Tara’s excitement knew no bounds. She had been nagging her parents for a puppy since as far back as any of us could remember. Her war of attrition had finally paid off.
For the rest of the day, we bandied about potential names. Favorites included Delhi (Sumant’s), Chutney (my mom’s), Moksha (Papa’s), Jedi (Candice’s), Rumi (Mallika’s), Fuzz Ball (Leela’s), and Tom Brady (mine). Krishu meanwhile was conflicted. Naturally he assumed that any new dog coming into the family would follow Cleo’s footsteps—literally. Hence “Cleo 2” was his presumptive selection.
Gradually we did manage to convince him that the new dog, while being a sibling of Cleo’s the same way he was of Tara and Leela, should have its own name and identity.
That’s when his new favorite inexplicably emerged: “Trash Can.”
Over the course of the next few days, as our glorious vacation—and summer—drew to a close, we all got more and more excited about the new imminent member of the family. Mallika became increasingly determined that she would follow a strict and rigid regimen to ensure the new puppy was trained from the start and avoided all the many bad habits that another family favorite had taken on. Candice and I played along, supporting her false hopes and smirking at each other knowingly behind her back.
Curiously it was Tara—initially the instigator of the whole effort—who seemed to be headed in the other direction. Always the contemplative one, she grew more quiet as the days passed and the time got closer to actually getting the puppy when we all got back to LA.
“Gotham Mamu.” She approached me at the airport as we waited to board our flight home.
There was a conflict in her voice. I could tell that she was in deep thought on something. Papa too, sitting beside me reading a magazine, could hear it. He turned to her, instantly concerned.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, I just . . .” Tears formed in her eyes. “I just want Cleo to know that no matter what, even when we have a new puppy, I’ll never forget that she was my first dog. And I’ll always love her in a special way.”
Relieved, Papa and I smiled simultaneously.
“You know, Tara”—I took her into my arms—“there’s no rule that says you can’t love two dogs as much as possible at the same time.”
This time the relief was apparent with her. “I was thinking,” she said with an expression that suggested she actually had and quite considerably, “that since Cleo will be the new puppy’s big sister, she could teach him, you know, everything.”
I nodded slowly. My sister was going to kill me.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Papa interrupted. “Cleo certainly has a lot to teach us all.”
Acknowledgments
Like every great experience, the one that was writing this book evolved through a confluence of relationships and events.
First came the backdrop of my amazing family: the ever-evolving relationship and friendship with my father; the nonstop love and commitment from my mother; the long-distance care and compassion from my in-laws; the wisdom of my grandparents; the liveliness and laughter from my amazing wife, Candice, son, Krishu, doggy, Cleo, and memory of Nicholas; and the nurturing mentorship from my “other household”—Mallika, Sumant, Tara, Leela, and puppy Yoda.
Next up: the great folks of Trident Media Group, notably Robert Gottlieb and Eileen Cope, both of whom not only give agents a great name—a monumental and unique achievement—but are friends first and masterful mentors.
Brenda Copeland at Hyperion: you took this crazy idea about my dad and dog and helped mold it into something very special for me that I am so excited and proud to share with my family and the world. I’m forever grateful. Beyond that, your creativity within chaos has also forced me to develop a skill set I happily ignored for several decades—being organized. I guess I should be grateful for that too.
Last but certainly not least, I’d like to acknowledge my late friend Michael Jackson. He passed while this book was coming together. We struggled with how much to really include his presence in the book, to honor but not exploit, to commemorate but not clutter. I hope we did you right. Thanks for being a great friend and a real star. Rest in peace, Applehead.
Gotham Chopra
About the Authors
Gotham Chopra is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker; most recently he was involved in the formation of Al Gore’s CurrentTV. He lives in Santa Monica with his wife, his young son, and their dog.
Deepak Chopra is the author of countless bestselling books, including The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Quantum Healing, and Why Is God Laughing?
If it wasn’t for dogs, some people would never go for a walk.
–anonymous
Gotham Chopra considers himself a pretty average guy. He devours pizza, lives and dies by his hometown teams, and watches Kung Fu Panda with his son–daily. But his childhood wasn’t quite so average. Growing up, Gotham was exposed to the deepest reservoirs of knowledge that his famous father, Deepak, could find; his childhood was part spiritual, part scientific, and totally unique. Now a newly minted father himself, he’s contemplating the influences he wants to draw on for his own son. The first was no surprise: his father. The second was unexpected: his dogs.
From Nicholas, the blaze of energy and anarchy who turned the family upside down, to Cleo, a rescue mutt with food issues, the Chopra dogs taught the family about curiosity and wisdom, open-mindedness and passion, not to mention loyalty and pig’s ears. But what else, Gotham wondered? And how did these lessons compare to the ones that Deepak himself imparted?
Gotham would soon find out. When his mother took an unexpected trip to India and leaves instructions to look after Papa, father and son have an opportunity for male bonding on a big scale. That this bonding takes place on their daily walks seems almost natural. After all, Gotham also had in his care a nervous dog and an exuberant toddler, both with an insatiable need for exercise and exploration. So Gotham and Deepak walk and talk, discussing the laughs and licks that come with having a dog, along with the contradictions, complexities, and consequences of having children. They soon realize the qualities they observe and admire most in their pets are values we humans would do well to nurture within ourselves. They discover that our best friends have a lot to teach us.
Gotham and Deepak’s message may seem simple, but therein lies its brilliance. Heartfelt, endearing, and above all down to earth, Walking Wisdom offers readers both enlightenment and comfort, with a little bit of mayhem thrown in for good measure.
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Gotham Chopra with Deepak Chopra
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for
ISBN 978-1-4013-1034-9
EPub Edition © 2010 ISBN: 9781401396268
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