The Tiger's Hound - Part 12

Kimberly paused for a minute and said, " Yes we do. But this dog is the best. Haven't you seen the way he fought the tiger. We must include him in our team. He can teach the other dogs his unusual way of protecting villagers." "Hmm. Prasun Dada, get your dog to the ground where we had held our competition.", the panchayat's son said. "That means I am .. my dog selected, Shyam Babu (the panchayat's son)?"Prasun asked.

Shyam Babu nodded his head. As soon as they left, Prasun started building dreams of perfect future. At last he would get good food and warm place to live in. Ah! With money in the hand, he planned to purchase new clothes. The days of raw fish, torn clothes and half broken house would be a passe. Now he could show off his new found status as village guard though it wasn't something great.

While he tried to fool around with his dreams, he didn''t realise that Sheru was missing since morning. When it was time to take the dog to the ground, Sheru wasn't there. He searched everywhere. He had not left single area. He had also looked around at the place where he had found him. It wasn't there. Where had it gone?

His luck was cursed again. When everything was going all fine, the dog was missing. Why? Did God had trouble in seeing him happy? Why does lady luck play hide and seek game? He had almost reached the top and now he will tumble down to deep hole where he wouldn't be able to get up.

He didn't know what to do. He couldn't go to the ground without the dog. So he simply walked back home. He was in his own thoughts and didn't realize where he was taking the path to ground. Everything was finished before it could start. He had almost taken vow to stop believing when he realized that he was at the ground where he was asked to come.

He scolded himself for being non vigilant of his actions. He was always absorbed in his thoughts and never cared about his surrounding or actions. He was about to walk back when Shyam Babu stopped him and signaled him to come towards the ground. He pretended to walk away but he saw something that shocked him.

(To be continued)

The Tiger's Hound- Part 11

His sound did make an impact. Within few seconds, the villagers had gathered around to see what had happened. Sheru still barked while the petrified tiger searched for a way out to jungle. Seeing humans everywhere, it only wanted to be safe in it's den.

Some villagers tried to scare the tiger with their fire lit sticks. However Sheru was brave enough to drive away the tiger to it's jungle. Looking at Sheru's courage, the dog trainer was impressed. All the villagers praised the dog. He should have been thankful to dog for it's quick action. Instead he saw an opportunity knocking the door.

He had not noticed this until next day morning when the pancayat's son and the dog trainer came to his doorstep. Prasun was excited as well as scared. The future was always filled with mystery. Sometimes when you face too many horrible surprises, you wouldn't mind your boring simple life.

The most embarrassing situation was that he didn't have anything to offer them. He didn't even have glass of water. "Hi, I am Kimberly Jones and you already what I am here for?", the dog trainer introduced herself. However he couldn't understand the alien language.

While she continued, he stared at her with blank eyes, " I was very impressed by your dog's actions. He stood there barking with complete confidence and no fear of the tiger standing so close to him. Wow! I am still amazed that how could this nervous creature could be so brave?" He still looked at her with , trying to understand what she was telling.

The pancayat's son acted as translator between them. "Prasun Dada, she is Kimberly, the dog trainer. She is very impressed with your dog. She is still wondering how your dog could be so brave though it was the weakest performer today.", the pancayat son translated in his local language. " I want your dog to be part of our Tiger's hound team.", she said. The pancayat's son was surprised and said, " We already have eight dogs as per our plan."  

(To be continued)

The Tiger's Hound- Part 10

A tiger had sneaked into the area where Prasun resided. He was laying on the muddy ground with hands sprawled all over the ground. He didn't realise the tiger sniffing him.

He did smell of easy prey to the tiger. His flesh could fill him for few days. It was in dilemma. It had learnt years ago when it was a cub that a prey tasted good when it was hunted down .

Well! It couldn't starve for long. It needed food to retain it's energy. It needed energy to fight against the young ones to maintain it's throne.

It was about to bite him. It was going to taste the human blood at last. It's teeth was almost close to his throat. One bite, his life was gone. One second.. One action could change everything.

