest treks in India but guess what? Maju breezed through it! The next destination was Meghalaya, where Cherrapunjee was one of the stops. “To reach the Living Root Bridge, you have to climb 7000 steps. To our surprise, Maju climbed them all on his own. He also swam in the Umngot River and thoroughly enjoyed it,” Eldo says.

Maju never needed a leash, and would trot along wherever they went, in buses, cars and even boats. “He knows he is cute, I guess. He just gives a look and he is let inside all of them,” says Eldo. Maju’s diet consisted of solely raw eggs and not once did he make a mess, says Eldo.
Finally, when it was time for them to board the train to Kerala, they had no doubts that Maju was coming with them. “We spent two-and-a-half days in the train and Maju was the main entertainment, even for the TTE. My son was with us and he and Maju became thick friends.”

Maju is currently in Thrissur, with Pranav, one of his ‘people’. He will be travelling to Kochi soon, from where he will visit Idukki again. The group of friends have decided that Maju belongs to all of them, not anyone in particular. “Our next trip will be to Simla and Kulu Manali, in mid-February. Of course, Maju will be with us,” Eldo signs off.