Delivered at the doorstep

The latest offering from Bandra Bugger (the blog!) reminded me of Indira. Indira was our fisherwoman. Sturdy of build and stentorian of voice, she brought the freshest fish at the highest prices direct to our doorstep.

My neighbour was an avid fish-eater and an excellent bargainer to boot. So, Indira would ring my doorbell (hoping to entice me with the first pick), I would ring the neighbour’s doorbell (in order to ensure a good bargain) and we would get down to business.

On one such occasion, I indulged in a medium sized Rawas (Indian Salmon) which I purchased intact – an intended treat for my husband. I placed the fish on the kitchen platform and went to fetch the required amount from my purse. I paid Indira, she kissed the notes (it was her boni or first customer’s blessing) and wished me good appetite; I shut the front door and returned to the kitchen, to clean the fish and consign it to the pot for lunch. I was stunned to find no fish. I am not absentminded and there was no doubt that I had placed the fish on the platform. Nevertheless, I checked the floor, the sink, and the stove-top. The Rawas was nowhere to be found.

It was then that I realised that our usually vocal collie, was unusually silent. Sure enough, she had hidden herself under our bed and was licking her lips over the last morsel. The raw salmon, scales and all, was now in her well sated belly – she had gulped down in a matter of minutes what would have been a substantial meal for two human adults! It was a rather expensive treat for the dog, but I was more anxious about the effect of the scales and fish bones on her health to be angry with her. Well, she never suffered any after effects; on the contrary, she was full of bounce and bonhomie. We, of course, had to make do with the previous day’s leftovers and were, consequently, not in the same good mood.

That Rawas must really have been first-rate, because Indira’s subsequent visits were always greeted with much tail wagging and body shaking, while I would get a sharp nip as a reminder to get on with it and buy the fish!

While Walking the Dogs

Our niece walked through her front door, face suffused with suppressed amusement laced with a tinge of indignation. “Wait till I see that Uncle Albert!” “What’s happened?” “I have lived on this street all my life and this is the first time that the mochi, the chanawala, the fruit man and the paanwala, and sundry other people have called out to me!!”

I guess I should start at the beginning. We had moved in temporarily with our niece; we meaning my husband, our two dogs and I. My husband was away for the day and the niece had volunteered to walk the dogs – something my husband enjoyed and indulged in three times a day. Since we did not join him in this pastime, we had a lot of learning to do! Our niece – a dog lover too – was happy to be led by the large collie and the little pom while following their usual route. What she did not expect was to hear herself being hailed every so often with the call, “Uncle kahan gaye? Hell-ow Bonnie, hell-ow Sweetie.” To say that she was taken aback would be an understatement. Apparently, my husband had made friends with everyone on the block in the space of just a few days.

I was to discover still more. I undertook the ‘night shift’ and last walk of the day. And I was duly greeted by every watchman at every gateway. Since my four-legged companions insisted on completion of the route before turning back toward home, I followed them gingerly through dimly lit alleyways. I did not have to worry about safety: the collie’s size and the pom’s bark were sufficient to the task of safeguarding their mistress. Also, the policeman on the beat had apparently made their acquaintance. Somewhere along the way, two scantily clad women heavily made up and leaving no one in doubt about their occupation swooped noisily on the dogs, cooing and fussing over them, calling to them by their names.

When hubby returned the next day, I was waiting for him. “I can understand the vendors and the watchmen. But the ladies of the night? Really!” “What can I do, they wanted to pet the dogs,” he replied with a sheepish grin, “they mean no harm.”

All future walks, whenever I stood in for my husband, were always eventful, with new ‘friends’ to greet: the elderly gentleman on his morning constitutional, the schoolchildren all vying with each other to shake a paw, the street urchins and other dog walkers. I began to look forward to these sociable encounters.

This was a side of my husband that I was happy to discover – the ability to ‘walk with crowds and keep his virtue or walk with kings and not lose the common touch’. Very few have the gift.

And it is a lovely feeling to know that I am watched by friendly smiles when I venture down the street, even though Bonnie and Sweetie are no longer around.

Man and Dog

Every dog lover has a story to tell. Many stories actually, because dogs are such adorable personalities. My current reading, courtesy the British Council, is The Ark’s Anniversary by Gerald d Durrell (irresistible!!) and his hilarious sketches of animal behavior brought on a few recollections (in a lighter vein) of my own.

Whoever said a dog is a man’s best friend never said a truer word. With his man, the dog will ably goof off, demand hostess service and generally slouch about the place doing just what he pleases.

It is left to the mistress of the home to clean, groom, make the meals, tidy up the bedding and generally make sure all is well in the man/doggie world. The only time man and dog show any signs of activity is the time of ‘walkies’. Like all mutts they love to be out of the house, roaming in gay abandon, without a responsibility in the world. A pastime they can indulge in, while walking, is gazing at the female population and, boy, can they do it in style. Watch the man and his dog when on the prowl. Do you see a similarity? Tongues hanging out and drooling? Eyes a-pop and a general spring in the gait? Of course you do – it’s unmistakable!

When it comes to food they can be really finicky. What was yesterday’s gourmet is today’s trash. But they can gorge on leftovers from the fridge to snack between meals so that their stomachs are full at regular mealtimes, and they both self-righteously turn up their noses at veggies. As for blackmail, they are both postmasters in the art – they can look hangdog, beseech with melting eyes and flirt shamelessly. They can wrap you around paw or finger with just a glance. As for the ‘Guilty? Who me?’ nobody can do that better.

Man and dog share a strong and very visible bond which nobody has been able to come between. Distracting, exasperating, infuriating but very, very lovable all the same. And, who can do without them?!

(With tongue firmly in cheek, this is dedicated to my husband, the dogs that have come into and gone out of our lives and to those nephews who sometimes borrowed them!)