He woke up suddenly with startle. He looked at the royal animal which was gaping at him. The tiger stepped back and his dog barked at it with lot of courage.

He walked across the dog and took a stick that he had kept slanting on the wall. He knocked the floor and screamed at the tiger while trying to get the attention of the villagers.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 9

He slept after continuous session of revisiting the dreadful past. He hadn't bothered to walk inside his broken shed. The cold breeze monetarily blew on his face, easing all the pain. But nothing put him in ease. His mind painted grim nightmares.

Failures had become his best friend. A fact.. he cannot digest throughout his life. He never really understood why he ever failed. He tried hard like others yet success seems to never shine in his life. Maybe he was destined to never taste success.

He wished the night didn't end. He wished he could sleep forever. He couldn't show his face to any of the villagers. They would mock him for days till they got bored. Now mocking would be their desired past time.

As the villagers slept after the tiresome day, the king of jungle a.k.a tiger got ready for it's hunt. It was used to trespassing into life of human beings. It looked forward for night when it could get easy dinner that could last for a week.

Tonight was the night when it could satisfy it's hunger. It didn't enjoy coming to alien land. Humans were unpredictable. They always attacked in groups. It wasn't easy for the tiger to hunt human prey without gathering any attention.

But it had no choice. The forest was dwindling and captured by humans to make more homes for themselves. With trees being cut, deer population had reduced over the years and this had hit the tigers badly. It needed food and the source came from the human space.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 8

Disastrous ! Horribly disastrous! He had become a laughing stock among the villagers. He could feel his dreams were going to shatter. His future was clear now. He was going to have raw fish and be called as useless by everyone rest of his life. His heart broke. A dream was going to be a dream now.

His dog 'Sheru' failed to impress the dog trainer. Their act was stopped in between and the score was given. Sheru had scored the least. Hence it was eliminated. Prasun held the natural made leash tight and walked back home.

As he walked towards his mud hut, the bitter memories replayed. He was furious at himself as well as the dog. He blamed himself for even thinking about using a stray dog. He should have taken the riskier route of stealing his relative's dog. But he thought teaching this damn stray dog would be easier.

When he reached home, he tore the dog's leash. The dog stayed quiet and stared at it's master. 'Sheru' could realize that his master was disappointed. It wanted to lick it's master's face. But it stayed back. It didn't want to face his wrath.

Prasun sat alone as the dog left him to his state. He cried first few minutes, Negativity flowed in his mind, mocking at his failures. While his mind consoled him to be strong and accept the failure with mind that nothing has ended.

His mind was not strong enough to overcome his heart. He cried hard. He didn't want to settle with plain fish and useless tag. He had one option to remove the tag. Even that was gone. He felt desperate. Nothing was left now. He was useless before. Now he added funny man tag too.


(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound - Part 7

An obsession can be dangerous. But if it is directed through right focus, a dangerous obsession can be turned into desire .. a positive one. Nothing would seem wrong when our actions are right and doesn't affect us from choosing the right from wrong. Prasun was focused on his dream.

The judge a.k.a the dog trainer was called at the center of the gathering. Everyone looked at her with awe. They had never seen a fair and tall lady with strong built. She had fair lines on her forehead. She had slight wrinkles that defined her experience in life. She seemed to be around the same age as Prasun.

Prasun looked around himself. He was surrounded by animated villagers who were looking out for the event. They cheered for the dogs as well as their handlers. Each dog and it's handler were called. Each handler displayed their dog's strength. The dogs were given points based on their performance.

Some performed extraordinary and received only seven out of ten. Some performed mediocre and received four. They were instantly disqualified. The dog handler was very strict when it came to selecting the best. She had selected the best , keeping in the mind that tigers were fearless. 

Prasun was last contender. The pancayat's son a.k.a event organizer asked him the name of the dog. Prasun was blank. He had not thought of the name anytime. He never called the dog by any name except dog in his local language or he whistled the dog to call the dog.

