BY Mirudhula Thambiah
“Kutty cried the entire day when my Chellam (darling) went missing. Kutty joined us in our search for her. Kutty was very attached to my daughter and she loved Kutty very much. Kutty was her best friend,” Vithya’s mother Saraswathy wept while recollecting memories of her daughter and her best friend Kutty.
We have only heard about Vithya’s brutal death and all of Sri Lanka wept for her. Meanwhile, her loving dog, Kutty, had also wept for days and kept searching for its loving friend.
Vithya was the youngest in the family and she always, since her childhood, had a pet dog.
Soon after the end of the war her family returned to their native place, Punguduthivu. However, Vithya was in Colombo at that time. Two years after her family resettled in Punguduthivu, she returned to her village. One day Kutty, who had been in a neglected state on the streets, was brought to Vithya’s house. Vithya, being an animal lover, took sympathy on the puppy and decided to care for it. She named it ‘Kutty’. Kutty means little one in Tamil. As days passed Kutty became Vithya’s best friend.
Vithya began to share her food with Kutty. “My daughter always shared half of her food with Kutty. Even when she’s having tea she would pour half of it into Kutty’s plate. She was very attached to Kutty,” Saraswathy said.
Being Vithya’s best friend, Kutty had to listen to all her stories. According to her mother, Vithya spent time daily sharing her stories with Kutty. When went missing on 12 May 2015, Kutty also joined in the search for its best friend. “Whenever we left our house to go in search of my Chellam, Kutty would follow us. We were able to feel the sadness through Kutty’s behaviour. Kutty’s weeping was equal to ours,” she said.
On 13 May 2015, it was Kutty who first found one of Vithya’s school shoes. It was in the bushes in Punguduthivu, where her body was found. “We went on searching for Vithya on Wednesday 13 May. We walked along the roads she took when going to school.
After some time we saw Kutty bringing a shoe in its mouth. When I checked the shoe, it resembled my daughter’s. I was confused. Suddenly I heard my son shouting ‘Aiyo Vithya’ . I fainted on that spot,” Vithya’s mother said.
Kutty was walking around Vithya’s body on the day of the funeral and many were able to see that it was crying. Kutty did not bark but made an emotional howl in front of its best friend’s body.”Kutty does not bark at any visitor now. Kutty is still sad that he has lost Vithya,”the mother said.
On 45th day after Vithya’s death, a religious ceremony was held at her school, Punguduthivu Maha Vidyalayam. During the ceremony, Vithya’s mother held a picture of her daughter. Kutty jumped towards the mother and kissed the picture. Then it wept in front of its best friend’s picture.
Later, when the family went to Vithya’s grave to pay tribute according to Hindu rites on the 45th day, the dog made a sad howl and walked around the grave. It also paid floral tributes to its best friend.
Vithya had been an animal lover since childhood. She even named the cow and its calf. Every hen and chick at her place was given a name. She spent time talking to her pets. She always fed the animals before she fed herself. “My daughter was not only an animal lover. She was a loving human being. She was a helpful soul to everyone. She never said no to anyone or refused to give a helping hand. Vithya was God’s gift to us. She was a brave and an intelligent child. She always managed to score the highest in school and was among the first three students in her class. She faired well in English language and wanted to become a journalist,” mother said.
On 13 May 2015, Vithya faced a tragic death when she was going to school to prepare for a zonal level English language competition, that was to be held in a couple of days.
Sivaloganathan Vithya was born on 25 November 1996 in Thandikkulam, when her entire family was displaced due to the terrible war.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today