The Lovable Biski

 

 

He was Biski--our local Labrador! We christened him Biski because he came to our door-step for a biscuit, and the name stuck to him from that day. Although a pariah dog, we honoured him with the  title of Labrador because he had a lovely coat, a biscuit-shade ,clean and smooth ,that  any Lab would be proud to own. He was unusually tall for a pariah dog. Long limbs, a handsome face and curious monkey-eyes made him stand out among the fraternity of pariah dogs that roamed the campus.

                 

Lovable and loving, it did not take him long to make his way into our hearts. The biscuit-trips soon turned to full-fledged meal- tours, at least twice a day. In a way, you could say, he earned them - the meal tickets! As we stepped on to the tree-lined drive –way in the campus, Biski would espy us. The next few minutes were spent in joyous greetings. He would stretch his front legs and pay obeisance by going down on them, skip like a gambolling lamb in the meadow, and make delightful moaning sounds to express the thrill he felt .The greetings done, he would run before us or walk behind us, as we enjoyed our morning walk. The naughty scamp that he was, he took sinister pleasure in chasing the squirrels that roamed the lawns in the wee hours of the morning. As they scampered up the nearest tree, out of his reach, he would keep gaping at them open-mouthed, imagining that if he waited long enough, they would fall into his mouth! All that he received was a few dead leaves dropping down before his greedy eyes, and written all over them in the squirrel’s scribbling was the challenge:’ catch us if you can!’

Our morning walk consisted of four rounds around the rectangular campus and it took us about 25 minutes. Biski would walk with us the entire period, though with each passing round his enthusiasm seemed to diminish a little. That done, he would eagerly trot behind us to our door for his breakfast. We would set before him a small tray consisting of a little milk and shredded ragi rotis. As he slurped it down, his long, bushy tail would swing about excitedly, showing how grateful he was. Not a moment did he linger after that. He would slink away to his pad, near the security room, and have a wonderful snooze, without a care, in the bright sun!

It was a practice for us to make two rounds around the campus after dinner .Biski wasted no time in joining us on our leisurely stroll. He had good reasons for it, of course!.He knew at the end of the walk what awaited him; more certainly, if he sensed that we had chicken for dinner! He would walk excitedly beside us, contorting his body into every possible shape, to show his irrepressible joy.               What a delight it was, to see him devour the tray of rice and chicken bones that we rewarded him   with! He would pick up the bones carefully and crunch them with the pleasure of a little child who was enjoying his first ice-cream. The dumb animal that Biski was, he adopted various bodily movements to express his deep gratitude, to our wonder and amusement.

 A dog with such sweet temperament, I am yet to come across! Pain and discomfort he bore with exemplary fortitude. Running around the campus and chasing birds and squirrels, something got into his padded paw .As it journeyed deeper, Biski was reduced to a three-legged animal. However, his enthusiasm never waned. He kept strolling with us morning and evening, even when we made it amply clear to him that he should stay and rest. We felt sad that the poor animal should punish itself in order to get its meals. Whenever it hurt him, he would stop, lick his foot and catch up with us later. In this way, Biski followed us on three legs. Wonder of wonders, after one month of his comical three-legged hop, Biski found his fourth foot, during an evening walk !  He was trotting comfortably now, without any limp. It was an eye-opener for us. What we agonised about, Nature and Biski’s determination had set right. We had tried to examine his sore foot several times to remove the irritant wedged in his foot, and to apply some medicine. However, he would not let us touch it. We realized that by moving about Biski kept the blood flowing into his sore paw and it helped to heal the hurt. Superior beings as we are, we become irritable and peevish when adversities visit us without notice. Biski faced the same set-back, yet how different his response was to the misfortune that befell him! “Keep doing cheerfully whatever one can, and things will settle down,” he seemed to suggest in his canine language.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Biski was the most net-worked animal that dwelt among men. While walking around, if he came across  someone : a student, a guard or a stranger - he would wag his tail, trot up to him or her, and greet the person  genially. Having received a pat on his head or a shout, he would return to us with immense satisfaction, at having made another acquaintance.

Dogs are expected to be courageous, but courage was not one of Biski’s outstanding traits. In our campus we had a black and white bully of a dog who was a sort of stud, judged from the way he chaperoned the females. Whenever he came face to face with Biski, the latter would initially put his tail down between his hind legs, as dogs do, to signify submission. As our acquaintance grew, Biski looked upon us as his patrons, and it did a lot to boost his confidence. Sensing our own antipathy to this toughie, Biski knew in his fluttering heart that he could count on us in case the situation turned ugly. With this new found confidence and fortified by the healthier diet he was privileged to have, Biski started to challenge the big bully.  It was one against four! Biski stood his ground, with our backing. Gradually, their rivalry became more intense. Night after night, we would hear Biski’s loud, unmistakable bark to signify that he was defending his perch near the guard room against the naked aggression of the usurpers.  His budding virility did not go unnoticed. Two females of the bully’s harem started to cosy up to him, to the intense displeasure of their lord. We could see the tightening of his jaws and the growing fierceness in his eyes, but he could do little in our presence.

Two days we did not see him at his appointed spot. Alarmed, we called out to him, looked for him, and kept food for him in our yard, but he remained elusive. Our walks became gloomy and listless without Biski trotting before us. With each passing day, the hope of seeing him receded and the shadow of despair gnawed at our hearts. Finally, we questioned the guards on the campus to know if they had any inkling about what had happened to our dear Biski. To our shock and dismay, they informed us that Biski was engaged in a fierce fight with a pack of dogs, two nights before his disappearance. In the combat, Biski was fatally wounded and succumbed to his injuries. It was hard to believe because we ought to have seen him lying somewhere, hurt and bleeding .Although heart-broken, we felt a sense of pride in his valiant death. He fought like a brave knight to defend his patch that was his home, against a bunch of marauding thugs, and that we deemed was an admirable death. I’m sure that it   would ensure him a place of honour in the ’happy hunting grounds,’ where we hope to meet him some day. Goodbye Biski!