Saturday, April 19, 2003
M A I N   F E A T U R E


ACHIEVER
From a kitchen boy to a celebrity
Sarbjit Dhaliwal

Balwinder with his winners
Balwinder with his winners

HE was hardly 10 years old when his father gave him, like his other brothers, in dowry to a daughter of sardar (feudal lord) from a village near Ganganagar in Rajasthan. His father had been working as farm hand with the sardar for decades. When the sardar married his daughters, he also gifted them with "servants" in the dowry. These gifts were sons of those working in his farm.

So, as a part of the dowry, Balwinder walked into City Beautiful about 18 years ago. He worked as a kitchen boy for years. Back in the village, he had developed a fascination for birds while working as a shepherd. All that was lost when he made to the city of concrete from the land of beautiful dunes where wildlife is worshipped.

His master's family here had a dog called Rambo. It was a German shepherd. Balwinder turned to Rambo for friendship to get rid of his loneliness. Soon, Rambo and he became inseparable. He did not visit his village for six years, for in his absence Rambo refused to eat as well as sleep.

 


Balwinder started training Rambo, and in a short time became the perfect teacher of his dearest friend. The day came when Rambo won the title of the "most obedient dog" in a high profile show held in Chandigarh. And Balwinder got the award of best trainer in 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Rambo continued to win that award for four years and Balwinder that of the Best Trainer. In 1999, Balwinder was awarded a trophy for "best performance" in dog training continuously for four years.

From a kitchen boy, he became a known name in the world of kennel clubs not only in Chandigarh but also in the region. Dog breeding is a hobby of the rich and famous but here there was a poor boy from a sleepy village who had become a most sought after name for them.

Then a tragedy struck. Rambo died mysteriously. Balwinder says the dog was "killed" by those who had become jealous of him. Balwinder was virtually wrecked by the death of "his friend." He stopped training dogs. A shattered soul, he went back to the village. "One foreigner had offered to pay Rs 1 lakh for Rambo but I had declined to the offer. " Balwinder also left the job at his master's place.

When he returned to Chandigarh, a friend and also an ardent dog lover Sunny Khosla came to his help. "At present, I am trying to stabilise my life and am training 10-12 dogs of various VIPs," says Balwinder, who is preparing to get married shortly. "I have made a good beginning again. Dogs trained by me this year have won medals in dog shows in Delhi as well in all major cities of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Among these dogs was Sweety, which won first prize at Jalandhar, Dehra Dun and Ambala. Lazy and Brutus also won several medals at all these shows."

Balwinder never beats a dog and conveys the command with his eyes. "Dog is one of the wisest creations of God. Without reading the dog's mood, one cannot teach it. Once the dog starts hating a particular person, it never stops doing so all its life. And it never forgets the one who beats it and takes revenge at the first available opportunity," says this earnest trainer.