Security under Scrutiny_Chapter 5: The White Wagger

It has not been a day since we moved to our new house, I noticed him strolling aimlessly around gasping my attention. Though I noticed his presence, I acted as though I didn't care about him a inch. He looked at me surprisingly ,probably noting that I was new there.He came near me took a look , smelled me and carried on without a word. I hoped he would initiate a conversation at least if not a welcome , I expected a "hi, hello" or something like that. Within seconds he vanished after a cold look. I don't know his name, I know I wouldn't get any reply from him either. There were no one around to ask his name either. He wasn't handsome or groomed well. But was charming for his kind. Hence I nicknamed him whitey. Each time from our first direct encounter, he grabbed my attention when I took a casual glance from my balcony veranda.

Soon I discovered many in my neighborhood allured him and maintained good relationships with him by providing food. Some feared for him they never went near him, others never cared. Perhaps I was the only one observant of him, aware of his presence whenever I went out, looking out for him, saw if he was fine but never proceeded after that. I had my own boundaries. I noticed in recent times he had shifted on  to  our apartment. He was a trusted trespasser. He came in ,occupied the concrete bench and excited whenever he pleased. Nobody questioned his arrival or exit. People sometimes took notice of his existence and provided him food. For those, he paid his gratitude by licking them, wagging his tail following them. He never bestowed me with any such activities. He slightly lifted his head, gave me a mere look , acknowledged my arrival and went back to his nap.

Yes! You guessed it right he was a white dog, local breed with a  little black eyes which sometimes got red due to infection. He had long ears, a healthy tooth and a bushy tail that wagged behind him uncontrollably when he was over excited about something. I soon enquired about him if he belongs to someone. No one knew his past or traced back his roots. Some people called him "vellayan" (whitey) in Tamil.  He registered his existence by digging the nearby dustbin scattering the garbage around and by marking his territory by splashing his biological excreta on car tyres, trees, walls, lamp posts if you stood idle for a long time perhaps he never cared he might even pass it on your leg. He was very fond of his smell that he never let any other smell to subside it's own. He then went to one corner and cleaned his body by licking himself all over. This was the most important routine he never missed to follow. Whenever species of my kind approached him to condemn his actions, he made a sobber face and lowered his chin and gave an innocent look  with a drooling mouth. It was said to me that he had been here ever since the building in which we resided was a mere piece of barren land. He never restricted his taste. He ate everything from curd rice to biriyani with the same interest, if he wasn't offered any he never cared but started digging the nearby garbage. He was our unofficial security guard , until a species of my kind could be employed. He enjoyed his sovereignty over the place .

One fine day Vellayan vanished and could not be found anywhere.  He was spotted to be missing as the road remained cleaned without his garbage scatter.He was then rescued from a dog catcher van nearby. Mr.& Ms Venky alias Venkatesh were greatly concerned over his disappearance and belted him with a brown collar without a chain. He was in great demand for the work. He was devoted to it and worked only at nights and early mornings . He wandered around other lanes during afternoons and was never spotted till evenings. When the clock struck 5 and when sun shrank a little ,he waited for his turn to occupy the plastic chair which Kamala owned and sprang on it once it was empty and sat majestically.( Kamala was our cleaner.) Any sound that bothered him , his highest response was to lift his head, look at the creature which caused the noise attentively till he , she or it passed and then lowered his head and closed his eyes.   During early mornings he proved his devotion to work by keeping away uninvited guests such as squirrels , shooed away the crows and followed behind the butterflies. When an uninvited species of his own kind was spotted nearby he had an altercation with it, barked his head off or sometimes howelled along. One day in a fight with one of his kind,he was injured by the other which bit him. He was then summoned to a veterinary doctor by Mr.Venkatesh and was at the care of Kamala  who provided medicine mixed food until he was fine.

