Black Cats : Is bad luck their or ours?

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  "From the smallest insect to the largest giant , I have carved you all on the palm of my hands. I am  the energy that channelizes your souls. I care for all whether it be black or white. You all are my children."

Dear Readers,

Today in the first story of haqq, we bring before you a problem always seen, but never noticed. Let me share an incident with you all. Yesterday while roaming around the mall, I saw a man

carrying  a Samsung Note 2 wearing a 'being human' T-shirt walking very quickly . Probably he had some important work. To my surprise the man suddenly stopped and started looking around. On my asking , the man told me a black cat just passed by and he was afraid to move forward.

Readers, this is not a rare situation. Even you might have been in that man's place or you may have seen such an instance. In this era , where science and technology have enlightened  the human race , an era in which education is the topmost priority, an era which has witnessed end of many social evils. We hear great name of Booker T. Washington and others who helped abolish discrimination by color. 'Treat everyone equal,be it black or white'. Today this is very well applied to human race but when it come to animals like cats , we very easily distinguish them as cute Persian cats or evil black cats.

Many , just consider black cat as a bad omen, they stop when it crossed a road but do not know why. They just do it because their ancestors have been doing it.

First lets roll back into the past and see what was the reason for people to show such unkindness and harsh behavior towards black cats. 

        

A black cat in the streets of Shimla.

Cats roam in streets moving around trashes and dustbins , their hair or fur can easily catch and carry germs. This is more prominent in the case of black fur. Whenever a black cat used to pass , its hair got suspended in air . Then they would wait so that its hair would get settled . This maybe was the real reason but as this tradition got prevalent, it took many forms and black cats were mistook for a sign of bad omen. 

In the Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches, and so most of western and southern Europe considers the black cat as a symbol of bad luck, especially if one crosses paths with a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death. Many incidents of satanists sacrificing black cats on Halloween  have been reported.Cats are also known to be symbolic of witches. With their quite horrifying eyes and sly looks many like to stay away from black cats. Due to western culture this superstition might have started in India. 

Contrary to this , many cultures see the black cats as a good omen such as in Egypt. The supernatural powers ascribed to black cats are sometimes viewed positively, for example, in Europe,  sailors considering a "ship's cat" would want a black one because it would bring good luck. Sometimes, fisher men's wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea. Interestingly in parts in America to encourage a more humane attitude ,  August 17 is celebrated as"Black Cat Appreciation Day".

However, breaking all these orthodox beliefs and rejecting the culture of not having cats as pets, this one person listened to his heart and not orthodox beliefs. A manager of luxury resort at Panna, Madhya Pradesh keeps a company of 45 cats with her. Speaking her heart out, she very proudly says " I have never differentiated any of these children on the basis of colour. For me all of them are a source of unconditional love."  

Also when asked to a pet shop owner , he said that cats are adopted from his shop and even black cats.

"I although don't believe in superstition but still say a little prayer when a black cat crosses a road because there has been incidents in the past related to this superstition", Mrs. Oberoi , an English teacher in St.Edward's school Shimla said.

"With modern education , this superstition is dying out" Mrs. Preeti Jistu said , terming  this belief as non-sense.

Kali Bari Temple

The priest of Kali Bari, a temple in  Shimla, brings out a typical but logical example which might serve as to how this belief may have originated. He says "Suppose a family captivates a black pet cat because it was making a lot of noise, a picture is then clicked of it with an elderly person sitting next to the cat. After sometime the man faces a natural death. Many years later when his children see that picture , they first notice the captivated black cat and this may develop a mindset that the black cat was the cause of the death. This surely is illogical , but many a times 

fear overcomes logic and a superstition develops."

We must learn to respect these humble beings. Feeding them when they come at your door and also giving them a shelter  to live by adopting them will serve great purpose as to the well being of these animals.

Very often we do things that are just told to us without asking 'why'. Black cats , like us, are living. They breathe , they walk, run and eat. You getting a bad luck has nothing to do with a black cat. They too have equal rights. And one of our member Kartik , has adopted , fed a cat for over a year now. The cat has produced little kittens. And they are very loving and affectionate.

We must rise above hatred and let hatred be replaced by love and affection, a more powerful emotion.