“A Day Through My Nose: How Arjuna Found Freedom Beyond the Sixth Floor”

A DAY THROUGH MY NOSE

(Arjuna, The Big Lab-dog from Anandaneelam tells his story)

Me, Arjuna....the warrior dog..

I was born to smell the world.

But for a long time, the world forgot that.

Before Ananda Neelam, my world was a sixth-floor apartment.

Six floors above the earth.

Six floors away from life itself.

Every morning my hooman-parents left early.

The door closed.

The lift swallowed their scent.

And the day became very… quiet and boring.

There was a maid, Gomati.

She stayed all day on sofa...

And she was always on the phone.

I tried to smell her mood.

Flat.

Busy.

Elsewhere. Lost...maybe her distant village...

Dogs don’t see time.

We smell it.

And those days smelled long… stale… lonely, boring....

The floor smelled of detergent.

The sofa smelled same like yesterday.

The air smelled of nothing....

Nothing is the worst smell of all.

I would stand near the balcony grill and lift my nose, trying to catch life from six floors above.

A hint of rain.

A passing pigeon.

A distant food stall.

Someone walking far below.

I sniffed the wind like a starving lion.....

But the smells never stayed.

They passed by… just like people.

They called me “hyper, Troublesome”

They called me “restless.”

They called me “too much.”

But no one asked my nose what it needed.

Then one day, everything changed....

The car door opened.

And suddenly…

my nose exploded in smells...

Mud.

Grass.

Cow dung.

Leaves.

Neem.

Mango bark.

Water.

Sun-warmed earth.

Dogs...

I froze.

Was this… allowed?

Someone laughed softly and said,

“Arjuna… welcome home, my son.”

That was my first breath at Ananda Neelam...

Here, mornings don’t begin with alarms.

They begin with smells.

The soil smells different after rain.

Sita smells calm — like wisdom.

Mylo smells curious — like questions. And naughty bugger...

April smells light — like butterflies and cute lady...ooma

And Appa…

Appa smells like safety,..... leader who leads by compassion, empathy and love ....

Every day is a festival as seen by my nose...

I don’t walk here.

I read.

Each patch of grass is a newspaper.

Each tree has gossip. And news of Nature..

Each stone remembers who passed last night.

Sniffing is not timepass.

Sniffing is how my brain breathes.

When I sniff deeply, my heart slows down.

My thoughts settle.

My body relaxes.

In the city, my energy had nowhere to go.

So it burst out as jumping, barking, pulling, chaos and destruction..

Here, my energy dissolves into the earth.

They don’t rush me on walks.

No one pulls my leash and says, “Come fast.”

Appa just says,

“Read slowly.”

And I do.

Food smells different here too.

Warm.

Fresh.

Alive.

With Love ....

Rice smells like comfort.

Pumpkin smells like sunshine.

Chicken broth smells like strength.

Turmeric smells like healing.

Cold kibble never spoke to my nose.

This food talks. And I read..

And when food smells right, my stomach listens.

I don’t gulp anymore.

I don’t bloat.

I don’t feel restless after eating.

My body trusts now.

Afternoons smell like rest.

I sleep with my belly on the ground.

The earth pulls my heat down.

My nervous system sighs.

This is grounding.

This is medicine.

No pill can do what soil does.

Evenings smell like connection.

Appa sits and reads.

I sit near him.

I don’t need touch all the time.

I just need his smell nearby.

When he pets another dog, I feel a tightness in my chest.

I am still learning not to be jealous....yeah..

But then he speaks to me softly,

“Arjuna… big baby… I see you. And hear you”

And my body melts.

Dogs don’t need equal attention.

We need emotional clarity.

Nights smell like closure.

A gentle neck rub.

A slow breath.

And those words I wait for:

“God bless you, kanna.”

Sleep comes easily after that.

Because my nose knows —

nothing bad will happen tonight.

Here is what I want humans to know:

When you don’t let a dog sniff,

you don’t just take away his walk.

You take away:

• mental enrichment

• emotional regulation

• stress release

• joy

• identity

A dog without smells is a dog without stories.

I was not difficult.

I was deprived.

I was not hyper.

I was unread.

All I needed was a world that my nose could touch. And Read...

Now every day is full.

Not because it is busy.

But because it is rich.

Rich in smells.

Rich in earth.

Rich in belonging.

This is my life now.

This is how I heal.

This is how I live.

And tomorrow morning,

when the sun rises…

I will read the world again —

one smell at a time...Me Arjuna, the big warrior of AnandaNeelam...