A stray barks the truth in satirical courtroom verse

On 14 August, a Supreme Court bench led by Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria began hearing the contentious stray dog case — a follow-up to the earlier 11 August order directing the removal of 5,000 strays from NCR within two months, without returning them to the streets. The move drew sharp protests from animal lovers, activists and public figures, and saw the outrage pour out on TV channels and social media platforms.

Amid this uproar, a Bengaluru technocrat-turned-startup founder and pet parent has channelled a stray’s voice into a satirical poem for Campaign. Engineer, author and mentor, pet-parent Maneesh Chaturvedi has worked with Microsoft, Intuit, Yahoo, Myntra and is now building a developer-skills startup. He is passionate about philosophy, science, music, animal welfare.

Meet ‘Bark Twain’:

I was born by the chai stall, under monsoon skies,

Learned to read people’s footsteps, not the laws in their eyes.

They talk of rights in rooms I can’t see,

But their papers still decide what happens to me.

From the tower, they speak in words I don’t know,

They call it justice, but where do I go?

If my bark is too loud or my shadow’s too near,

Does the law keep me safe, or just keep me in fear?

Some feed me bread, some throw me stones,

Some claim my life like they own my bones.

I hear the whispers — “control the pack”

But I’m not a number you can just cut back.

From the tower, they speak in words I don’t know,

They call it justice, but where do I go?

If my bark is too loud or my shadow’s too near,

Does the law keep me safe, or just keep me in fear?

Maybe they’ll build a world where streets are kind,

Where I’m more than the threat they have in mind.

Till then I’ll roam, tail high, not tame,

Living outside their rules, but playing their game.

From the tower, they speak in words I don’t know,

They call it justice, but where do I go?

I’m a citizen too, though my voice is a howl,

And I’ll keep walking free, through their verdicts foul.

- Engineer, author, mentor, pet-parent Maneesh Chaturvedi is now building a developer-skills startup.