He paused for few minutes and thought about some fake name. He replied in local language," The dog is called Sheru."  His dog didn't respond well when the Pancayat's son called it's name. Prasun had to whistle to call him to stand on the center. It didn't respond even to Prasun's familiar whistle. It was disastrous. He knew the results before it was out.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 6

The dog leaped at him whenever he offered a piece of fish. It offered it's paw whenever he asked him. But everything he asked the dog to do came with a price. It wanted a piece of fish. The dog was very clever. It was like as if Prasun was it's master.

It wanted his constant attention. If Prasun glanced at other side, the dog would runaway to chase small squirrels. It was easily distracted. Prasun had to control the dog and bring back it's focus to it's task. It was tedious. But he had no other option other than running behind the dog.

Twenty fours hour were left for the main event. The dog trainer from US had reached India and the panchayat had gone to the city to receive her. The villagers were excited. They had heard that she was best dog trainer from the place she came from. Their local dogs would be handpicked by her to help them fight the tiger menace.

All the contenders were tough and deserving. They knew the tricks well. However his dog was relatively new to the world of rules. His dog was inexperienced and lacked the qualities of being good dog.

 Ramlal's dog was best among the lot. The tough competition didn't let Prasun sleep. He developed distaste towards food. Maybe as the D day would pass smoothly, he would be relieved. He prayed lord to guard him from all the obstacles. He also prayed that his luck worked this time.

It was afternoon. The sun was burning. The winds blew momentarily , reliving everyone from heat waves.The villagers were called for the gathering. The event was announced. All the contenders with their dogs arrived. Some were confident. Some were nervous. But everyone had their hopes held strong and got ready for the selection.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 5

He never had a pet dog in his lifetime. Training a dog was not his cup of tea. This dog was stray and wild. He knew it wouldn't follow instruction like the other trained dogs. Unfortunately the dog hated him for forcefully capturing it and taking his freedom. It would make sure that his life was a nightmare.

He thought deeply on how he was going to train the dog. He took his dog to watch the other pets and learn some skills. The dog would chase them to bite or pick fight with the other dog instead of learning new tricks. Maybe it was the betrayal from it's own kind that had made it coldhearted.

He also sneaked into Ramlal's house to watch how he trained his dog. He tried the same way with his dog. Unfortunately the dog was very stubborn. It never listened to his commands. It would runaway to it's man made hideout. It would show it's face when it was given something to eat.

Three days were left for the main day. Prasun had the dog. But it was untrained. He was getting frustrated. At some of time, he wanted to give up. But the hope still shined through dark clouds of insecurities and obstacles. He knew he would get his hot fish curry with steamed rice one day. That day he would never have to depend on stale fish.

He had all hopes on the dog. He had to find the way he connected with the dog. The dog wasn't listening to him. He thought about the dog's weakness. Every creature in the earth had weakness. The dog must have one weakness that he could play with.

It was loyal to it's friend last time. Now it must have learnt it's lesson of never trusting anyone. How was he going to make him listen to him. He was having fish when the dog looked at him with eyes begging for one piece. He looked at the fish he had in his hand. He showed the piece to the dog in pretext of offering it. The dog jumped to have the piece. As the dog jumped, he held it more higher until the dog jumped to take a bite. Finally Prasun realized it- The fish was it's weakness.

(To be continued)

P.S: I am using it as pronoun for the dog as the dog is just a thing and not living being for Prasun

The Tiger Hound- Part 4

Where the hell did that dog go? He had spent precious time to get those fishes for a wrong dog. He walked closer to snatch the other half of the fish which was not eaten. He only wanted the save the other half for the lunch. Another dog had appeared from no where to save it's kind.

The other dog barked at him. It sneered as he tried to snatch the fish from the dog's mouth. This dog looked familiar. It had a scar and the eyes had the same aggression that he had seen yesterday. This was the one. His hopes was not going to waste.

With renewed energy, he grabbed the collar of the dog with the scar. It's friend wasn't brave enough to save it. It ran away with it's catch. It didn't turn back to see if it was fine. The dog with the scar whimpered out in disappointment. If and only if it hadn't been so generous to it's friend, it wouldn't have been in this situation.

