Legend has it…
There’s this old-school single screen theatre near our place named Sahkar Cinema. It’s shut for good now, but during its last days, it survived on dubbed Asian action films & softcore adult flicks. Then, there were many characters we noted around the place. One of them was a very unusual one. He was Prince – the tomcat. We knew him as the last of the cat-sanova’s.
All tom cats were commonly known as Boca’s. Prince’s presence would be known by cat calls. Not his own but the other female cats. But not in a good way. Still, like they say – even negative publicity is good publicity. About time we introduce you to –
Prince’s feline fan club.
Through the day, traffic & daily life noises masked all the cat sounds. But most cine-goers for the late night show always knew when Prince was around.
And that was because of the female cats.
The felines would go crazy screaming murder once they knew that Prince was on the prowl. One would start, then the other would join in – somewhere in the middle But Prince – he was the loudest. His voice was known to people. It riled them up and they –
Complaining about cat noises.
Often, people would complain to the manager. The manager would give them a look that said – if you can see it on screen, you can see it in real life too!
Some people would pelt stones on the tinned roof. But Prince was a seasoned player, he dodged them easy & carried on with his ways with the cats. Then he would make his way off into the dark, only to be seen again another day.
At any time when the felines got pregnant, you could bet that Prince was one of the main suspects. But he was otherwise very gentle and minded his ways when he crossed up – a real prince charming indeed! That’s till –
The advancing years.
Now Sahakar Cinema has shut shop. 4g & Pornhub put an end to its business. Now it stands there waiting for something else to take its place. Along with it, the characters too have disappeared. Somehow that had an impact on Prince as well.
Prince’s casanova days & ways took a hit too. It seemed that the two were related – shutting down of Sahakar & slowing down of Prince. But one could not tell for sure. And that would have been Prince’s story had it not been for his turnaround from
Cat-sanova to Cat-who-cares
Somewhere along the line, the security guys in our complex adopted Prince. So, he’s still around, but all snipped and tucked – read neutered. No longer the terror he used to be, but he still keeps to himself.
He doesn’t like unwanted attention. He still lets pesky kids know they cannot pet him without his consent. And he rarely consents. Except with this one old watchman. And my cousin. I think it was my cousin’s son S who led to –
The turnaround.
No one knows for sure when Prince started visiting my cousin’s flat on the seventh floor. or how. You see, Prince with his advancing years had developed mild arthritis. Also, he couldn’t see too well with his right eye. This meant, his moments were restricted. He mostly liked to sit near the watchman’s cabin & sleep most of the time.
So, imagine my surprise when i found him one evening at my cousin’s flat.
There he would be resting next to my cousin’s son. He was a special child….
The way it happened
How did this happen ?
Seems Prince & my cousin’s son hit it off on one rare occasion that he had gone down to the colony play area for kids. That day my cousin’s son got Prince home.
Then on, Prince would keep landing up at our flat, my cousin explained.
But how? i asked considering Prince’s condition.
He stands outside the elevator and moans in his infamous voice – grins my cousin – only now, some building people who know about his affection for S (his son) give him a ride up.
There are times, i have seen him walk up as well, revealed my cousin to my surprise.
I learnt that he sleeps there also at times with S. When Prince is too tired to head back. And they let him be.
I watched the two of them. Prince & S. They sat next to each other near the window. They were looking out into the horizon. Prince looked tired, his eyes half closed. Yet he seemed at ease. Like he was thinking – about his time here. About …..
The old Cat-sanova.
Like the movies at Sahakar, the different roles Prince has played over time. From Prince the Boca the cat-sanova & prince charming. Now he was Prince – new BFF to S. And life was bliss.
Animal stories inspired from real life incident. Names & places changed for discretion. Post credit – Soni Anthony. Images credit – Pexels.com & Soni Anthony.
appam stew n prawns patiyo 