"Belonging Without Conditions" A Letter from the Mountains
On what dogs teach us about love, acceptance, and home.
In recent days, the conversation around stray dogs has grown louder, harsher, and more divisive. Policies and rulings are being made to “manage” them, often in ways that strip away compassion.
But here at Saanidhya and in the mountains, it feels different.
Dogs are not “problems” to be solved. They are companions on our walks, guardians of our orchards, keepers of our silence. They belong here as much as the pine trees and the rivers do.
The Purest Nearness
If there is one being that embodies nearness, it is a dog.
They do not care for titles or possessions. They don’t measure us by success, appearance, or ambition. Their belonging is unconditional, a warm head resting on your lap, a tail wagging in delight at your return, the simple joy of sharing space with you.
In a world where acceptance often comes with conditions, dogs remind us that true belonging is simply being welcomed as you are.
A Lesson in Coexistence
Strays in most cities are treated as outsiders, often shooed away or worse. But belonging, by its very nature, cannot be selective. Our planet was never ours alone; it was always meant to be shared.
The dogs who wander our streets and villages are not intruders. They are part of our ecosystem, woven into our daily lives in ways both visible and invisible, keeping watch, keeping company, and sometimes simply keeping us human.
What We Practice at Saanidhya
At Saanidhya, we do not just allow dogs; we welcome them.
We have seen guests arrive with their furry companions, and witnessed the homestay transform instantly into something warmer, softer, more alive. A guest once said, “It feels like my dog is more at home here than I am, and we love coming back here only because we love the way our furry babies are treated here.” Perhaps that is the highest compliment we could receive.
Because home is not defined by walls, but by how freely one can curl up and rest.
A Kinder Definition of Home
To belong without conditions, isn’t that what we are all searching for?
A space where we don’t have to earn our place. Where presence is enough. Where love is not transactional.
Dogs live this truth instinctively. And in their company, so can we.
As Milan Kundera once wrote:
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring, it was peace.”
Here in the Himalayas, we are trying to live closer to that paradise.
A place where everyone belongs, just as they are.
A place where love, like a dog’s welcome, asks for nothing in return.
"If you’ve ever felt your pet has taught you something about life, share it with us - we’d love to feature your reflections in a future Nearness Notes."
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