Hello all!
Long time since I started writing something, and well a lot has happened at my end. I finally bid goodbye to my home for five years, good old Kgp. Had an amazing weekend at Pune. Gorgeous city. It’s called the Oxford of the east and very suitably so, it feels like one huge college campus. Young, inherently beautiful, people all around, shops that suit the palates of youth, in all …quite nice.
Well there is one incident I encountered Pune, which I would like to share with you (being me, I had more than my share of such incidents but this one is really something, it was life threatening and it was only my high intellect and ingenuity which helped me escape…read on o enchanted reader.).
Well I was staying at Mohit’s place and the day I was supposed to come back to Kgp was a Monday, so Mohit left me the keys to his place (the ground floor of a duplex in a residential area) with instructions to drop in the key through a window after I had locked the place, he had his own copy of the key so the plan seemed quite alright to me. This was around 10 am. Around 1 pm I decided to go for lunch to a place 15 minutes walk away. Had my fill and came back to see, two ferocious, and I mean it when I say ferocious, dogs, huge fangs, frothing mouth, the whole works, roaming in the backyard of the house. As they saw me approaching the house they came charging at me, fangs, froth and all. I backed off, rang the bell, called the landlord down and made him put his dogs back into the kennel. The landlord admonished Mohit for bringing unannounced guests to his place and scolded me for …well …being the unannounced guest.
The story ain’t over yet.
This was around 2. At 4 pm I pack my bags and decide to leave for station after dropping in on Chhaavi. So I have a reconnaissance mission around the house to see if the dogs are out yet. I see a bit of dog poo but no dog, hence coast clear. I lock the door. Drop the key into the window, it clinks to the floor, everything going a-ok. And then…I turn around…
THE DOGS HAVE BEEN LET OUT!
They have their backs to me and havn’t seen me yet. I back up to the end of the backyard.I look around in panic. My mind races through the options.
1. Take a chance with the dogs, might have seen their owner let me in and hence realize that I’m a character to be trusted.
Assumption: Ferocious dogs capable of complex logical conclusions.
If Things Go Wrong Scenario: End up horribly mangled, loose out on limbs and generally disturb the peace of the land with blood curdling screams (believe me, I’m capable of that).
Final Conclusion: Option not viable.
2. Call up M and ask him to call up his landlord and ask him to recall his dogs.
Naah! I end up making a fool of myself in front of too many people.
3. Go back into the house.
Rush back to the window stretch my hand in, nopes, not a chance. I had done too good a job of throwing the keys in.
4. Climb nearby parapet and sit around like a monkey till the landlord comes out.
Makes me look more like a suspicious character, the dogs might not like that. Moreover, not sure if the dogs can’t reach the parapet. Mental image of me sitting hunched up on the parapet while the dogs snap at my feet. Aaargh! No! Option kataa.
5. Salvation. A chest high steel net fence separates the next lot. Hallelujah!
Quick! Victory dance later, escape first.
I drop my bag over, it lands with a heavy clomp. Wince, waiting for the dogs to come charging in at the sound. Nothing. Put one foot onto the flower pot and one on the fence. Turn around and see the lesser ferocious dog staring at me with head cocked to one side. As if asking, “…and what do you think you are doing?” I look around, no sign of his partner. I stand still and look into his eyes. He keeps looking, no barking, no charging. Good dog. I climb over and land next to my bag. Hope no one’s looking, I look so like a burglar now. Dog now looks alarmed. Still doesn’t bark. Maybe he recognized me after all. Maybe I should have taken my chances. Anyways, I am safe now, that’s all that matters. Wave a goodbye to the poochie, brush my clothes, straighten my shirt collar and walk out the gate as cool as a cucumber.
And I’ll have my martini shaken not stirred, thank you.
