There is no fowl at Sudha Rani’s place to announce the dawns.
Rather, more than a dozen cats and kittens, who are part of her family of two daughters at the small rented house, start meowing in her ears, requesting her to prepare their breakfast before going to work.
By the time, the dogs that live outside the house and in the vicinity also start for her house.
They all know, even though she does not earn much to buy sufficient food for the three and the non-humans, Sudha Rani has a big heart and she will share her food with them; when there is no food at home, she will certainly collect leftovers.
The dogs and cats that miss the morning feast would stop her on the way to her workplace, and would remain happy with dry biscuits or sliced cakes from a tea shop.
One of her daughters helps her find food at dorms and restaurants in the neighbourhood while the other girl – a special child – would love to feed the home cats and play with them as she cannot move without help. Her son is a rickshaw-puller, and now stays with his wife at a separate house in the city. He also developed intimacy with the animals in his childhood.
Sudha Rani, 59, is a cleaning staff at the Rajshahi Public Library, and gets Tk3,000 per month. She has to go to work much earlier than other staff and make sure that the office premises are clean.
Since it is a small job, she has to think twice before spending every penny, and hence, she tries to collect leftovers in the first place. Some animal-loving people of her area and the office also help her – they buy food for the animals or give small donations for a day’s foods or keep aside the leftovers.
Poverty could not make her realistic and self-centered in the last 30 years. She did not become just another cruel-hearted human ignoring the responsibility of taking care of the non-humans who need her love.
Sudha Rani herself takes care when any of the animals at her home or the street falls sick, and she would resist when they are subjected to inhuman torture anywhere.
She also makes medicines at home for primary treatment of the dogs and cats when they get injured during fights among each other, or when they sustain injuries due to torture.
Born in a village in Rajshahi’s Tanore Upazila, Sudha Rani did not give up when her husband Sunil – a peanut seller – became vagabond and started abusing drugs. She left his house with the children as things deteriorated and began her fight to find a job in the city and raise the children.
Earlier, in her childhood, she did not lose hope when her stepmother refused to send her to school; she did her job properly when she was forced to take care of the cattle in the grass field.
One day, during a thunderstorm, the minor girl took shelter under the belly of a cow and survived. During that time, she realized that animals have emotions whereas many of the humans around her were cruel and reluctant to the sufferings of others.
From this incident, she realized that she could lessen her griefs of being neglected at home by spending happy moments with the cattle.
As she continues to manage foods and fed numerous animals selflessly, many people – especially women and children – in her area and at her office have developed pro-animal views. Local journalists also came to learn about her and wrote stories about her philanthropic life.
On October 4 last year, on the occasion of the World Animal Day, Sudha Rani was named among the 10 persons selected for the first-ever Pranobik Bondhu Award – introduced by the People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation.
She received the prize during a ceremony at the National Museum in November, and shed tears as she shared her experience before the audience who greeted her with applause.