My Jaan-E-Manns!

Dog lovers like Dilshad Shaikh make for such amazing subjects. The stunningly-beautiful woman lives in Srinagar with her three handsome Huskies who shower her with love and more love. It's paradise on Earth

- Farzana Contractor

Imagine this; she lives in a city which is akin to paradise, surrounded by the most lovable and gorgeous creatures ever. Can one ask for more? I could ask you to picture a stunninglooking woman with three most attractive Huskies around her, but then you can just have another look at the opening image! Lovely, isn't it?

That's Dilshad Shaikh for you. An animal-loving woman with ultra graceful manners, who speaks unhurriedly in low, soft tones, who quite easily belongs to another era; where elegance and subtlety took precedence over what is today's style of living, all in a rush.

I was visiting Dilshad at her home in Srinagar. A beautiful old-style bungalow lined with tall trees, in a prestigious precinct of the town. With a large lawn right across the length, perfect for the three large, energetic dogs who are the love of her life! Huskies, we all know, do need space to run around and at least an hour of daily exercise, and these lawns are their playground. Lucky dogs. Paradise and heaven together!

I was fascinated by how gentle these giants were. And so handsome, each of them. Tequila, Hector and Alfa. But Dilshad doesn't want to discuss them, not just yet. She wants to take me further back. "Much as I love them and know they are such wonderful beings they are not a patch on their father!"

She goes on to speak about the father, her darling Baluchi, "the most perfect dog on earth," as she describes him, who is no more, having passed away a few years earlier, at age seven, all too sudden.

"I had an inexplicable bond with him," she says. "The way he communicated with me, believe me, was better than how most human beings do. I loved him like I have never loved anyone, dog or human. Except, maybe my husband."