'Paradise' on Earth

That's what this formidable animal lover has worked hard all these years to create... A paradise for all animals in distress. On her two-acre plot in Karjat, she has given shelter to dogs, cats, donkeys, horses and what have you. Roxanne Davur and Probably Paradise make the cover this issue

- Farzana Contractor

Please get ready to meet an extraordinary woman. In more ways than one. It’s Roxanne Davur Conz, who the world knows as just, Roxanne. She leads a life few would dare to or care to. For quite simply, what she does, calls for qualities beyond your ken. A lot of dedication, commitment, involvement, struggle and challenges are involved. And a certain level of madness!

Roxanne lives by herself on a two-acre plot of land in the wilderness, almost. Amidst 400 dogs, 170 cats, horses, ponies, mules and donkeys. With a few calves and cows thrown in for good measure. You saw her with one on the cover!

That’s right. It’s a shelter, a home for animals in Karjat, 70 kms from Bombay.

Animals; abandoned, uncared for, left in misery arising from some situation or the other. Probably Paradise, that’s what it is called. “Why the ‘Probably’?” I ask Roxanne who I have known since forever. “Well, because if it was just Paradise it would mean I had to be dead and living in heaven or hell,” she quips! That’s Roxanne, quick to the point, witty, intelligent and oh-so-upfront.

But to be honest, I couldn’t help thinking, as I looked around me, sitting with her at the shelter, wasn’t there a little bit of both, hell and heaven, right here on Earth? You could so easily step on one of the dozens of dogs of every age, size, shape, colour and breed, making all kinds of different sounds around us. Barking, wailing, snarling, moaning, whining. Some keep a watch over us, others disinterested, half asleep. The smell, so strong, in the hot and humid atmosphere, the dust blowing around, the area, unkempt, unclean. Can’t be easy maintaining standards…