Kutte Waale Baba Ka Ashram: Pawfect home for stray dogs

Nagpur: On chairs, beds, tables and even inside the ashram’s sacrosanct temple — stray dogs can be found napping almost everywhere at Nagpur’s Kutte Waale Baba Ka Ashram. Even as social media remains divided over feeding of stray dogs after the Bombay high court’s recent order, this century-old ashram has always been a place where strays are treated like royalty.

Walking into the ashram situated in the congested Shanti Nagar area, part of the old Nagpur settlements, it’s hard to miss the dozens upon dozens of strays moving around the place without any commotion.

Every evening, rotis are churned out from almost 50kg wheat flour, for not only the ‘resident dogs’ but also for those living outside the ashram. Ashish Varma, trustee of the ashram, said, “Our rotis are soaked in milk and then volunteers take them to different spots to feed the strays.”

The ashram’s devotees see this as a religious deed. Eknath Kawde, trustee of the ashram, said, “Our guru told us that feeding animals that cannot speak for themselves is a divine duty.”

The dog population of the ashram varies throughout the year, with breeding season obviously leading to a spike. Jaikumar, another trustee, said, “Many stray dogs simply walk in because of the food availability and never leave. Many are born here and then we have people who leave their pets if they have to move because of jobs, or cannot care for them any longer.”

Currently there are approximately 60 dogs ‘residing’ in the ashram, but the number crosses a hundred for a month or so every year. Jaikumar said, “All strays are welcome here and no area is out of bounds for them. As a rule, we never shoo away a dog from wherever it is sitting.”

None of these dogs are given a name. “No reason as such,” said Jaikumar, looking at a dog which was napping on a chair right inside the trust’s office chamber, “it’s just been a practice. Even if somebody calls a dog by name, it’s not an issue.”

So how did this all begin?

Jaikumar said, “Our guru, Parmahans Ramsumber baba, came to Nagpur over a hundred years ago. After living initially in two different areas, he arrived at this current location. Here he fed all stray animals and there was a divine connection between them.”

The baba’s popularity grew as legends of his ability to communicate with animals and ‘immortality’ spread. Verma said, “Once a devotee asked his age and baba replied that he was present even during Lord Ram’s time.”

The devotees’ firm beliefs and urban legends laid the foundation for this ashram, and it has a dedicated following even a century later. Verma said, “In 1967, baba took samadhi in the ashram in front of all devotees. That particular place is worshipped by us all in a big way in July each year, following which a rath yatra is taken out.”

The royal treatment which dogs get at this ashram can be guaged simply by the fact that they are allowed inside the most sacrosanct place, a small temple at the baba’s samadhi.

Jaikumar feels opposition to feeding strays is like taking a ‘partial view of things’. “In the last 100 years, in our ashram not even a single dog attack has been reported even though this place is brimming with strays. It is us humans who attack these animals and foster animosity. Animals can never hurt anyone intentionally,” said Jaikumar.

Verma said their ashram doors are always open for strays. “Humans can ask for food if they are hungry, what will a poor dog do? In fact, we feel blessed to be able to feed them,” says Verma.