To Prasun, the dog was just a resource to help him in his endeavor. He was happy and offered the dog an additional piece of fish. The dog didn't have until the hunger conquered it's anger. It gobbled the piece.

The clouds looked clear. The sun shined brightly. Everything seemed sugary coated until Ramlal (his neighbour) showed off his dog's talent and boasted how his dog would get selected to be the guardian of the village. Ramlal was confident that his dog was the best and knew all the tricks well.

Unfortunately Prasun had no idea what his dog was good at. It was a stray dog unlike Ramlal's trained dog. The only thing the dog stood out was his barking skills. But all the dogs barked. How was he going to teach tricks to the dog when he had only seven days before the trainer from the US arrived.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 3

Every problem has series of solution. Either it was hard to execute them or too simple to consider them as ideas. Prasun knew this was difficult. This dog was a stray one. It was impossible to find one. Such dogs would never stay in one place. They wander for food. If it did find easy prey, then it wouldn't leave that place. 

Yes! Easy prey! He rushed to the lake and dove into it. He searched for the fish. The fish was lucky today. It was going to be bait instead of prey. Within an hour, he found two pond fish. It was tiny for a dog's appetite. Anyway, he didn't care about the dog. He just wanted the dog to fall into his trap.

This was getting impossible than stealing. The dog hadn't arrived yet. Maybe he should have tried next day morning. He placed the fish on the ground. He sat, idling over the random thoughts that would remain fantasy.

He hadn't noticed the time. He was used to spending hours staring at the lake. The calmness and stillness of the water, the ducks swimming with their ducklings on the pond, the trees swaying with the wind and glimmering rays of sun on the pond amazed him. The beauty of nature always charmed him.

As he admired the beauty, he stretched his hands towards the place where he had kept the fish. He couldn't feel the fish. He looked at the place where he kept the fish. He saw the dog had the fishes in his mouth. It was staring at him with fear. It growled to show him that it wasn't scared of it.

Prasun smiled widely at the dog. The dog was confused. He walked toward the dog. Unfortunately he felt this was not the dog. There was something familiar about the dog he had seen in the morning. The scar. This dog didn't have the scar.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound - Part 2

The night passed. Every single idea that came into his mind was trashed at the same time. He was clueless. Where was he going to bring dog? He wished they had employed humans instead of dogs. What could these dogs do? They would pose as easy prey to the tigers. Humans are last resort to tigers when it comes to hunting. They would always go for easy prey where less risk lies.

Anyway, he was not Panchyat's son to give his view on this issue. He was known as useless by his village's inhabitants. His idea would obviously be shooed away. He walked towards the village pond with frustrated heart. He wished he could starve today instead of having the same old fish for breakfast.

He swam into the pond after taking deep breath. He couldn't stay longer. After taking three-four dips, he was successful in hunting three fishes. They didn't seem to fill his stomach. But it was only thing that could fill his growling hunger. As he gathered his energy to walk back home with his prey, a stray dog tiptoed and stole one of his catch.

It wasn't too long when Prasun noticed the canine thief walking with his catch. He stomped towards the dog and tried to snatch the fish from it's mouth. It was a fight between the animal and man for the food. The dog didn't give up. It gathered it's strength to not let the fish go off his mouth. It growled while maintaining it's stand.

Unfortunately the fish tore into half due to the struggle. A part of the fish was on his hand while the other part was in the canine's mouth. Prasun looked at the dog sternly. It was the common stray dog found in India- Indian pariah dog. It looked not less than six months old. It had slight scar on it's right eye. Probably it had gotten into some kind of accident during it's playful puppy days.

It didn't stay longer and ran away with fear of losing other half to Prasun. Prasun went back home with two and half piece of fishes and cursing his luck of how he couldn't save the other half due to misfortune dog. He was at his home and had almost completed his breakfast when he found the solution to his problem.

