The not too clean jalopy has been a familiar sight in the heart of the city ever since COVID-19 set in. Be it parts of vast and deserted stretches of Harish Mukherjee road or narrower Sankharipara and Kansaripara or the cleanswept pavement near Victoria memorial and the adjacent carriageway, the car’s arrival is greeted with happy woofs of the street dogs eagerly awaiting their daily food, delicious and plentiful.
And the arrival of the daily fare of man’ s best friend is timely too. Faces covered by masks, a few men emerge the car pouring rice and meat on thermocol plates, the men place the plates in a row. The four-legged brigade arrives in minutes polishing off their lunch.
Setting off from the home of the original good Samaritan, Surajit Dutta, the food givers have a long way to go. Their daily drive begins from Dutta’s home in Kansaripara road, along Harish Mukherjee road, Devendra Ghosh road, Sambhunath Pandit street to name a few places of their daily call.
Dutta has long been an animal lover. A framed photograph of a poodle adorns the wall of his drawing-room in the memory of a pet who is no more, while a few cats often occupy the sofas.