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Abstract

way. There was not even time to mourn her death. Our suspicions grew deeper. The photo showed that Jodha’s carcass had hack marks, and it was bloated. Her tongue was black — poison.Our neighborly relationship went downhill from there. Shiva was no longer cordial in his demeanor.We had tapped into main grid utilities from Shiva’s recycling center – water and electricity supply. A certain amount was agreed upon as a monthly payment, and suddenly, he demanded the agreed amount thrice. Eventually, we disconnected all supplies from his recycling center; we went off-grid. Such was life in the subsequent months, and our landlord helped us by closing off the entire place using a zinc fence so no more dogs would go missing and built a brick house on the property. He asked us to use his 9,000 square feet at no extra charge. He was equally annoyed with Shiva’s behavior. Other people in the surrounding area, too, told us about Shiva’s negative behaviors towards his neighbors. He was known as a rude, arrogant, and foul-mouthed person.Fast forward to September 2023. By this time, Shiva had expanded his business to the next plot adjacent to us — he ventured into repairing his antique car collection, which was worth a few million.“They tied my hands at the back,” one of Shiva’s workers told me one day when I met him outside our plot.“They held machetes against our necks. My gold chain was ripped off. There were five of them; they came with machetes.”I was shaken and curious at the same time. How did the robbers enter the premises? Shiva had a few dogs guarding his property, and our dogs used to chill in the space between our land and Shiva’s recycling center. No way anyone could enter from our side, I told him. Mocha, our lead fighter, would have made a meal out of them.“No, they entered through the other side,” he said. That was the side that faced an empty land. Five robbers broke in, wielded machetes, and robbed the recycling center, driving away with one of Shiva’s semi trucks! The loss ran into hundreds of thousands. The police were of no help.Mohammed’s house was brightly lit. I stopped in my tracks. The whole place looked different. Usually, it would be prett

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y dark because Mohammed had started using a camping power bank after we cut off the utility supply from Shiva’s place. Everything seemed the same, but the place was bright.Electricity supply!After the robbery incident, apparently, Shiva offered an olive branch to Mohammed — the utility supply from his recycling center. Why? I asked.Mohammed shrugged. Maybe I had said that if any robbers ever came by again, I asked him to call me, he added. Mohammed was a former army personnel who knew how to deal with thieves and robbers. Finally, Shiva had learned his lessons and had made friends with Mohammed because had his people called for help, Mohammed and our dogs would have been the first to arrive there.I come from a small town. There, all our neighbors are our next of kin more than our own families. But sometimes neighbors can be a handful, too. But we were always tolerant because, in times of need, they were the closest we could turn to for help.There were many stories of neighbors risking their lives to save kids from burning houses. When someone had a heart attack, the neighbor drove the person to the hospital. There was a death in the family, and it was the neighbor who had lent a helping hand. Thus, the adage — love thy neighbor, because the first helping hand could be just a door away.In our modern-day lives, we often fence ourselves in, building high walls around our properties, remaining strangers to those living next door. Community living has become scarce, with the idea of ‘my,’ ‘mine,’ and ‘me’ dominating human behavior.If a neighbor’s dog howls or a child from another home cries constantly, it is good neighborliness to check on them. Should there be loud music from the neighbor’s house, it is okay to let them know about it. However, it is not okay to fight with a neighbor who worships God differently from us. With love, thy neighbor comes the need for tolerance because being a good neighbor starts from being tolerant.A few days ago, I found Mohammed and Shiva bent over one of the antique cars under refurbishment. They were discussing something. From the looks of it, finally, Shiva had learned the adage — Love Thy Neighbour.</article></body>

Love Thy Neighbour: Why We Must Connect With Those Living Close By

From the author — Jodha’s girl, Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai and my own daughter, Abby.

“There is a dead dog under one of my cars; maybe yours,” the voice on the other side sounded curt.

We had just returned to the office on 7th June 2022 after a prolonged work-from-home episode since 2020, no thanks to COVID-19. Shiva, the neighbor at my rented farm, was on the other side of the line. I did not know how to respond. Gathering myself, I asked whether it was a male or female dog. Male, he said.

Our female dog, Jodha, went missing on the evening of the 5th, prompting Mohammed, my caretaker, and I to search the entire sprawling area of Semarang. First, we checked out the secondary jungle next to our land; then, we drove around Semarang. She was nowhere to be found.