(To be continued)

The Tiger Hound- Part 1

It was foggy midnight when Prasun Babu had decided that he would join as village watchman of  his tiny village near Sundarbans. It was the only source of income with guaranteed benefits. He had tried other sources but he failed miserably. His last job was as henchman for wealthy merchant's horses. Unfortunately he had forgotten to latch the one of the horses in it's stable. The horse took the opportunity to enjoy the freedom and fell in his death trap when a tiger hunted it down.

Prasun was fired the next day of un-fateful event. He had spent all his earnings on local alcohol drink. He was frustrated. The only way to clear his mind was alcohol. Next few days were spent on meagre diet of leftover rotten fish curry followed by many days of hunting fishes from nearby pody. His body got accustomed to it until he was tired of  having bland fish.

He looked out for jobs. The big ones were difficult to get. Hence he got used to working tiny jobs that didn't pay anything. Luck was always too bad for him. When he was born, his family had lost a fortune of their wealth. His father blamed him for all the misfortune. His mother supported him until she was eaten by a tiger on summer day. He married his childhood crush. But the marriage wasn't successful. She had run away with her lover on the day of wedding. As soon as his father died, loan sharks took away his family house and left him with the farmland that had turned into wasteland.

Friends dwindled. Enemies were none. People treated him as useless barking dog. He was going to change that after he got himself recruited as the village watchman. He had heard while he was walking by, some people were discussing about how the village panchayat who was taking heed of the his son a.k.a wildlife conversationalist's advice of using pet dogs to protect the villagers from the constant tiger attacks. The pet owners were rewarded royally with food and accomadation facility.They would also be paid fifty rupees every night. He was overwhelmed with this option.

Ah! At last his dry fish curry days were going to end. He would get proper food and housing if he gets selected. As he thought about the benefits, something rang in his head. He had no dog. He had no money to buy one. He needed a dog to take part in  this job fair. Selection was a distant dream. How was he going to get a dog?

. He thought about stealing a dog. He knew a distant relative who had a dog. He could easily steal it and ... train it ! Even if he had bought one, training it was difficult job. How shall he train one? The trainer was coming within a week. He didn't have enough days to train a dog and stealing was tough.
He didn't have sufficient resources to steal a dog. He thought deeply. He needed this job by hook or crook.

(To be continued)

Bed of Roses - Part 31

Everything ended with happy note. Aunt Sheila was overjoyed to organise our wedding again. She had promised to make it more grand this time. Last time we had simple wedding due to family hassles.

The bride a.k.a my darling wife was blushing like a young bride. She was going to be a bride all over again . This time there were no tensions of convincing any family member. She didn't have to wear simple plain sari and sign any document in front of marriage registrar. I was indeed happy to see a fairytale unfold in front of me.

               **** Sarah's Part *****

Ah! My dear friend ! My darling crush was getting married again. I have no words to describe the emotions I felt inside. I wanted to feel happy but I was crying inside. I tried many times to change my heart and put in positive feeling. But the only thing I felt was sadness and grief.

I had loved since I had laid my eyes on him. I was very little ..barely small enough to understand what is love. The very day I understood what I felt , it was too late. I had already departed away from him from one City to another carrying the feeling called love.

As I grew up, I thought I would marry him one day. But that never happened. Soon I realised from different sources that he was happily married. I tried to move on. As years passed by I succeed in moving on. But then I met him again through different circumstances.

I thought I would finally able to win him over. His wife was with me. But then during their anniversary I found the truth. He still loved his wife. A small misunderstanding.. A tiny insecurity could create cold war in a relationship. His wife also loved him. She was even ready to give him up for the sake of love. No one could be as sacrificial as she was. So I walked back. This was best thing I could do for my dear friend to smile again. Maybe he was not the one. Maybe my right guy was waiting behind me. " Hi beautiful one", a recognisable masculine voice said. I turned to see that it was Raj

                        *** The End ****

Bed of Roses- Part 30

She didn't like it. Her face said it all. Anyway the plan must go on. I knelt down with the ring on my hand. Everyone were hooting and whistling out of excitement. A sweet drama was unfolding in front of them. But the ending of this drama was known to only three of us. It all depended on Sherin.

