Exotic, sleek, superbly-adjusted, aloof... Rediscover the mystique of the Indian hunter hound, always the underdog
PASHMI, Saluki, Rajapalayam and Karvani are names that roll exotically off the tongue. But few recognise them as Indian cousins of the German Shepherds, Labradors and Rottweilers. Desi is declasse and few offer shelter to these lithe, graceful hunters who probably detract from the snob value that comes with an imported breed.
A fact Freya P. Zaveri, secretary of the Indian National Kennel Club (INKC), heartily rues. With the demise of royalty which bred these hunters exclusively for shikar, Indian hounds were left at the mercy of a few shikari-tribes which zealously preserved their bloodlines. But with government disapproval on hunting, their population will only shrink, predicts Zaveri darkly.
Despite the fact that Indian hounds, through centuries of acclimatisation, have enviable health and zero susceptibility to infections that their imported kin easily fall prey to, owners of these indigenous breeds have difficulty locating mates, or takers for puppies which, even if given away free, fail to find good homes. As naturalised hunters, these hounds also have a strong sense of physical and emotional independence. As Zaveri notes: "They are very sound temperamentally, even if the pups are frisky. Flat-owners can keep them, provided they ensure at least one hour of vigorous exercise since these animals love open spaces and the thrill of a hunt."
As Vidya Patil, who has a family of four restless Karvanis gambolling around her Dadar flat in Mumbai, discovered. "My husband was determined that we should have only Indian hounds as pets. We started hunting around for the dogs and literature on them. First we got Jackie, then his mate Jenny about four years ago. Now we have their pups Elsa and Yesh. Finding mates for them has been a problem. But I remember that when we started, Karvanis cost Rs 3,000 per pup. Now, we are told the price has gone up to Rs 11,000."
These hounds, used to traversing the hilly knolls of Kolhapur and Satara, are finally inching their way up the canine grade. Pashmi Joleen of Brindia was the only one representing India among hundreds of her kin from overseas when her owner Shalak Powle put her up for an INKC show almost a decade ago. That number rose to six at last year's dog show, with a Karvani, Sheba, making owner Junaid Merchant proud when she bagged the Best of Show medal. And Jackie and Elsa, walking away with medals for obedience at similar shows, put to rest misconceptions that Indian hounds do not heed their master's voice.
Merchant, whose popularity as dog-trainer has filled his diary with countless appointments for dogs of every breed, recalls the Indian hunter's day of glory, not so far away in history, when vestigial nobility, like his own uncle Nawab Mashihuddin of Hyderabad, kept an intimidating den of 30 Indian hounds. But such interest has long since waned. Merchant's mission is to revive that interest. "People have been asking me about Sheba. And like the INKC which, when asked for advice on acquiring a dog always recommends an Indian hound, I too intend to push for the hound," he vows. The vow is solemnly reiterated by the INKC which devoted an entire issue of its journal Canine Review towards this cause.
In the same issue, Merchant writes: "Sight hounds (Indian hounds belong to this category) are considered the prima donnas of the dog world. Sheer poetry in motion, extremely fast and agile, a pleasure to watch but temperamentally aloof and not very outgoing or overfriendly, they need firm handling from puppyhood since most of them retain strong hunting instincts. And as their name implies, they hunt exclusively by sight. Nature has endowed them with superb eyesight, a very light and elongated body and great staying power. They were used to course all kinds of game like hare, gazelle and antelope. The speeds these sighthounds achieve are unbelievable. I've personally seen a Karvani slip after a male blackbuck with a headstart of 500 yards, coursing it for a mile-and-a-half through rough country before dispatching it. The blackbuck is among the fastest animals in the world with a speed of 35-40 mph and a weight of about 60 kilos. A Karvani on the other hand seldom weighs more than 20-22 kilos."
Merchant's Sheba of Ali, whether in the wild or in tribal domestication, lives off deer, rabbits and jackals. While purist dog-lovers continue to agonise over whether Karvanis and Mudhols are of the same bloodline, the only written record on The Indian Dog by W.V. Soman notes that these canines can be found all over Maharashtra and are bred by Vadhari tribals in the Pophali-Chiplun belt.
Merchant, who keeps Sheba at his Lonavala farm since he knows she would wilt in Mumbai's cramped lanes, advocates local breeds because they "have small coats which keep them naturally clean. They are also tough dogs, never need vets, and are not fussy about food since they gulp down anything that's given to them. Most important, one must ensure they get to run at least five miles a day." He has gone to villages in Karad and Sholapur to find a mate for Sheba. But though the tribals barter or sell Karvani pups among themselves for Rs 200 or 300 each, they dislike handing them over to denizens of the city.
