They are united in the pain of separation
“Bibiji, I will leave the day Brownie leaves,” declared our gar- dener, Visarat. I thought of the implications. Brownie had just torn my pyjamas and I was asking the gardener to take the dog back to where he had got it from in the first place.
This was the third stray dog that Visarat had brought in as many months. The first was the apple of our eyes and we called it Foxie. We fawned and swooned over him, uploaded umpteen photos on Facebook with him. We fed him, bathed him and even tried to clothe him but one fine day, Foxie left us in a fix. Perhaps, the constraints of a home were not his calling. He wanted to roam and make merry in a world without borders and the narrow domains of our home provided him no succour. After a fruitless search for days, we gave up.
The second mongrel Visarat brought was a rather docile one. The dog was lazy and shy to the extent that it would wait for us to leave or become invisible so that it could relish its meal in peace. It didn’t like our company though it stayed put on our premises. Any transgression on our part to get close to him was followed by loud wails and furious teeth grating that made us stay away. Eventually, he could not bear our intrusions and left in the stealth of night.
The third dog, who we call Brownie, is one of a kind. It lunges at us all the time and tries to lick whatever we are holding in our hands. I argue with Visarat that we can’t take care of it since everyone is working and the poor animal will be sulking the whole day for company. But he counters, “I am here. I will take care of the dog.” Little Brownie knows that all too well for when Visarat is around, he follows him everywhere even to the kitchen to get a peep of things being made.
Visarat and Brownie make the best of buddies. He talks to the pup in animated tones, playfully irritating him and cuddling him in his lap. On some days, he complains that the pup poops and urinates in his room but he still won’t let it go. He shares his morning tea with him and religiously makes chapattis for both with a glimmer in his eyes. The dog sits in his lap, while I sit beside Visarat, listening to his enchanting folk tales.
Visarat belongs to Bihar and has not seen his family in a while. His granddaughter, about whom he keeps on prattling day and night, is the apple of his eye. All the while, the furry brown creature looks mournfully and wistfully to be involved in our talks. He snuggles close to Visarat to share his warmth and heartache for the pain is perceptible in their eyes from a distance. Together, they are united in the pain of separation.
THE PUP LOOKS WISTFULLY TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR TALKS. HE SNUGGLES CLOSE TO VISARAT TO SHARE HIS WARMTH AND HEARTACHE FOR THE PAIN IS PERCEPTIBLE IN THEIR EYES FROM A DISTANCE