India Connections: Alaska Kracker Cats Jump On

As Blossom looks on, Royce, ever in search of live, and Jimmy, always looking to create mischief, welcome Narayanamurthy to Alaska.

Nearly ten months have passed since I left India, yet India has not left me. In my mind, I go there everyday. Last month, before the American wedding at Alta, India came to me, when Vivek's parents, Narayanamurthy and Vasanthi, paid my family the great honor of visiting us right here in Alaska.

When they first entered the house, I was a little worried, because I knew that they would soon be engulfed in Kracker Cats - Royce, in particular, who, as I note in the sidebar, is always searching for love.

And yes, as soon as they came in and sat down, cats started coming. "Royce! Get down!" I scolded. "Jimmy!"

"No, no, it's okay! Let them come," Narayanamurthy, who does not keep pets in his own house, said.

And so they came, and guess what? My new Indian relatives, who do not keep animals as pets, enjoyed the friendship of the cats. They stayed with us for a week, and each day they insisted that I let Kracker Cats come and baby them.

So take heart, Good Niece Vidya. Maybe one day....

Narayanamurthy and Vasanthi stand atop 600 feet of 13,000 year old ice on the toe of the  Matanuska Glacier. Murthy was determined to cross the Arctic Circle and get a certificate, and so, a couple of days later, I drove them onto the *Haul Road, crossed the Yukon River and then the circle, and continued on to Coldfoot. Murthy now has his certificate. He plan to get it framed and then he will show it to all who enter his house. He will tell them about his great adventure in the Far North.

And maybe, just maybe, he will also drop in a word or two about the Kracker Cats.

*The Haul Road parallels the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and serves the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. It is the only highway that penetrates the Arctic