Which means they're out of non-tribal circulation. "Though several hundreds of dogs are registered with INKC, less than one per cent are Indian hounds. (The INKC registers Mudhol, Rajapalayam, Rampur and Pashmi. Tragically, even the Maharashtra chapter of the Kennel Club of India has less than 40 desi dogs on its rolls). In contests where 250 dogs participate, only four to five entries are local. We recommend Indian hounds to people who come to us inquiring for an appropriate pet. But most people have already made up their minds about their choice of breed. Most people dismiss them as pariahs because of their looks. Villagers are not ready to part with them. Then the status symbol attached to imported breeds tilts the decision in favour of German Shepherds (which form about 35 per cent of registered dogs in India) and Labradors. People also prefer a dog which has a market, like female Labradors. They can make money out of them, since an imported dog can cost as much as Rs 15,000 and champions go up to as much as Rs 1 lakh. People have hardly heard of breeds like Rampur or Pashmi."
The aloofness of the Indian dogs only makes things worse. Most dog-lovers prefer a wildly affectionate breed like a Collie to a fiercely independent Karvani or Pashmi. "Since people have difficulty finding mates for Indian hounds, they end up diluting the bloodline by cross-breeding, mixing Pashmis with Salukis or Karvanis with Whippet hounds. But a purebred Indian hound does not have the negative attributes of imported breeds, most of whom are almost deformed in breeding, like a bulldog with an upturned nose (convenient in bull-baiting), narrow at the back but with a heavy head, breathing problems and caesareans. "
YET owners continue to prefer imported pets like the Doberman Pinschers, Boxers, Lhasa Apsos, Cocker Spaniels, Spitzes, Dachshunds, Great Danes and Pomeranians—at prices ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 each. Those with champion bloodlines fetch even higher prices, as high as Rs 1.5 and Rs 3 lakh. But though desi breeds lack equivalent price tags, they don't lack any of their qualities, in fact have some extra ones. Some of which were encountered by Pune-based H.R. Gupte who, while traipsing the countryside as a scooter company salesman, encountered Indian hounds, and decided "to do something about these creatures".
Some five years ago, he founded the Institute for Indian Canines, where along with his associates, he made earnest attempts to promote Indian hounds. "Today three of us have four Karvanis and two Pashmis. When whelping, they are kept in great comfort at our farm at Chandichowk." Gupte regrets that even kennel clubs often mess up with registrations, clubbing Pashmis with Salukis, which are essentially Afghan greyhounds, and Karvanis with Mudhol hounds.
The situation is further confounded since the tribals, who rear these breeds are keen on developing their hunting skills and are not 'scientific' about their breeding. (A kennel club registration requires certain physical standards, like a scissor-bite, while tribals prefer dogs whose bite is overshot since it means better grip on their prey). Also, since bitches are allowed a free run around the nomadic tents, they mate with different breeds, diluting the lineage.
"This makes getting a pure-bred hound extremely difficult," says Gupte. "We had to get a full-grown bitch instead of a pup to ensure bloodline. I'm aware there is no money in promoting Indian hounds, only difficulties. But efforts seem to be paying off. I have had enquiries from as far afield as Thiruvananthapuram and Calcutta for my hounds. People sometimes feel that their independent nature makes these hounds difficult pets, since they won't obey any silly command. But you have to see my Pashmis to appreciate how intelligent they are. They're the most even-tempered dogs." Powle is equally sentimental about his Pashmi, Hira. But the Indian-tag still being infra-dig, his neighbours nudge and laugh at the "goat masquerading as a dog" when Powle takes his now arthritic, age-bent dog for a walk. "But hounds are so graceful, yet so tough. They can't tolerate too much cold, but can withstand heat. They are not yappy like smaller breeds, nor hyperactive like Irish Setters." But they can breed only once a year while other breeds go into season biannually.
Ishrat Ahmed Poonawalla recounts the agonising wait for her Rajapalay-ams. "My husband was influenced by a south Indian daily. We collected a whole pile of clippings on Rajapalayams. When Benjo was conceived, we kept calling his mother's owners in Madras." Now the Poonawallas have an impressive family of Raja-palayams—mother Gypsy, offspring Raja and Rani, and their siblings settled in hound-loving homes. "The keeper feeds each of them one-and-half kilo of beef daily, along with milk and a large bone each. The packets are prepared for each hound separately by my husband and stored in the deep-freeze here. You can see how powerful their bite is, they chew up the large bone in minutes."
Among Vidya Patil's brood, Jackie and Elsa have already won a slew of awards for obedience and best of show, while Yesh is lining up for medals in beauty, with a sleekly tiger-striped body. The Patils' absolute adoration of their pets is evident in albums bursting with records of their dogs' antics, medals adorning the mantlepiece, their living quarters in the garage below and free access in the flat above. And, once every month, they are allowed a free run of the Lonavala farmhouse. There it is, in those surrogate wilds, that old hunting instincts find their freest expression. Every sinew stretched, every optical nerve tingling, a sight to behold.