I must have been a dog in my previous birth. I can’t explain it any other way.
Yesterday, when I was out getting groceries, a sweet street dog just ran up to me and jumped all over me with joy. It was a crowded, busy street and I had done nothing to elicit such affection. Maybe, she knew of my love for her kind.
I notice dogs. I often wonder where they keep hurrying off to, as though they have an appointment to keep or an errand to run…
And I love watching them.
On my daily walks,I choose the street where the big golden retriever wags his tail from behind a grilled door. And part of the charm of having the fettucine at Sunny’s is the resident German shepherd who does nothing but snooze ! So while I often plot on killing the late night canine choir in my colony, I promptly melt when I see them all curled up and asleep the next morning.
I have had dogs bite me, chase me and growl at me but that hasn’t diminished my affection for them by any measure. I don’t really want to wrestle with them, have them slobber all over me or dress them up like people. All I know is that they are extremely intuitive and intelligent beings and make for brilliant companions. So no matter where I go, I manage to make new four-legged furry friends that bring much-needed affection into my life.
The one that stands out in memory is Chashmu.
Chashmu, so named because of the spectacle-like marks he sported around his eyes, was one of my best friends during the two years of my hostel life. Every morning, he would wait by the gate and escort me to the 9 am Chemistry class and at the end of the day, manage to find me and bring me back to my room.
More importantly, he had the uncanny sense of knowing when I needed company. He’d just come and sit at my feet when I was homesick or bored. Or sleepily indulge my attempts to hypnotize him or teach him Mendel’s laws. And when I needed to make a late night trip outside the hostel gate, I’d suddenly find him walking quietly along with me. Of course like a typical male, he’d totally ignore me in college when the day scholars would be pampering him, but he’d always keep an eye out for me. I went back a couple of years after I had graduated, to find him very much in action and happy to continue as the centre of attention.
Then there was George. His romance with the beautiful and posh Lisa was the sweetest love affair in our colony.Every night when he was done serenading her, he’d come by our balcony, his white coat shining in the moonlight, and wait patiently for biscuits to be showered on him. Years later, when my brother and I happened to visit the colony again, he took a moment to recognize us and then broke into an almost human version of affectionate reprimanding for not keeping in touch with him.
And so they come and go.
Crazy Max who saved my mom from snakes, Paglu who inspects my grocery bags before letting me go upstairs, or Halo, a total wild child of a retriever who loves to wrestle with grown men. They all bring a certain kind of magic to our humdrum human lives.
Nothing can really describe the memory of getting off the school bus to see Tina, the friskiest Dalmatian ever, come screeching down at you in ecstasy.
No human is ever that happy to see you.
Shuttlecocks hit my head, people collide, bikes come screeching at me and I step into puddles. But it’s all worthwhile because it’s part of my daily walk.
There’s a wonderful rhythm, movement and a sense of purpose to a walk, if you do it right. Not to mention the feeling of freedom and general well-being.
So, whenever I get a chance, I go ambling down the streets of Koramangala. I suppose it’s largely the wonderful Bangalore weather, the trees and lovely villas that make me go that extra kilometre but the most important factor is the presence of pavements!
Occasionally, I meet friendly retrievers and their not so-friendly owners. I succumb to flower stalls; their offerings a bookmark of the changing seasons. I grab a smoothie in the summer or a cappuccino in the winter to fight the longing that the aromas from the street evoke (the ‘hot chips’ shop, the bakeries, a shawarma grill and the paani-puri wala are daily temptations to be overcome). And very often, a mongrel will turn around and sniff me instead.
Then, there are the people who will turn my lazy stroll into an obstacle course. The ones that hog the pavement, the shady DVD hawkers, a fighting couple next to a parked bike, the desperate sales kid with the colourful pamphlets, or the T-shirt guy who scares every unsuspecting passer-by with his well-timed “COTTON!!” shrieks.
I can handle all this if I have music; the most important element of my walking experience. The right kind puts a spring in my step and when I’m ‘in the zone’, it creates a beautiful bubble around my head, insulating me from the noisy chaos on the street. So many impulsive detours have been undertaken to finish that favourite song before getting home.
While misty morning walks have their charm, things do get ‘romantique’ on some evenings. Leaves shimmer and fall around me, flowers lay out a red carpet and children play hopscotch as grandparents watch happily…
…and then, I step in some dog poop.
I still love walking though.
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