That dog is Aloka : A walk for peace and a gentle appeal to Manipur
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Sanjoo Thangjam
That dog is Aloka. Not a symbol manufactured for attention, not a mascot trained for spectacle but a once homeless Indian stray who chose to walk beside Buddhist monks on a 108 day Walk for Peace covering nearly 2,300 miles across the United States.
In an age when loudness often overshadows meaning, the quiet image of that dog walking steadily beside saffron robed monks has carried unusual weight. It has spoken without speech and lingered in hearts across continents.
According to the monks, Aloka first joined them near Kolkata in West Bengal during one of their earlier peace walks in India. He was then an ordinary street dog with no known history beyond the lanes he roamed. No ceremony marked his arrival. No rope bound him. He simply began to follow. The monks neither chased him away nor attempted to claim him. They allowed him to walk. From that simple acceptance grew a bond shaped by patience and quiet understanding.
When the monks later undertook their 108 day Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington, DC, Aloka walked again. The number 108, sacred in Buddhist tradition, symbolises spiritual completeness and the overcoming of worldly attachments.
For 108 days the monks practised Vipassana meditation with each deliberate step, walking not in anger but in mindfulness. And beside them, through highways, towns and unpredictable weather, walked Aloka.
That dog is Aloka.
He walked without understanding geopolitics. He walked without reading headlines. He walked because he belonged.
The story of Aloka reached Manipur through the curiosity of this writer, a journalist who is also a lifelong dog lover and a follower of Buddhist philosophy, when images of monks walking in meditative silence first drew attention, yet what lingered most powerfully was the quiet presence of a dog moving with equal calmness; further reading revealed his origin near Kolkata and his gentle decision to remain with the monks without force or expectation and from that moment Aloka became more than a companion in a pilgrimage, emerging in the eyes of this writer as a living metaphor for loyalty, compassion and the silent strength of coexistence.
Living with dogs shapes how such a story is received. In a home where four dogs named JooNo, Amubi, Dolly and Masu Nao form part of daily life, the lessons of companionship are not abstract. JooNo, a pug now blind yet remarkably perceptive through heightened senses, navigates space with resilience that humbles any observer. Amubi carries a steady loyalty that does not fluctuate with mood or circumstance. Dolly brings warmth that softens tension without effort. MasuNao embodies a calm presence that restores balance even on difficult days.
Dogs do not calculate divisions. They do not measure identity. They respond to affection. They forgive quickly. They remain present.
Watching Aloka walk thousands of miles rekindles those daily lessons. That dog is Aloka, once a stray near Kolkata, now remembered for crossing nearly 2,300 miles in silent companionship. His paws moved across asphalt and earth without recognising borders. When the monks stopped to meditate, he rested. When they rose, he rose. His loyalty was voluntary, not commanded.
The Walk for Peace in the United States is now over. The formal journey has concluded. Yet Aloka never said goodbye. The spirit of that walk does not end at Washington, DC. It lingers in memory, in photographs, in conversations and in the quiet conviction that mindful steps can still change hearts.
What was demonstrated across American highways was not a temporary campaign but a living principle.
For Manipur, a land presently burdened by mistrust between valley and hills, that lingering spirit feels deeply relevant. The wounds borne by communities are not superficial. They are layered with history, fear and sorrow.
Administrative interventions and political dialogue remain essential. Yet no legislation alone can soften a hardened heart. Peace requires inward transformation as much as outward agreement.
Manipur’s spiritual heritage offers ground for such reflection. The ethical teachings of the Buddha, centred on compassion, mindfulness and interdependence, echo across the region’s philosophical landscape.
Buddhism teaches that suffering is shared and that healing must be collective. When one part of the web trembles, the whole structure feels the strain.
It is in this context that the writer recalls a meaningful gesture by Yumnam Khemchand Singh, now the Chief Minister of Manipur. During his tenure as Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, he extended an invitation to His Holiness Dalai Lama to visit Manipur.
That invitation reflected not merely protocol but openness to moral guidance. The Dalai Lama’s consistent message of universal responsibility and compassion transcends sectarian lines. To invite him was to acknowledge that governance may draw strength from spiritual wisdom.
There is a perception among many that the Chief Minister, Yumnam Khem-chand Singh firmly rooted in his Meitei identity and respectful of all faiths.
