The light of my life

Have u ever, on returning home after months of absence, been greeted by a dog who on sight of you loses complete control of his tail, whose eyes twinkle with oh such selfless love that makes you wonder whether your own feelings for anyone could be so unselfish, whose body rocks with a fervor and gay abandon that put your own dull enthusiasms to shame….. that my friend, is love.
This one’s straight frm the heart (as if the rest were from the intestines!) , and I have been wanting to write abt it for long, about my dog, coz there’s noone who makes our family happier than dear old Hector .

For all those who have figured out that his name’s Hector, my my , arent we all Einsteins! Lol, naah, as far as i can remember we almost never refer to him by his “legal” name; the names change faster than the clothes of a heroine in a bollywood number. Last time I went home, mum was calling him Shamsher Singh (most common name given to hindi movie villains), and just for variety, we'd interperse that with 'Durjan Singh'. Why anyone would name a cute looking spaniel (He's probably a foot in height and sneezing is the most violent activity in his regular day, especially when i tickle his nose) as 'Durjan' is beyond logic, but noone ever credited the Narayanan family with much logic anyway ;) At other times, we have also called him 'gullu singh' , 'sunday singh', 'Bow Bow Singh' (the most innovative and un-doggy name ever!)And yes, he's always a Singh. Oh the worst’s yet to come. Its when when my dad suddenly remembers that he’s mallu (I mean dad, not the originally british and now a remixed pseudo Punjabi cocker spaniel) and during those rare, profound moment, you can hear a deep voice from the bedroom calling for “Ramakutty” to come have a biscuit!!!

Ramakutty has no pride in his roots, and will scoot full speed to his daddy dear for biscuit, crumbs, even a whiff of food.

As i type these words, I go back into time when lil Bow Bow Singh first came to our house. It was a cold February morning, and most people were snuggling under their warm blankets. A car screeched to a halt, in a cosy little Noida street, and I scampered out to greet the arrivals. A cute little furball was nestled in amma's arms. I bent forward and kissed what i thought was the furball's forhead. I still do. Everyday.

One day prior to that event, Dad had insisted, that it shouldnt enter the house n should only sleep in the verandah. That night, Hecky slept in my room, and next day onwards, on dad’s pillow. He still sleeps there every night.

Have you all seen Shrek? In part 2, there's this cat, Puss, who makes these adorably innocent expressions, blinking with an intensity that would make the coldest hearts melt in a jiffy. I think it would do the makers good if they used Shamsher as a model for portraying innocence. He, like all other doggies, would look at you with his incredibly big brown eyes, whenever you have something nice to eat, and as hard as you may try, you'd relent and share the food with him. (Yep, its Hecs who taught me the art of blinking, though i dont use it for food.. err i use it when i talk to girls abt …mmm “intellectual global issues”)

For all the men out there, who are as shy to approach women as I am (Heh heh, yeah right!), lemme tell you that the surest way to let the girl whom you have been dying to speak to for the whole of the last decade, open a conversation, is to walk non chalantly towards her direction, golden white spaniel in tow. You can also whistle a little tune to yourelf and look in random directions admiring everything except for her under the sun( My My, what a beautiful dumpster!)Statistics prove that I own fifty percent of my 'active' social life to my lil mutt. Every evening, in Noida, I would enthusiastically announce to amma that me and Hecky were going for a walk and master and mutt would shake their little posteriors and step into the world. Of adventure. Of excitement. Of girls my age and pooches his age. Of innocence. As we combed the colony that sheltered us, nine out of ten times as a girl passed us by, she'd stop in her tracks, look at Dumdum Singh, squeal "chooooo cuuuuute" and then ask me if he was friendly. Right on cue, Hecky would raise his paw and the girl would react as if he had just invented a nuclear reactor or a new sunscreen lotion! I would then proceed to tell her, in my deepest voice, about Hecs, about myself and by the end of the conversation i’d know her house address, her number, blood group blah. Afterwards when she’d leave, master & mutt would congratulate each other on their success. lol! Yep, we are like this only. :P

Not that Hecs didnt have his “fans”. Whenever his Majesty deigned to step out of the house, all the females of his species would start trotting behind him. And Mr Smarty pants would roll his eyes, turn up his nose, pout, n would walk away chin up (but obviously feeling all happy happy inside). Oh he was the stud of Sector 55 NOIDA, no doubt.

If anyone’s wondering, about Hecky's skills as a guard dog, on that topic, i have only one word for him -HOPELESS! Some years back, while i was away from home in college, some thieves broke into our house. They cut their way in through the window bars, went into all the rooms, and basically ransacked the house. The only room they din enter was my parent’s, who were fast asleep in their a.c room (obviously Hector was fast asleep too. Remember, dad’s pillow?). Anyway, the next day when the cops came, a lot of people were at our place, and dad had taken leave from office. Everyone wanted to know how the dog had reacted, and how come he didnt hear the thieves and bark.. guess what was Hector’s reaction.. That dunderhead wasnt in the least bit ashamed as you all probably think he would be. Instead he was really happy to see so many people, and delighted that dad hadnt gone to office, and while everyone was scolding him, he’d run upto them with his ball in his mouth asking them to play. Even otherwise, noone’s ever scared of him. He barks at the gardener, the milkman or any new person who’d come to our place, but as soon as they’d call him ‘Gullu” or pat him, he’d follow them as if he was their’s only. My mum insists that all the males in our family are a bit soft in the head. Hmm ..

I smile whenever i think of the fifty thousand cute, stupid things he’s probably done, feel a lot of pride whenever i get reminded of the incident when my cousin’s dog was licking my hand, and Hecs out of sheer jealousy jumped at that dog, though he’s probably one eight of that alsation’s size ; feel emotional when i think of all the happiness that he’s brought into our lives.

My dad’s not a very emotional person. Though he loves us a lot, like many other men, he doesnt show affection physically. I dont think i ever remember him hugging me or my sister, since we grew up, and I really dont seem to mind that coz I'm a bit like that myself. He’s a very serious,reserved, knowledgeable person (yeah like me! ;) )and not one who gives way to emotions. But you have to see him with Hector to know what i mean when i say that Hecs has brought so much happiness into our lives. As soon as my dad would return from office, and remove his shoes, Hector would run away with his socks and dad would chase him all over the house. The two of them would be scooting around the dining table, jumping on the sofas , running out into the garden, and finally their little game would finish when dad would get completely exhausted. During this entire act, me, mum and my sis would be just standing there, smiling, looking at the two of them and wondering how that mutt brings out the child in my dad. They play this game everyday after which dad gives him a piece of Brittania cake and claims that he’s the “best doggy” in the world. And if me or my sis dare to eat a slice of Brittania cake, dad would scold us and tell us that its for Hector!!!! Ye gads, someone take him to a doc! Even otherwise, when dad’s had a particularly tense day in office, or is terribly worried, he’d just go sit alone in his room and this fellow would go sit next to him. Dad would proceed to pat him, rub his ears, and magically, all the tension, worries, anxiety would just get absorbed by Hector. You may think im crazy, but try trusting me when i say that it really happens.

Well that’s all for now. I could go on n on, but then you all will start yawning. So for all the doggy lovers out there, a big thumbs up from my side, and for the rest , you just have to own a dog to understand what im talking about.

I'll leave you with this thought: "Every boy should have two things. A dog, and a mother, who will let him have one"