She pressed her forehead and made annoyed face. I adjusted my tone and brought in my lost courage. I had to do it now or else this time would never come. I bought the tailored words in my mouth," I love you. Will you marry me again?"

She looked shocked and angry. She wanted to hit me. But she held her rage inside her as she worried about society and image. She shifted her gaze from me to people gathered around us and then to Sarah (the surprise guest who was called by my darling wife).

I said those words again, "I love you. Marry me please. I only need you. You are my dream girl. I don't need any Sarah or Rebecca. No offence to you Sarah." Sarah maintained her cold posture. One distinct character that made Sarah different. She wasn't too emotional than other girls. She walked towards us and held Sherin's hands.

" Sherin, which guy would get down on their knees and propose you again. Come on ! Say yes to him. You love him too.", Sarah said. "But you complain often. You make me feel I m no good for you.",Sherin cried."You know how I am. I am very judgemental and cranky. I am like a kid.. Complaining one.", I said.

Sherin weeded and hugged me. " I love you too. Sorry for behaving like this.", she said. "I am sorry, darling. I never understood your worth. ", I said. There was series of saying sorry to each other until she finally agreed.

(To be continued)

Bed of Roses- Part 29

My Sherin always looked pretty. Today she seemed soulless though beautiful. Her eyes were blank, void of happiness or gleam she once carried.  Her face had slight make up but that didn't cover the paleness of her skin.

She was distant. She didn't even stay close to her dearest aunt Sheila. She didn't mingle with people and stayed aloof. She hardly smiled or waved hand to the ones she knew. It seemed she had lost everything. How untrue! I wished she could forget those nasty useless thoughts.

Things don't happen the way you want. I waited for Aunt Sheila to excute the most important part of the plan. I prayed that the plan took place as we wanted. Aunt Sheila walked towards the center of the gathering. Then she sipped her glass of wine. She clapped her hands to gain the attention of Her guests. Some seemed curious. Some jumped with excitement for new gossip. Some seemed disinterested.

Aunt Sheila paused for sometime.Then she started," Hope you guys are enjoying the party. Why wouldn't you enjoy? Great wine! Good people! And more than that its Sheila's party. Obviously you wouldn't go without something juicy to hear."

Aggh! Her flamboyant personality! She has to show off. I don't understand why is there a need to praise oneself and not come to the main point. Anyway she continued, " Well! I love you Sherin. (Pause) Guys, I am pleased to announce a surprise for  Sherin. Sorav, can you do the honours of presenting this gift to her. Opps! I didn't spill this tiny bit of surprise to her. I feel bit tipsy here."

I was embarrased. My face was red. I could see Sherin was feeling embarrassed too. I didn't know how this surprise was going to turn out for her. She dislikes surprises. This one was not going to great surprise ever.

(To be continued)

Bed of Roses- Part 28

Love is strange. Everyone around you understands your love except your loved one. Aunt Sheila was trying to make me understand the possibilities that this annoying idea will work.

My heart was dead sure that it would fail. But I had no other options in hand and I had no time. I wanted my wife badly. Anyway I never did things as per my heart.

I wanted to kidnap her to snow capped mountains where there was no road back home. So she wouldn't run away. I would scream at her about how much I loved her and cannot be without her. She would smile and forget all her insecurities. 

Unfortunately such things happen in fantasy world. It looks pretty possible in fairy tales. It's difficult to make Sherin believe in something positive. She is adamant and firm when it comes to her beliefs. 

Aunt Sheila had pepped me about the party and what was going to happen. Her plan sounded bit childish. I tried best to convince her to change. You know how some dominating women can be. She made it clear that she was right and no changes were going to be made.

The party was simple. There was nothing special unlike her grand parties. However she was extravagant than her guests as well as Sherin for whom this party was held. Sherin was beautiful even in her simple self. That's why I love her.

(To be continued)