As we drove home from Georgetown, everyone in the car was equally anxious. Toby was constantly moving up and down. I was turning back to check on him, worried. Looking at both of our emotions, my husband was trying to be as gentle as he could behind the wheels. Toby kept pacing in the bucket.

When we reached home, the next hour went in settling Toby in his vacation home. The tank was converted to a terrarium, filled with fresh water, the bed was laid with pebbles, and rocks were added to simulate his natural habitat. Guess what, Toby was still anxious and never in my life had I seen a more active turtle!

My music teacher Priti ji, was going on vacation and we offered to take care of their pet of 30 years. Very thoughtfully Priti ji and her husband packed all the equipment and food, gave instructions to care for the turtle. They stopped by to settle Toby  and very fondly Priti ji said her goodbye. I could feel their emotions.

Toby was obviously aware of being dislocated. Even though he was in his familiar tank, he was restless in the new surrounding. Having no prior experience with reptiles whatsoever, we were clueless on how to him feel comfortable. In a bit of panic, my husband gave me the assignment to figure out care for a pet turtle. Soon I got busy reading all sorts of material online. We started with learning the distinction between a turtle and tortoise, as we grew up knowing the common ‘kachhua’. With over 270 types of turtles, only a handful are favorite as pets. They need land and water and ample room to explore. Most important is to keep the water clean to avoid infections. Omnivorous they are, still need to care for their diet, vitamins and all. ReptoMin, the floating food sticks from Petco was a hassle free choice. Interestingly, turtles survive with less food. Only fed once a day, 4-5 times a week is enough, though we were particular to follow the daily routine. Overeating can be fatal for them! My sister who runs a school mentioned how her enthusiastic students would sneak cucumber in their tiffins and feed the school’s pet turtle. Of course, it couldn’t take all the love and attention. So we erred on the side of precaution.

Well, in a couple of hours, Toby settled down and was comfortable in his vacation home. He would keep himself busy by swimming in the tank, bask on the rock and his most favorite part was to knock off the filter pump. He had his routine, would call it a day by dusk. If we turned on the lights accidentally, he would get perturbed. In fact we stopped using the dining room for dinner.

Toby became a star getting all the attention from guests at home, children and adults alike. We had stories to share. One of my friends mentioned if he was lonely. And a kid questioned: how do you know it is a ‘he’. I thought Priti ji said so and then went back to favorite resource, Google. Male turtles have long nails on their front feet and a thicker tail. Priti ji was right, Toby was a boy. Interestingly, turtles enjoy being by themselves, so we stopped worrying about his being lonely.

An amateur singer, I am known for driving our puppy away due to my singing. Since Toby had no choice of running away, I started practicing my ragas in front of him. At least I had some live audience. I don’t think the bhajans touched Toby’s heart, he simply ignored me. But I realized that he had started to recognize my voice. When I went to his tank and called out his name (or sang :)), he would actually turn towards me. Or was this just a coincidence? Once again, with Google to the rescue, I was curious to know if turtles would form any kind of bond with humans or would react to their voices. Turtles do not have an external ear, but they do respond to vibrations. People had blogged about how their turtles would react when they walked into the room. So my bhajans were making an impact.

Toby knew his ‘Food bottle’ well, the yellow colored ‘ReptoMin’. Initially I was only suspicious that he recognizes this yellow bottle. My husband and I would argue about it. But slowly, we became more and more confident about it. Just as a baby knows the milk-bottle, Toby would be super active at the sight of the lid of ReptoMin bottle. Funny as he would be, he would put his neck up and try to reach for it, even when the food sticks were lying around him floating. As the bottle was moved away, he would get busy chasing the food sticks and of course, knocking off the filter pump.

In the coming days, Toby’s presence became a part of our life. Checking on him several times during the day, singing, feeding, and yes, changing the water in his tank became a routine. One time we were out for an event and actually rushed home so that Toby could be fed on his scheduled time. We did miss the target by a few hours, he was patient as ever!

Toby made us ponder about so many things, attachment by detachment, living a simple life, we can survive on less, have a healthy routine, don’t be lazy but exercise, and above all, be content. Now Turtle (Sanskrit Kurma) also happens to be the second Avatar of Vishnu. Like other avatars of Vishnu, it appears at a time of crisis to restore the cosmic equilibrium (quoting wikipedia).

In a couple of weeks, it was time for Toby to go back to his home. Once again, he was transported in the car, this time in his tank so he was less anxious. With mixed emotions, I looked at the empty corner in the dining room. There was a hermit of 90 years, peacefully part of our lives. Well, I could see him every Sunday when I went for my music class. My daughter says he must be happy to escape my singing but I have my doubts.

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