A couple of years before that fateful day, we had adopted a pair of mixed-breed dogs — Power and Jodha. When we moved to the suburbs, the pair had four puppies, and our home became crowded. The puppies had started fighting each other for supremacy. So, we rented a piece of land and placed them there. The land was adjacent to Shiva’s recycling center. A big jungle was next to our land, and the dogs were so busy checking it out that the fighting stopped.

Four months after we moved the dogs to the land, Jodha had her second litter of puppies — another gorgeous six. Everything was hunky dory, and everyone was happy.

Then, problems started. Shiva’s brother, Guna, wanted to rent the other part of our rented land. We rented half, so the other half was empty. Guna decided to rent it from our landowner, but he was unsuccessful. Ill feelings started surfacing; one of our dogs, Mafia, disappeared in April 2022. We had our suspicions but remained silent.

Two months later, we were told there was a dead dog on the 7th of June. I asked for a photo and immediately realized it was Jodha, not any random male dog. We were all in shock. Even before we could react, Shiva had thrown her carcass very far away. There was not even time to mourn her death. Our suspicions grew deeper. The photo showed that Jodha’s carcass had hack marks, and it was bloated. Her tongue was black — poison.

Our neighborly relationship went downhill from there. Shiva was no longer cordial in his demeanor.

We had tapped into main grid utilities from Shiva’s recycling center – water and electricity supply. A certain amount was agreed upon as a monthly payment, and suddenly, he demanded the agreed amount thrice. Eventually, we disconnected all supplies from his recycling center; we went off-grid. Such was life in the subsequent months, and our landlord helped us by closing off the entire place using a zinc fence so no more dogs would go missing and built a brick house on the property. He asked us to use his 9,000 square feet at no extra charge. He was equally annoyed with Shiva’s behavior. Other people in the surrounding area, too, told us about Shiva’s negative behaviors towards his neighbors. He was known as a rude, arrogant, and foul-mouthed person.

Fast forward to September 2023. By this time, Shiva had expanded his business to the next plot adjacent to us — he ventured into repairing his antique car collection, which was worth a few million.

“They tied my hands at the back,” one of Shiva’s workers told me one day when I met him outside our plot.

“They held machetes against our necks. My gold chain was ripped off. There were five of them; they came with machetes.”

I was shaken and curious at the same time. How did the robbers enter the premises? Shiva had a few dogs guarding his property, and our dogs used to chill in the space between our land and Shiva’s recycling center. No way anyone could enter from our side, I told him. Mocha, our lead fighter, would have made a meal out of them.

“No, they entered through the other side,” he said. That was the side that faced an empty land. Five robbers broke in, wielded machetes, and robbed the recycling center, driving away with one of Shiva’s semi trucks! The loss ran into hundreds of thousands. The police were of no help.

Mohammed’s house was brightly lit. I stopped in my tracks. The whole place looked different. Usually, it would be pretty dark because Mohammed had started using a camping power bank after we cut off the utility supply from Shiva’s place. Everything seemed the same, but the place was bright.

Electricity supply!

After the robbery incident, apparently, Shiva offered an olive branch to Mohammed — the utility supply from his recycling center. Why? I asked.

Mohammed shrugged. Maybe I had said that if any robbers ever came by again, I asked him to call me, he added. Mohammed was a former army personnel who knew how to deal with thieves and robbers. Finally, Shiva had learned his lessons and had made friends with Mohammed because had his people called for help, Mohammed and our dogs would have been the first to arrive there.

I come from a small town. There, all our neighbors are our next of kin more than our own families. But sometimes neighbors can be a handful, too. But we were always tolerant because, in times of need, they were the closest we could turn to for help.

There were many stories of neighbors risking their lives to save kids from burning houses. When someone had a heart attack, the neighbor drove the person to the hospital. There was a death in the family, and it was the neighbor who had lent a helping hand. Thus, the adage — love thy neighbor, because the first helping hand could be just a door away.

In our modern-day lives, we often fence ourselves in, building high walls around our properties, remaining strangers to those living next door. Community living has become scarce, with the idea of ‘my,’ ‘mine,’ and ‘me’ dominating human behavior.

If a neighbor’s dog howls or a child from another home cries constantly, it is good neighborliness to check on them. Should there be loud music from the neighbor’s house, it is okay to let them know about it. However, it is not okay to fight with a neighbor who worships God differently from us. With love, thy neighbor comes the need for tolerance because being a good neighbor starts from being tolerant.

A few days ago, I found Mohammed and Shiva bent over one of the antique cars under refurbishment. They were discussing something. From the looks of it, finally, Shiva had learned the adage — Love Thy Neighbour.