Delectable Truffles

This tiny tot of a Yorkie is a cheeky, zesty gourmet goofball. The love of the life of Rajkumari Charusheelaraje Bhagwantrao Pantpratinidhi, ace diver, prosthetic artist, underwater photographer and a Vidal Sassoon stylist, all rolled into one

- Text & Photographs: Farzana Contractor

Charu has these drop dead gorgeous looks, as you can see, but when she speaks it gets even better. She has a lovely voice and a lovelier way of speaking, which kind of holds your attention. And when she talks about her adorable Truffles, her eyes just light up!

“You asked me, where did I get my love for dogs...I have to say, my mum. And my dad. Mum simply got home any and every dog that needed love and a shelter. And my dad, he was, from what I hear, an extraordinary man. A swimmer, a bodybuilder, who always had his German Shepherd follow him around. I was hardly a year old when I was exposed to this huge animal who would be all over me. The elders in the family would worry he would maul me some day, but guess what they saw one morning? I was on top of him, biting him, trying to nibble his ear. And docile as a deer, he was just letting me do it!” Such a lovely story. One that should put to rest all the fear that is needlessly generated. Dogs understand love and know what hate and cruelty is about. They rarely harm, unprovoked.

Well, little Charu was truly very little, just a year and a half, when she lost her dad in a tragic road accident in Satara, near Aundh, from where her dad, linked with royal lineage, hailed. Therefore, all that she has learned of him has been through anecdotes and memories from her mum and extended family. Like how he would strap her to his back, as a weight, and do pushups! “Mum is a solid person, she played the role of both parents for us, me and my sister Harsita. We simply adore her and her strength and warmth.” Mum is Gaiatri Devi nee Binaifer Khambatta, indeed a picture of poise and positivity, exuding a joyful demeanour as she watches us shoot pictures and play with Truffles in Charu’s charming apartment at Dadar Parsi Colony.