by Rudolph.A.Furtado
(Mumbai, India)
Mr Atam Wadhwani, the cat philanthropist with lucky survivor cat Rajesh in the Worli fish market of Mumbai.
The Worli fish-market in Mumbai is almost a bi-weekly regular visit by me for purchase of fresh fish products. This market has a lot of stray cats feeding on the fish left-overs and I also happened to notice a gentleman who regularly fed these cats with fresh fish.
I have previously posted a video on YouTube about this particular group of Worli market stray cats...
In Mumbai, feeding stray dogs with left-over or throw-away food is not uncommon but feeding cats with one's own personal money is a rare sight.
Recently I happened to notice one of the fattest and largest cats sitting like absolute royalty at a shop's doorstep in the fish market.
The next day I again happened to see this same cat in the group of cats being fed by cat philanthropist Mr Atam Wadhwani, an elderly gentleman.
On inquiring I was surprised to hear that this fat cat was just a few months back almost on deaths door, severely infected with maggots due to either "Cat-Fights" or other injury.
Mr A. Wadhwani got this cat admitted into the "S.P.C.A" hospital at Parel at his own expense and its complete recovery took 2 1/2 months at an astronomical cost, same paid by Mr Atam Wadhwani.
This cat named Rajesh or Radhe is very popular amongst all the fisher-women and shop owners in the market and is absolutely docile, almost like a personal house-hold pet.
Another strange aspect of this cat is his abnormal size. He towers amongst the other stray cats, both in weight and height, a rare freak tabby and white stray cat.
On the arrival of Mr A. Wadhwani all the market stray cats rush towards him for their daily fish food and cat Rajesh holds pride of place, rubbing himself against his human patron akin to a domestic house cat greeting its master on arrival.
I was surprised at the familiarity of these stray cats to their human patron, especially cat Rajesh who loves being petted. Having visited and photographed London's largest municipal market, "Burroughs Market" in May 2010, viewers in Western Countries would be surprised at seeing numerous stray cats in a Mumbai fish market, that are also being regularly cared for and fed by a local Mumbai cat enthusiast.
Mr Atam Wadhwani has four pet cats at home and besides feeding and caring for them he spends his personal income on a bit of cat philanthropy, very uncommon in Mumbai city.
I personally thought that I was one of the rare Mumbai freaks devoted to "cat journalism" and was surprised to find a common Mumbaikar Mr Atam Wadhwani finding personal pleasure and relief by providing medical care and food to stray cats of a Mumbai fish-market.
Hence I decided to write this article and portray the rare cat philanthropist of Mumbai city Mr Atam Wadhwani as well as the luckiest stray cat of Mumbai, cat Rajesh.
Rudolph.A.Furtado
Great heart
hi, my name is Shonali. I live in Bandra West, Mumbai. I used to have a lot of cats for almost 20 years, mainly because i wasn’t aware of spaying. I finally did get the females spayed, and one by one over 20 years, I lost my cats due to age. I have one cat now who is 13 years old and she lives inside our house. I have heard a lot of complaints from neighbours and relatives because I had so many cats. Recently another female cat has come, and my mother gave it food once or twice, and she has got into the habit of sitting outside our door. I am terrified that someone will again say something to me. I am 40 years old, and couldn’t get married also, one of the reasons being extreme attachment to pets. Can someone please help me find a home for this cat, she is white in colour and very cute. I am willing to pay whatever it takes for spaying and other charges. Please help me someone. Thanks and God bless! Shonali
Hi Shonali. Bless you for looking after cats and thinking about the welfare of this cat. I wish you the best of luck in homing her.
Shonali, I love cats too, If I were in Mum I would love to adopt it. God bless you, girl!
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Sir,
There are cats with me , as I was staying on rental agreement(Borivali-East) I am worried where to leave them .
Sir kindly advise me. Thanks & Regards
Deepak
Hi Deepak. Please tell me more. Are you looking after cats while living a rented home and the landlord has said you can’t do that.
In updating this article written in 2012 and keeping it relevant as does “P.O.C” the Internet cat encyclopedia i am sad to announce the death of the “Mascot cat Radhe” of Worli fish market. He died sometime in February 2014 when i was on a tour of Bhutan.Tragically this was also the time that my 22 year old Alexandrine parakeet “Mittoo” expired.The Worli fish market looks very ordinary in the absence of “Radhe(Rajesh)” as no other cat among the ferals match his size and dominant presence.
Sadness. He was famous. Thanks for updating us Rudolph. I hope a new resident cat naturally steps into the role at some time. May he rest in peace.