By one morning Vellayan stumbled upon the sight of a new recruit occupying his seat. The occupant was not of kind.He went near him to have a better view of him, but was intimidated by his watch stick. Yes! A new watchman was employed. His name was Dheenadayalan. We called him Dheena. Well , Vellayan called him “Bow ! Bow!”. Maybe this is what he addressed everyone and everything,but only the count varied. If a stranger or a member out of the caretaker list was to be cautioned, he stopped with one count ”bow”. When he was to address a friend zoned people or people who fell under the caretaker list , he bestowed them with a subtle low pitched count of two”Bow! Bow!” wagging the tail. Mr, &Ms Venky, Kamala,and other unnamed humans from the neighbourhood were privileged of this membership. Later Dheena became privileged too… after a long struggle of coexistence. He reacted to other kinds of his own species differently each time. Sometimes he had to repeat his famous monosyllable more than 8 to 9 times in a higher tone to lower tone oscillating and sometimes even howled musically which went crescendo before ending with a bark.Many times it appeared like an altercation. He incessantly shouted countlessly in the same high pitched tone  at other species endlessly until they vanished out. Some morning he howled Suprabadam along with hen, cock..or whatever it was with a great vigour and grandly walked after stretching and shuddering his body waking up Dheena from his sleep. Dheena was in his farther half of the human lifespan, partially  bald, not so tall, wore string framed glasses, with a tartared teeth. He wore a rubber slipper  which Vellayan usually feasted on and walked squeaking with it. Dheena and Vellayan got along very well that Dheena  played with him throwing a small stick broken from a tree branch. Vellan fetched it with great determination returning it back to Dheena as if he discovered a lost priceless treasure. The friendship blossomed , Dheena shared his biscuit during his tea time and Vellayan stood eagerly with a drooling mouth and wagging tail to feast on his share.He hurriedly ingested the biscuit, and stared at Dheena’s share. All went well until a shift watchman Mariyappan was employed. Mariyappan was not encouraging with Vellayan. He sometimes shooed him while drinking his tea.He was less accommodative with Vellayan and was always cautious of his presence and so was Vellayan. We called Mariappan “Maari”. Vellayan never called him! He was blacklisted to qualify to any of the category .Both always exchanged a cold stare during an unplanned encounter. Vellayan sensed his lost prominence and monopoly during Mariappan’s shift. He withheld himself from visiting our area from the main entrance and prounced over the compound wall and landed majestically on the other side. Some times Vellayan became over cautious about Mari and tried to reclaim his prominence by overdoing his territory mark. Vellayan sometimes even sniffed the clothes, clips and other random items that reached the ground and piddled on it and fumbled with it even before someone could reach out for it. Poor Velaayan! He was a radiant dog curiously waiting for Dheena’s shift every day rejoicing every moment with him till a brief period of time.

One forenoon, while I was napping after seeing a random Bollywood SRK film, I was woken up by a clamor which originated from outside.  I could only hear “OOOO! Sharukh ! Dei…. what happened to you daa….Its ok daaa!” I brushed it away as a wild dream, thinking it to be the impact of SRK film. My mind wasn't alert to analyse the logic loop hole of who is addressing SRK as Da ? Dai? But I had the sanity to think “What is SRK doing in Chennai?Is he featuring in a Kollywood film?  Maybe ! If Akshay Kumar could pair up with Thalivar, what can't he? “ I found this made sense and brushed it away carrying on with my huge responsibility. The tumult escalated to its peak waking me up. I peeped out to ensure if i was safe in Chennai or dream travelled to Mumbai.  I saw people addressing Vellayan as Sharukh. I never knew he had a proxy name. “Did Sharukh alias Vellayan and Mari brawl over something? I wondered a few minutes before I was fully conscious of the happening and was happy to see Dheena in action.I enquired Dheena about the happening when he came near my veranda . He explained “ Illa maaa! That G8 people know maaa? The tenants… Their driver reversed the car ignorant of Sharukh’s presence behind( he had been laying there) and unknowingly injured our Sharukh!  Nothing serious ma ! Only that he was  wounded near his leg. The Vet said he was fine and would be doing well in a few days. He is not heeding to our pleas to come out of the motor shed to have medicine , He is still fearful of what happened I think. The incident has created a deep impact on his mind I think”. I never understood dog psychology ever , it was out of reach and too much for me to relate.I was glad Sharukh was alive. He had a sympathizing royal treatment , everyone asked the driver to apologize to Sharukh , and convinced him. Even Mari offered him biscuits and patted him with care. After a few days Sharukh fumbled with a cork, chewed it until he was distracted by a crow and chased behind it with a continuous bark. He gave a reckless look at Mari and marched egotistically with an attitude. The watchdog surely had an edge over any watchmen.