His repeated affirmation that irrespective of caste, creed or religion, all are Manipuri aligns the understanding of oneness.
Interdependence is not a political slogan. It is a lived truth. When the valley grieves, the hills are not untouched. When the hills ache, the valley cannot claim distance.
Whether Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh is aware of the Walk for Peace and of Aloka remains uncertain. Yet, there is hope that this story may reach him. For in that dog’s journey lies a metaphor that transcends ideology.
That dog is Aloka.
Imagine him walking along the winding roads of Manipur, through paddy fields shimmering under the sun, across foothill villages and bustling market lanes. He would not pause to ask which community resides where. He would respond to kindness from any hand extended in goodwill. His presence would not carry accusation. It would carry quiet companionship.
The Walk for Peace may have concluded in the United States but Manipur needs a walk of healing. Manipur needs that gentle presence.
Manipur needs those loving monks guided by a Venerable teacher whose discipline is rooted in compassion. The state needs a healing touch that does not inflame but soothes, that does not divide but unites.
Such a walk would not erase grievances overnight. The pain of conflict cannot be dissolved by symbolism alone. Yet symbols have power when they awaken conscience. The monks’ disciplined steps demonstrated that peace is not passive. It is practised. It is sustained. Aloka’s steady presence reinforced that message without uttering a word. That dog is Aloka, a reminder that belonging can be chosen and loyalty can transcend origin. He once wandered the streets near Kolkata. Today he stands remembered as a pilgrim of peace. His journey affirms that harmony is possible when fear is replaced by trust.
Manipur stands at a moment that demands courage measured not only in strength but in compassion.
Leadership grounded in unity, such as the affirmation that all people irrespective of caste, creed or religion are Manipuri.
The invitation once extended to the Dalai Lama demonstrated that moral voices have space in public life.
In that spirit, the story of Aloka becomes more than a distant anecdote. It becomes a gentle appeal.
Peace is not declared. It is walked into existence.
That dog is Aloka.
May blessings guide him wherever his journey continues. May wisdom guide those entrusted with governance. And may Manipur rediscover within itself the quiet strength of coexistence that a stray dog once demonstrated simply by walking beside compassion.
That dog is Aloka. Not a symbol manufactured for attention, not a mascot trained for spectacle but a once homeless Indian stray who chose to walk beside Buddhist monks on a 108 day Walk for Peace covering nearly 2,300 miles across the United States.
In an age when loudness often overshadows meaning, the quiet image of that dog walking steadily beside saffron robed monks has carried unusual weight. It has spoken without speech and lingered in hearts across continents.
According to the monks, Aloka first joined them near Kolkata in West Bengal during one of their earlier peace walks in India. He was then an ordinary street dog with no known history beyond the lanes he roamed. No ceremony marked his arrival. No rope bound him. He simply began to follow. The monks neither chased him away nor attempted to claim him. They allowed him to walk. From that simple acceptance grew a bond shaped by patience and quiet understanding.
When the monks later undertook their 108 day Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington, DC, Aloka walked again. The number 108, sacred in Buddhist tradition, symbolises spiritual completeness and the overcoming of worldly attachments.
For 108 days the monks practised Vipassana meditation with each deliberate step, walking not in anger but in mindfulness. And beside them, through highways, towns and unpredictable weather, walked Aloka.
That dog is Aloka.
He walked without understanding geopolitics. He walked without reading headlines. He walked because he belonged.
The story of Aloka reached Manipur through the curiosity of this writer, a journalist who is also a lifelong dog lover and a follower of Buddhist philosophy, when images of monks walking in meditative silence first drew attention, yet what lingered most powerfully was the quiet presence of a dog moving with equal calmness; further reading revealed his origin near Kolkata and his gentle decision to remain with the monks without force or expectation and from that moment Aloka became more than a companion in a pilgrimage, emerging in the eyes of this writer as a living metaphor for loyalty, compassion and the silent strength of coexistence.
Living with dogs shapes how such a story is received. In a home where four dogs named JooNo, Amubi, Dolly and Masu Nao form part of daily life, the lessons of companionship are not abstract. JooNo, a pug now blind yet remarkably perceptive through heightened senses, navigates space with resilience that humbles any observer. Amubi carries a steady loyalty that does not fluctuate with mood or circumstance. Dolly brings warmth that softens tension without effort. MasuNao embodies a calm presence that restores balance even on difficult days.
