Life's Macchiato

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Dil Dosti Aur Dog

It was a damp December winter morning outside the gate of a huge sprawling farmhouse in Chattarpur, Delhi. I had lost my way after last night’s storm and rain. The wetness had mixed up the smells around me. I sat outside the gate with my doggie ears up like an antenna sensing for any homegrown goons who would shoo away an outsider like me. But thankfully all I heard was a cat mewing in a corner curious to find out who am I and from where had I appeared. I guess she had not seen a dark, tall and strong dog since ages. Well, I had always maintained my physique by getting fed by the grocery shop owner in my previous neighborhood. He fed me two bowls of milk and two rotis ¹ . That was indeed a treat considering the plight of my fraternity who die of starvation or get run over by cars. But now, I was not sure how would I survive, leave alone getting back home. This is the first time I had lost my way and the roads led nowhere.

Just then I heard a lady jogging towards the gate and stopped a few meters away from where I stood. ‘Ohh..Such a cute doggie…Is it a he or she???’ said the lady. ‘Huh!! I am no cutie putie doggie, I am the handsome strong guy you never had mi lady and duhh!! I am not ‘it’ I am a dude!!’ ‘Hmm..he is a male definitely’ said the lady after staring at my crotch. I looked at her and understood where she was headed. So, I decided to use all my street tricks I had learnt during my 5 years in this ruthless human world. I wagged my black bushy tail, my drooling pink tongue was hung on the side of my mouth and my eyes had the most painful look she would have ever seen. ‘Oh you poor thing.. lost in this cold winter morning and so handsome you are na.. Come, let me take you inside. She was a tall, slim lady in her early forties; she had auburn hair which was neatly tied up in a bun. She would have been definitely breathtaking during her youth but her eyes showed a lot stress and scare similar to my state. I wonder what could be troubling this seemingly rich and pretty lady.

Just to seal the deal for my survival I used my level 2 tactic of melting her. I made a whining noise and picked up my paw to assure her that I am the most well behaved ‘doggie’ that she had ever seen. ‘Oh my poor baby..you want a home??’ she bent down and held my paw and ruffled my head. ‘Oh all right, I will take you in.’

‘Yayyy!!! I was doing cartwheels in my head and I quickly followed my new mistress into her sprawling farm. As soon as I entered the farm, I could not believe what I saw- it was as though I entered a magical forest with eucalyptus, papaya and mango trees which neatly lined the pebbled pathway. There were squirrels frolicking around and hid as soon as they heard our footsteps. I resisted the urge to run after them considering I am new to the family, but nevertheless I strutted along with my new pretty mistress like a King. After walking for a few minutes we reached the steps leading to their massive house made of red bricks. On the steps there was a fat white tabby cat that got up with a startle as soon as he got a whiff of me. He sneered at me showing his teeth and I was no coward so I snared back at him displaying my pearly white fangs. ‘Come on Tommy move, this is ‘Bhole’ your new friend and our newest family member. Now don’t you both start fighting, else both of you would be out!’ said the mistress. The last sentence made each of us quiet and we went about our ways. Is my name Bhole??? What kind of a name was that?? I was used to being called Kaalu by the milk man. Anyway, whatever her highness wants.

I quickly ran up the small flight of stairs and waited for the door to be opened. The door was opened by an old man in a white kurta pyjama². He jumped as soon as he saw me at the door standing next to the mistress. ‘Sheila madam yeh kya hai?’ (What is this Sheila madam), exclaimed the man. ‘Oh Ram Singh, stop jumping like you have seen a ghost!! This is Bhole, he was out cold and hungry so I brought him inside. Yeh ab hamare saath rahega. (He will stay with us now)’ beamed Sheila as she ran her fingers through my thick black coat. Ram Singh looked at me with disbelief and muttered ‘Ji….Bahut pyaara hai..magar kaatega kya?? (Yes, he is lovely but will he bite?) ‘Arey nahi..isko chookar dekho, bahut bhola hai’ (No, just pet him, he is very docile) said my mistress. Ram Singh’s extended his trembling arm and his hand touched my forehead. I was standing quietly till all this bollywood drama got over and praying that I could get some food!!! Ram Singh was convinced that I did not bite unnecessarily, Man why should I?? I have better things to do.

