Consequence of taking revenge from a dog (1990)

It was during our summer vacation. My third brother (Bapini) and I were moving around the town. We had gone far away from home. We were not allowed to go so far at that age. Bapini was a self-proclaimed good singer. He was singing and I used to support him by creating music with my voice. All of a sudden, he stopped singing and held my hand tight. I asked him, “What happened, bro?” He answered in a trembling voice, “Look, who is coming towards us.” I looked in the direction he indicated. My father was driving back home in a car. No second thoughts. I shouted, let’s run away.

I thought that we would reach home before my father reached. We were just half a kilometer away from home. As it was a narrow street, the car was stuck in traffic. But I would not take that as a reason. I thought we were running faster than the car. I was also creating a back-ground score (dik-chik-dha) with my voice as it happens in movies, for obviously I was not any less than a Hero to myself.

Both of us were just 100 meters away from home when I saw a dog sleeping on the road. It was the same dog that came to our home in the morning when I was sleeping and took a rice place with its mouth. I was observing the dog taking the plate, but it left our home before I could get up.

First, I thought of kicking the dog. But then, I thought it would not be a right decision as there was a risk that it might bite me. So what to do? I was getting closer and closer. At the end, I decided to jump over the dog and disturb its sleep as it had disturbed me when I was sleeping in the morning. Without any second thought, I jumped over it. Guess what happened? I was successful in disturbing the dog. However, it reacted in such a rocket speed that the entire story took a new direction. I was bitten by the dog in the air, a really rare scene to watch.

I came back home after 15 minutes. My father had reached home. My brother was studying like an innocent boy. My mother and my grandma found me moaning with pain. They came to know its reason from me. My father was informed about the same. Everyone was tensed as there was a myth prevailing that one who is bitten by a dog behaves like a dog if proper treatment is not provided.

I was taken to the Medical on the same day. The doctor suggested to take 14 injections around my naval with the first one on spot. Do I need to describe how much pain I went through? I don’t think so. After that day, I was taken to the medical daily for seven days. I never had a tummy but the soar belly appeared like one. For one injection, I used to keep an ice on the belly the entire day. People used to ask me how it felt and I used to respond with a silent.

My maternal uncle came to see me after seven days. My condition was narrated to him. He came up with an idea. He said that he had seen people acting like dogs even when they had taken 14 injections. He suggested that I should have been taken to an ayurvedic doctor. My family members agreed to that. I was more than happy, no more belly-piercing injections.

The next day, my uncle took me to the ayurvedic doctor in a village which was 30 kilometers away from my home town. It was 9 o’ clock in the morning. The doctor came with some medicines and asked me to take it then and there. Within five minutes of taking the medicine, everything got blurred in front of me. I felt like sleeping. And I end up with sleeping.

For next two days, I don’t remember what happened to me. In my uncle’s words, I was taken to a well when I got up and forced to take a bath with 42 buckets of water. He says, I used to jump like a dog with every bucket poured on me. I was taken to my granny’s home on a bicycle. I had to spend two days with my granny and grandma there. One night, both the oldies were sleeping in each of my sides when I heard a noise. I got up and found a cat running. The cat appeared to me as my third brother. He ran after it address the cat “Bapini.. Bapini..”. I reached a rice field following the cat which then disappeared. I realized my granny and grandma were holding my hands tight and dragging me towards home.

After spending two days in granny’s home, I had to be taken back home. I was traveling with my uncle. I got into the bus and told the conducted that I had been under medication because of being bitten by a dog. Two people were made to get up to get my uncle and me seated. In the bus, my uncle showed me his wrist watch and asked me “what’s the time?” His watch seemed to be totally flat without any arms and numbers. I asked him why he was wearing a watch of that sort.

I reached back home. On the eighth day of taking the medicine, I had to eat a special cake. My granny had come to my home to prepare the cakes. I ate four to five of them. My uncle came in the evening. He showed me the same watch and asked “what’s the time now?” I looked at his watch and said “it’s six thirty.” He gave a smile followed by my mother, granny and grandma; but all my brothers and sisters laughed.