Let us be human first and foremost

Asif Khan A retired septuagenarian man moved to a remote neighborhood in Hyderabad to be away from the boisterous city life. In the beginning it was challenging to while away the time, but slowly he learned how to stitch the time together and made a routine. He was very passionate about snorkeling, gardening, and photography, but unfortunately he had to give up snorkeling after he moved to Hyderabad from Saudi Arabia. His love for gardening grew like a plant and blossomed into a full-time hobby. He developed an obsession for roses and planted them all around the house.
Every morning the lingering fragrance of the roses bathed freshly in the sunlight tickled him to pick up his camera to take pictures of the flowers. He kept his passion for photography alive by sharing these pictures with family and friends. Each compliment he got for his work, his fingers caressed the camera button more, creating some memorable pictures.
A short morning walk became his routine, he enjoyed the morning breeze, chirping of the birds, and nature around him. As he walked, his thoughts bounced and weaved a pattern of peace on his face. Daily he used to pass by an abandoned car and stray dogs around the street who lazily eyed him. The weather-beaten rusted car looked more or less like a frumpy old woman abandoned by her children, with nowhere to go. Unfortunately, the practice of dumping old parents in senior homes has become very common, he thought, and the idea is spreading like a disease and may take the shape of a pandemic.
Also, being a cat lover, he used to feed a stray cat that routinely visited his house. He believed a good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being. When the cat did not show up at his doorstep for two days, he got worried. The next day on his morning walk, as he was getting closer to the abandoned car, he saw a woman in a black burqa coming from the opposite direction. She seemed to be a domestic servant working in the neighborhood, and as soon as she got close to the stray dogs, they got up and started barking at her. Unperturbed, she raised her hand and shooed them away and entered the gate on her right side, where she supposedly worked. The scene reminded him of a hijab row in Karnataka where a female student in a hijab was heckled by a pack of goons.
As he reached the dilapidated abandoned car, he saw the dead body of the cat with its stomach ripped open. It was not difficult for him to guess who the killers were; he turned to look at the dogs, who gaped at him without any guilt in their eyes. They lynched the cat mercilessly, as they have a strong predatory instinct, but, he thought, surprisingly these days this instinct has made a home in the hearts and minds of some humans, and they use religion as a pretext for violence.
He was saddened by what he saw, but his curiosity coaxed him to look into the car through its rolled-down windows, and inside were four kittens yowling for help. He knew they were hungry and looking for their mother to feed them. A thought crossed his mind, and he turned and started briskly walking toward his house. He quickly grabbed a basket and returned to the car. With utmost care he put the kittens in the basket and brought them to his house. Like a doting mother, he fed and gave a home to the orphan kittens. Now, they are living with him, enjoying the freedom and purring their gratitude and love on him.