Dadi's values impel teen to save fawn from dogs

DAMDAMA VILLAGE (Pinjore): Chetna, a tenacious girl of 13, deployed all the firepower she could muster - tears, values of compassion imbibed from her 'dadi' (grandmother) and her father's political clout - to save a female Sambar fawn from a pack of stray dogs and a bunch of spectators who wanted to wrench the deer from the dogs' grasp so that they could slaughter it and pickle tender venison.
The incident took place on Tuesday at 1 pm along the road to Bir Shikargah forests in the Pinjore area where Chetna's father, zila parishad member Bhag Singh Damdama, owns a vehicle service station.

The fawn, which had got cut off from its mother, was hounded across the fields by five dogs till it reached the service station and her fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better, courtesy the student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, CRPF campus, Damdama.

In holding true against salivating dogs and the pickle mob, Chetna went against the grain of hardening attitudes against wildlife among the peasantry and landlords owing to sambars, neelgais and wild boars ravaging their crops. Her 'dadi', Maya Devi Damdama, a formidable matriarch and activist for women's empowerment and forest conservation, had deeply instilled in Chetna the value of compassion for all life.

"For me, to see the child of a wild animal suffer and not to do anything is akin to bearing silently the wounds of one's own child. This is what I have instilled in my family, including my sons. When the fawn was being chased by dogs, Chetna broke down and cried as she could not see it suffer," said Maya Devi.

"She called her uncle, Jaggi, and took a stick in her own hands and managed to chase off the dogs. She brought the fawn home and it was in severe trauma and bleeding from the mouth. I then applied a tested remedy for wounds: milk mixed with 'haldi' (turmeric). I force-fed the fawn with the milk, just as I would do with stubborn children, and it regained strength. I later fed the fawn 'barseen' (cattle fodder) and it revived fully and its limp ebbed,'' Maya Devi added.

Bhag Singh Damdama told TOI, "The onlookers told us not to save the fawn and let it be killed as they wanted to make 'achhaar' (pickle) from the meat. But Chetna saved the day as she was adamant on preserving its fragile life."

Panchkula wildlife inspector Jaibir Singh, was contacted by Damdama and he rushed a team to their house. The fawn was then taken to a rehabilitation enclave at the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre run by the Haryana government and the BNHS. "The fawn was administered first aid and its condition improved. We then released the fawn in the jungles on Tuesday night itself," forest guard Charan Singh told TOI.