Chapter 4 - Mad Dog

 

Canis never experienced the life of a stray dog. May be never even felt like a dog too. The family shared the same dining table and chosen food was cooked. Never was treated less than a second child after being bought on the first birthday of their kid. Amongst all, Nithari treated it special from the beginning, made a wooden cradle on his own for Canis.

It’s been a month since Canis lost its home and departed from Nithari. Have no dare to go back without its owner’s permission, and didn’t know any other place to go. Walking on the road with head hanging down, risking life to escape from other street dogs. Nothing went into the stomach, just half of a hard-dried roti or fungi filled bread on each day lying, undigested in the tummy. Canis had nothing but to remember its owner and its favorite pet bowl.

On a day, the sun arrived early and began to show its power before noon itself. After a long roam, searching for a shade in the city, couldn’t find any. Tongue sagging out, sole heated up by the concrete below. In a weak body condition and between the bright rays of the sun, Canis saw Nithari.

With a quick run, forgetting all the pain and earlier bad days, the concrete reflected the rays of the sun, which is free with no vehicles running. Canis crossed and reached the pole where it exactly noticed Nithari. Canis jumped high enough to reach up near to Nithari’s face, but there was no reaction in his face.

⌂⌂⌂

Exactly a month after Nithari was caught, he was sentenced to death. On the day of listening in the court, people stuck to radios. Soon after the sentence to death was announced, people came onto the streets—celebrating. It was neither a festive day nor the win of an election, but the celebration was beyond all. The joy of the decision and relaxation from fear combined, made people burst out. Some stopped with sharing sweets but, others printed posters with the real image of Nithari and pasted onto walls and poles all along the streets.

⌂⌂⌂

Canis almost cried when it realized that was not Nithari, but just his image on the poster. The poster displayed, ‘HURRAY’, on the top and ‘TO BE HANGED’, at the bottom of the image. Knowing it is not Nithari, Canis was unable to move from there—was tied to the pole emotionally. Closing eyes, Canis went back into the past. From the day it was bought home, to the night of last murder by Nithari. The moan of each and every victim roared in its ears and a picture of them breaking down into death bed flashed in eyes. Though Canis didn’t know the exact reason behind the murders, it never disagreed with Nithari, simply followed the orders.

That moment, that very moment laid the foundation for the change in the fate of the people of Jabalpur. At which Canis decided to continue in the path of Nithari. On the following day, the first dog attack was registered.

⌂⌂⌂

Though it was its first attack, all went perfectly. Perhaps, Canis was a sincere student of Nithari, observed every murder with the utmost attention. With that only attack, Canis learned a lot, as a sequence of things.

Three major things were on Canis's mind. One was to follow the steps of Nithari—his owner, the other was to hide somewhere. And finally, to attack as many people as possible before getting caught.

Canis wanted to stay near to the pole, where it saw the picture of Nithari, it felt like, he is with it. Therefore, Canis dug a hole deep into the ground just beside the pole. The entrance of the pit was so narrow that no one could even trace it out.

After about ten to fifteen attacks, there was a very high alert in the city. Each one in the city searched for the dog. And things became worse for Canis, without proper food for more than a week. Canis almost lived on the garbage beside the pole, as police searching was also held in the night.

⌂⌂⌂

 

“Where the hell did this dog come from? Not letting any person out of the house for a month.”

“Mom, what happened now?” Tanisha enquired when she got distracted from her hectic quantum physics.

“Waste is piled-up in the dustbin, it is stinking,” Sujatha replied, “these municipality people are afraid to come and collect the waste.”

“Give it to me, I will dump it at the big dustbin which is at our street end.”

“Can’t I go?” Sujatha said from the kitchen. “Who knows where that mad dog lives.”

“Mom, nothing to worry,” Tanisha tried to convince, “we heard no news of attack or any attempt of attack from the last six days.”

 

Tanisha noticed an awkward smell when she reached and about to aim the dust bag into the bin. Soon realized that it is the smell of a dead animal.

When the dead animal was pulled out of the hole, it was a dog, thin and weak—can count ribs over the skin. No one identified it as Canis, it was also treated as one of the many dogs that die each day in the city.

Nithari—its owner, teacher, and the only known person couldn’t do anything but to stare from the poster pasted on to the pole.