Marmaduke

Nobody had the foggiest idea where he came from. One morning he was just there to greet us when we stepped out for going to school. You just couldn’t miss him. He was a big dirty looking fellow. Not that one could hold it against him completely. Apart from the fact that he always appeared to be fresh from a dust bath, he was blessed with a coat which was off-white with streaks of grey. Add to that a big head and there you would have conjured up the picture of Prince Charming.

I don’t remember who named him Marmaduke but I think he got his name the very first day and it really suited him.

Of course he had to have a name from Day 1. You cannot not know the name of a close friend who loves you. Marmaduke greeted us like a long lost friend the moment he saw us! He made no bones about the fact that he loved us and didn’t care if the whole world saw it- disapprovingly. Can you imagine me with my four daughters all ready for school, all dressed in crisp white uniform? Those days we went to school by rickshaw. Just when we stepped out of the gate I heard a strangled scream. I turned around and found this huge dog on his two busy licking N’s face with his tail wagging enthusiastically. When he saw me looking he probably felt that I was feeling neglected. Being a kind soul, he did not wish to hurt anyone. Within the next five minutes he had autographed everyone’s uniform and my saree. We jumped onto the waiting rickshaw to escape the onslaught. He ran behind us for a short distance and then stood looking at us speculatively, with his tongue hanging out.

What none of us knew was that he was a dog with a watch… and a calendar. Not only did he know exactly at what time we would be going to school or returning from there, he knew about Saturdays being half days and Sundays being off! He would appear from nowhere whenever it was time to step out. .

We took to creeping out of the house. Though you could not help loving him, his paw prints on the uniforms was not looked upon kindly. However trying to evade him was pointless. Determination was his strong point. I remember throwing my jute bag at him on one occasion. Next moment he was dancing around with a jute bag full of exercise books round his neck!

The only thing that would save us was the strategically placed cattle trap at the gate. I never saw any cattle trying to cross over but it certainly prevented Marmaduke from doing so. He just couldn’t negotiate it. We would wait on the other side for the rickshaw and then make a dash for it…with Marmaduke running hotfoot behind us.

On Sundays we would look out for Marmaduke from the balcony. We thought we would have a laugh at him when he came to mark his attendance at seven in the morning. Strange , Marmaduke never turned up on Sunday mornings. Perhaps he went to the Sunday morning show.

Our plight every morning was a source of amusement to our neighbours. The Acharyas, who had two daughters, were certainly guilty of laughing at us. We had our revenge when, on the day of Holi, Mr. Acharya wearing a new white kurta-pajama stepped out to meet his friends. Marmaduke with his paws specially rolled in mud decided to be the first to greet him. The yelps (coming from the Man and not the dog) had us in splits for ages. In fact, years later, the memory can still make us smile.

One day he disappeared as unexpectedly as he had come. Someone claimed to have seen him in another locality looking thinner, but I have my doubts. He had certainly not arrived at our doorstep for food. He was one dog who would/could not be distracted with any kind of bribery or corruption.

All I know is that wherever he went he must have made people happy. Perhaps he just went back home after straying during season.