Osiris

Old age takes away a treasure that we had for years. The end is arriving soon but we still wait to see how far we can share, anticipate & wish all is well. A small puppy of a litter that remained behind & was a constant companion till date.

With Tommy & later Sammy who was far away my contact was Durga’s love of dogs for the strays. Chikoo, who actually ate chikoo! I have never seen a dog eat fruits, any kind! She was a born free dog & in pelting rain if you tries to bring her in the house, it was a reluctant ball of fur! She was strong & fearless. You could see her jump over the compound walls seamlessly.

Her batch of puppies were named in Japanese…Kaja, Kuro,…they enjoyed her brown colour along with thick fur pitch black of their father. The entire black coat looked so rich. Once their were 13 puppies in our compound. They could easily traverse through the gate on the road.

Durga must have wanted to have all of them but I dissuaded her. If I have to give a chapati to one of them,imagine morning evening 26! Plus the mother. With a heavy heart she decided, rather convinced her friends to pet one each. Next came another batch with greek names. The youngest & weakest among them was Osiris.

His black coat & yellow eyes made him look fearsome which he was not. Surprisingly all children loved him. I remember our neighbour’s toddler coming to watch him sleeping & his mother feeding him running after him. When they had a dog of their own in their house! Any child from zero to ten wished to play with him & he would watch for a while & go off bored. Touching him & playing with the tail would be too much for his tolerance. But he never made a sound or bark at a child. They have this sense of the person approaching with which intention!

‘Mary had a little lamb, it’s fleece was white as snow & everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go… it followed her to school one day & it was against the rule. It made the children laugh & play to see a lamb at school…’ It was his duty to follow. He followed me to college once. No amount of ‘go back’ worked & he climbed the stairs & entered the classroom. After shooing he surveyed the entire campus & probably found it safe. So later on he would come till the main gate & turn around. Sitting in the middle of the road he would sense my return & welcome me with a wagging tail.

He loved his morning meal of milk-chapati. Sometimes if I had to give him Paratha, it had to be minced properly. Bread or pohe drenched in milk was also ok but no rice please. Cats like fried items. A biscuit was welcome. He liked ice cream, the empty carton would be thoroughly licked & cleaned.

Gradually he was losing his earlier vigour. He would eat less & not chase the crows that enjoyed the leftovers. Sparrows, squirrels, pigeons, ants would clean up the rest. Today the bowl remains at its place & there is no demand in the morning as I open the door. While closing the door in the afternoons one is reminded of the swift barging in. What I did not like was his sitting on the bed. If he was tired he wouldn’t move but if he sensed he was wrong he would leave then.

Any change is difficult to adjust to. The hawkers or the salesman would not venture in. Now putting a lock would be mandatory. Many a times have I left the door if I had to go to Gadgil Kaku’s. He would follow me there & sit outside their gate & get up only when I stepped out. Now it will be different. The natural knocker is gone.