The Dog

God knows from where a street dog has landed up in our hostel. The first time I have noticed his uninvited presence was in his stance of an escort as I looked for my autowala by standing at the end of the pavement. I would crane my neck, and goggle around to spot an auto some 25-30 metres away from my hostel. The doggie, we call him so because we donno his name, would come right in front of me and wag his tail vigorously and then try hard to make an eye contact with me. But the moment a bike vroomed by he would chase the bike no matter how far the bike is or in whatever direction the bike sped.

On one evening, when I was back from office, I was greeted by this doggie in his usual style - wagging his tail, sniffing and then circling - to my utter consternation. Though I was not very happy with a stray dog squatting in front of the door, my roomie, Divs was instantly in love with him.

Deep in my mind the fear was there - who knows how the stray dog would behave in other circumstances. Everyday, when I step out of the hostel, he comes behind me and waits there until I get into an auto. While I wait for my auto, he barks at bikeriders and I have fallen into the nagging habit of harangueing at him “what is your problem with the bike riders? Why do you have to bark at them? What are you waiting here for?” He stands there calmly, with his ears upright and his face directed towards my face, as if he says “I fairly understand your concern madam, after all I am a dog, and it’s manly to escort a woman” and having expressed this he would stretch his body and then jerk his neck like a man after his hair cut.

But the story could have been monotonous had he stuck to his usual ritual of escorting women. It is an era of media and the doggie seems to be in the mood of making the headlines, and he made news indeed by spreading terror in the hostel. He badly scratched Divs’ friend and we profusely criticised his biased attitude, his callousness in breaching trust. Divs and I vowed to see him away. I started with the rhetoric “humarei ma-baap humein ghar se dur bheje kutteyse katwaney ke liey kya?” …but no claps...the rhetoric became a dampener when the girls giggled. One of the girls ran to me and whispered into my ears “he barks at my college guys too…he does not allow them to come near the door (he he he he…). Recently he walked into Nilgiris with me, everbody was so shocked..."

When I complained to the landlord about the doggie’s ferocity, he brushed aside my remarks stating “He is the don in this area…” I realized the complainants are a minority here, so I fell upon brooding for the rest of the evening groping for a solution.

The landlord had sound reason not to drive away the dog because recently the motor was stolen and with the barking hound harking around, he feels his new motor would be safe.

Once Divs entered the room, I started narrating my analysis of the event…I am sure the guy is a bike rider coz the doggie only chases bike riders and we gotta tell Shama that she better tell her guy to park his bike somewhere far from the hostel and walk with her down to hostel to avoid attacks in future.

One evening the doggie squatted before the main door and I had difficulty opening the door as he was not moving away from the door. Besides I was not brave enough to shoo the canine away. I stretched out my arms to insert the key in the keyhole over his lazy body and like a lightning it struck my mind that he does not bark at the sardarji who is sitting otside on the bike. He too comes on a bike and stands there at the door for hours for the upstair girl…Now I see how the doggie selectively behaves as a moral guardian…Ahem!