Falling in Love with the Intruder

It was not yet time for my morning  walk, as the night was still spread outside and the trees seemed to be talking to it in whispers, opening out their leafy hearts to it. The trees whispered and the night pricked its ears to their rustling.

Suddenly I heard some whimpering outside, and opened the door a bit to find what was up. It was a tiny pup standing on the threshold. The moment he saw me, he started scratching at the door with his tiny paws.

Was he hungry, was he lost? I hastened into the kitchen, heated a bowl of milk, opened the door, and put it before him. In no time, he slurped it up, and looked beseechingly at me. I heated some more milk, and poured it in his bowl, in no time, he finished that too.

The famous pizza tagline popped up in my mind – ‘hungry kya’? I added some bread slices with some more milk. First he looked apprehensively at it, then looked down at it with the little canine contempt a small pup could muster, peered a little more, and then munched on with the appetite of a famished one. With a satiated sigh, he sat down on the doormat outside, blocking my way.  But the moment I stepped out for my walk, he jumped up from the mat, started pecking and nipping my feet and then bounded down the few steps and accompanied me on my walk, every now and then stopping to look around with curiosity.

The pigeons, the mynas, the sparrows, the bulbuls and one solitary lapwing looked on as an ill-clad woman walked on with a pup in tow.  Suddenly a couple of adult dogs and three pups came bounding towards me. My pup also bounded towards them, and something like a group hug followed. My pup had found his family.
They walked away, my pup, for which I had almost started hunting for names, following them with elastic poundings. I was heartbroken.

But, anyway, I walked on, picking up the broken pieces of my heart on the way. The labourers smiled at me, absolutely unfazed by my unkempt look, and one even offered me a cup of tea which he was preparing on a makeshift stove.
“Some other day,” I said, looking at the east, where the sun had once again become a painter.

Morning Meanderings by Dr Santosh Bakaya

Morning walk over, I was almost home, when I again heard tiny yelps behind me.  Before I could react, the pup was again all over me, licking me, not stopping at all.
“Get up Chhotu, it is enough,” I said. (Chhotu was the first name that jumped to my feverishly excited mind and happy heart.)
And can you believe it, Chhotu obeyed!

Then something very eerie happened. My mobile phone rang.
“Chhotu bol raha hoon.” (This is Chhotu speaking) The phone almost fell from my hands.
Before I could recall, who this Chhotu could be, he added, “Kanchan sey baat karao.” (Give the phone to Kanchan)
“Oh,” I said, handing the phone to Kanchan, who had just entered the house.  “Madam, bahar ek pilla betha hai.” (There is a pup outside)
“Don’t call it a pilla . His name is…well…..well… We will call him…”
”Raja? Dekho kaisey Raja ki tarah nakhrey kar raha hai,”  (look, how he is behaving like a king), Kanchan chipped in with her suggestion.

Neither had I ever seen a king, nor did I have the least inkling as to how a king behaved, but I really liked what the pup was doing. He was looking straight at me, with canine love oozing out of his tiny eyes, imploring me to pick him up. I scooped up the tiny bundle in my arms, and he started licking and kissing me all over.

Immediately two hearts vibrated intimately, beating in a melodious euphony.
I had merely opened the gate to my house, but the little dear had gatecrashed straight into my heart, and I felt all fuzzy inside.

Love does that to you, you know.

Watch this space for more Morning Meanderings every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 🙂

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About the Author

Santosh Bakaya ( 175 Posts)

Dr Santosh Bakaya is the author of three mystery novels for young adults, and a book of essays titled Flights From My Terrace, which was recently published as an e-book on Smashwords. Her poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Ballad Of Bapu has been published by Vitasta Publishers, Delhi, India in May 2015 and has been receiving rave reviews from everywhere. Although a Political theorist, with a doctorate in political theory, it is literature which has been her first love. She was awarded the Reuel international award for language and literature 2014 for her long poem Oh Hark!, which forms part of the Significant Anthology. Many of her poems have figured in the highly commended category in Destiny Poets, a UK based website and many are part of international anthologies. Right now, she is giving the final touches to her satirical novel, tentatively titled Sanakpur Shenanigans.
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