Dogs do not calculate divisions. They do not measure identity. They respond to affection. They forgive quickly. They remain present.
Watching Aloka walk thousands of miles rekindles those daily lessons. That dog is Aloka, once a stray near Kolkata, now remembered for crossing nearly 2,300 miles in silent companionship. His paws moved across asphalt and earth without recognising borders. When the monks stopped to meditate, he rested. When they rose, he rose. His loyalty was voluntary, not commanded.
The Walk for Peace in the United States is now over. The formal journey has concluded. Yet Aloka never said goodbye. The spirit of that walk does not end at Washington, DC. It lingers in memory, in photographs, in conversations and in the quiet conviction that mindful steps can still change hearts.
What was demonstrated across American highways was not a temporary campaign but a living principle.
For Manipur, a land presently burdened by mistrust between valley and hills, that lingering spirit feels deeply relevant. The wounds borne by communities are not superficial. They are layered with history, fear and sorrow.
Administrative interventions and political dialogue remain essential. Yet no legislation alone can soften a hardened heart. Peace requires inward transformation as much as outward agreement.
Manipur’s spiritual heritage offers ground for such reflection. The ethical teachings of the Buddha, centred on compassion, mindfulness and interdependence, echo across the region’s philosophical landscape.
Buddhism teaches that suffering is shared and that healing must be collective. When one part of the web trembles, the whole structure feels the strain.
It is in this context that the writer recalls a meaningful gesture by Yumnam Khemchand Singh, now the Chief Minister of Manipur. During his tenure as Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, he extended an invitation to His Holiness Dalai Lama to visit Manipur.
That invitation reflected not merely protocol but openness to moral guidance. The Dalai Lama’s consistent message of universal responsibility and compassion transcends sectarian lines. To invite him was to acknowledge that governance may draw strength from spiritual wisdom.
There is a perception among many that the Chief Minister, Yumnam Khem-chand Singh firmly rooted in his Meitei identity and respectful of all faiths.
His repeated affirmation that irrespective of caste, creed or religion, all are Manipuri aligns the understanding of oneness.
Interdependence is not a political slogan. It is a lived truth. When the valley grieves, the hills are not untouched. When the hills ache, the valley cannot claim distance.
Whether Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh is aware of the Walk for Peace and of Aloka remains uncertain. Yet, there is hope that this story may reach him. For in that dog’s journey lies a metaphor that transcends ideology.
That dog is Aloka.
Imagine him walking along the winding roads of Manipur, through paddy fields shimmering under the sun, across foothill villages and bustling market lanes. He would not pause to ask which community resides where. He would respond to kindness from any hand extended in goodwill. His presence would not carry accusation. It would carry quiet companionship.
The Walk for Peace may have concluded in the United States but Manipur needs a walk of healing. Manipur needs that gentle presence.
Manipur needs those loving monks guided by a Venerable teacher whose discipline is rooted in compassion. The state needs a healing touch that does not inflame but soothes, that does not divide but unites.
Such a walk would not erase grievances overnight. The pain of conflict cannot be dissolved by symbolism alone. Yet symbols have power when they awaken conscience. The monks’ disciplined steps demonstrated that peace is not passive. It is practised. It is sustained. Aloka’s steady presence reinforced that message without uttering a word. That dog is Aloka, a reminder that belonging can be chosen and loyalty can transcend origin. He once wandered the streets near Kolkata. Today he stands remembered as a pilgrim of peace. His journey affirms that harmony is possible when fear is replaced by trust.
Manipur stands at a moment that demands courage measured not only in strength but in compassion.
Leadership grounded in unity, such as the affirmation that all people irrespective of caste, creed or religion are Manipuri.
The invitation once extended to the Dalai Lama demonstrated that moral voices have space in public life.
In that spirit, the story of Aloka becomes more than a distant anecdote. It becomes a gentle appeal.
Peace is not declared. It is walked into existence.
That dog is Aloka.
May blessings guide him wherever his journey continues. May wisdom guide those entrusted with governance. And may Manipur rediscover within itself the quiet strength of coexistence that a stray dog once demonstrated simply by walking beside compassion.