Here is an account on a dear little friend I made who is the only welcoming member near the place I stay.
I live in a modest individual house on a wide road, surrounded by green belts and and amazing smooth road, where it is a common site to spot newbie drivers, smokers, dog walkers and good looking sirens.
My house is proudly caged by majestic royal metal gates, which display an amazing royal presence from a far distance.
We have amazing cars which pass by with kids skating away on the smooth roads which boasts an amazing stretch of over 10 kms. Yet the place is calm, and sometimes in mid afternoons and nights, one can hear their own blood circulations in their ears.
Ever since I could ever recall, DOG is the one and only royal king of the entire concrete jungle where loads of residents live. He was famous.Everyone knew him as he was the only dog in the street.Rich dynamic men and old timers all recognized and respected his authority.
He starts his day early in the morning with a stroll, around, giving august company to old jobless men, who buy milk, or regularly walk in the wee hours of morning.
I happened to have my first encounter with him one morning when I needed to purchase cookies to go with my milk when, DOG comes towards me in a sort of "whats up" kind of way.
Out of plain curiosity towards a stray dog and some change left, I decided to part with a few bucks and got him a small PARLE-G biscuit packet. I opened it and left it on the road. DOG gobbled the entire pack in a nano second with his tongue making a rhythmic flap.
Thus, a new friendship was born between us. Every visit of mine to that store invited a personal greeting from DOG, who enjoyed my greeting snack for PARLE-G biscuits.
In return for this gesture, he guarded our drive way road from, evil spirits, neighborhood dogs and noise making beings. The best part about him, was that he enjoyed silence as much as we did. He never barked ever.
Rain or shine, it was a pleasure to see the stray wag its tail everytime I left for college, or for jog.
DOG was my guardian and ally and I became his cookie buddy.
Then, a few days later an old lady complained to the authorities for a dog catcher to make a trip.
They arrived in a 16th century TATA van, which had a few stray canines frustrated in chains.
I was walking home from a stroll, when I suddenly remembered my DOG.
There was not a sign of his presence anywhere in the vicinity.
The van left without him and I felt DOG was not amongst those who gave up. He was a royal with a panache.
The next day I was back to my usual routine of life. I made a trip to the grocery store and back.DOG was nowhere to be seen.
Pappu, the guy who cleaned our driveway, said that he died due to some ailment. Rekha my maid, said he died due to an accident.
Over 2 months have passed since I last saw him. I still hope he ll come back as I have cookies at home just for him. Maybe he has some friends to look after, or some promises to keep.
Maybe I ll see him tomorrow or sometime soon.