‘Ok now you will have some oats and cornflakes just like me. Come on boy.’ signaled my mistress. I did not understand what oats or cornflakes meant but I sure knew I was getting fed, yippee!! I trotted behind her like a horse, into a beautiful modern day kitchen. It was full of fancy appliances, a table in the middle for 2 and just enough space for me to get under it. Now my sense of smell was awoken with the aroma of eggs. I followed my nose and stood near the stove where the eggs were kept. I was salivating and my mistress from a distance said ‘oh baby, you want some eggs??’ I just kept slurping and licking my lips vigorously so that she would get the hint. She brought me a bowl full of some brown crunchy stuff, milk and boiled eggs. Oh boy!! I was famished and lapped it up in 2 minutes flat. Except for that crunchy stuff which I guessed was cornflakes, the rest was delicious. She kept a bowl of water for me near the back door, so that it is easy for me to go out into the garden, play and come back. This was heaven!

She then gave me another look and decided that I needed a bath!! A bath?? What on earth was that? She gave instructions to Ram Singh to arrange for a tub of water, dog shampoo, leash and a collar. I saw Ram Singh fill the tub with water and I started shivering. Is that what a bath is?? Will they tie me up and immerse me in water?? My fear made me pee right in the kitchen and I started whining. The mistress was giggling as she patted me on my head ‘Oh Bhole, you are so cute..scared of bath are you? You would be squeaky clean and smell like strawberries’. Is she crazy?? She finds me cute when I just pissed on her Italian marble floor? If this how she will react, then good times are ahead my buddy.

Ram Singh tied a thick rope around my neck and fastened it to a leash; he then pulled me cautiously towards the porch where he had prepared my bath. It was a pink tub with fruity smelling bubbles. The mistress was standing next to me supervising Ram Singh’s work. He took a mug of that frothy liquid and poured it on me. Brr…It was cold..Thank God the sun was out; or else I would have frozen to death. After a few mugs, he gave me a nice massage, which was the best part of the whole exercise. He massaged my paws and my back. I felt so relaxed that I lay down on my back signaling him to massage my tummy as well. Hey, might as well make the best use of this service. I could hear my mistress tell Ram Singh to concentrate on getting rid of the knots in my coat. After 10 minutes, I got a final rinse of plain warm water which was more than soothing. Then came another treat, a towel massage. ‘Oohh…ummm….what luxury..I never knew how much fun a rich life can be. My mistress made sure I was completely dry before I went inside the house. She ran her fingers through my coat to ensure I was all clean. She then signaled me to follow her inside the house which I did with utmost diligence. Poor Ram Singh was giving me dirty looks and muttering to himself while cleaning up the porch. There was another lady in the kitchen and she was busy cutting vegetables. ‘Rani, has sahib got up?’ The lady replied ’No’.’ I figured that ‘sahib’ was mi lady’s husband. It is almost 11 am and this guy has not yet got up?? Wow, some luxury.

Just then a pot bellied man in an oversized white T-shirt and baggy basketball shorts appears in the kitchen wobbling from side to side. Why is he wobbling so much, I wondered. ‘Wow, you are up early…you must have had a cheap brand of alcohol since it apparently did not shut you down for long’, the mistress smiled sarcastically. Her husband looked at her as though he could strangle her and said ‘You bitch!! You think you are Miss perfect eh…don’t you forget that all that you have around you is because of me.’ The mistress snapped back ‘And don’t you forget that this house is running NOW because of me ok??’ Her husband’s blood shot eyes turned towards me and he gave a gasp and said ‘What on earth is this ghastly looking dog doing in my house?’

Sheila warned ‘Don’t you dare call him ghastly and his name is Bhole, he came in this morning. He will stay with us.’ Said my mistress as she kept rubbing my head. ‘Sheila, are you out of your mind adopting such creatures?? If you really had to adopt a creature, you could have adopted a pure bred royal canine.’ Remarked her husband. Boy, if it weren’t for my mistress I would have ripped this guy apart. How dare he call me ghastly? I just sneered at him and hoping my mistress would give me a signal to pounce on him. ‘Well Ravi, even after 10 years of marriage you do not know a thing about me. I do not consider money or blood line to be a mark of character. I see who the person is or in this case the creature and how pure hearted he is. Unfortunately, I made a very bad judgment of character when I married you.’ said Sheila in an unfortunate tone.

Ravi banged his fist on the table and shouted ‘Don’t you start your sob story again in front of these servants.’ ‘I start my story? You are the one who instigates me!!’ retorted Sheila. Just then, Ram Singh entered the kitchen and announced the arrival of Sheila’s banker. Sheila signaled Ram Singh to escort the guest into the study and she followed him, not before giving that ‘I will kill you’ look to her husband. Then, it was just Ravi and me looking at each other. Not that he showered roses on me, all he said was ‘Go scram and don’t even come near me.’ I looked at him and thought ‘Ditto dude, you are a loser that no dog let alone human would also come near.’ I left through the kitchen backyard door, into the sprawling lush garden. Well, now it was time to sniff around, chase squirrels and of course mark my territory, I chuckled to