Dud Sea Scrawls The Writing, clearly, is not on the wall!

I love Delhi in winter! It’s cold! Really cold! And coming after one of those painfully hot summers (yes, winter comes after summer) its something that I relish! More so because, coming from Tamil Nadu, winter, to me, typically means 20 degree celsius. That particular winter was a nasty one, I think it was my second year at college; the average temperature was less than 10 degrees for a few days! There was a permanent fog cover in the nights! The traffic was almost nil after 8 as the visibility with headlights on was about 10ft! We were nearing the end of the third semester. That typically means "night outs", "anda masal dosa" at odd hours, "HMT", "anda paratha" under the over bridge, unfinished project reports, studio work, etc etc!

On that particular day, I decided to crash a little earlier than the rest of the gang. I am sure most of you who have done night outs at college know what early means! It was around 2 am. It was pricking cold when I stepped out of the heated up studio. The dried up and heated up skin was cringing when the chill fog settled on it. It was just my second winter in Delhi and I was still relishing it all without any sweaters to the utter disgust of my friends (Haven’t you seen winter or what? NO! ) I walked out of the building, I suddenly realised that with that kind of fog even walking would need torch at that hour of the night. It was just the moon, stars and the street lights in the campus. Fortunately, the street lamps guided me only half way through till my hostel building!

From that point, I usually skip the road and cut across a play ground, mostly because walking on the grass, wet grass is pretty refreshing. So I entered the play ground and as the street lamps fell behind I found myself in a small hemisphere beyond which everything was fog. It was quiet, serene, beautiful and breathtaking to be coccooned like that. I just stood there taking the moment in. The moon was the only source of light now! It was a very dull hazy light, but I still could see the couple of feet around me.

I started to slowly walk again. That’s when I heard the growl, a low pitched long rolling growl. I froze. Not because of the winter. I love dogs. But I hate to see it when it bares its fangs. And growls. The growl continued. The growl was not answered with another growl. That made me tense up a little more! The growl was meant for me! I started to sweat. I looked around frantically. And then I realised that I was in this quiet serene cocoon!

I thought I should just dash for it, the hostel building was just a couple of hundred metres away. The hostel security guard will be there. And a flood of questions presented themselves! But, I surely cannot out run a dog! A dog which I cannot see! Is it that teeny weeny stray dog which I feed with biscuits now and then on my way to the studio and back? Or is it a different large dog? with powerful jaws and muscles? Long fangs and claws? Dark with shiny skin and red and glittering eyes? What was growling at me? Was it just one dog? Or am I surrounded by a pack of hungry dogs (which are probably cross with me that I don’t give any biscuits to them?) May be just the leader is growling at me? To see how I respond? To confirm if I am helpless enough so that they can proceed beyond growling? To pounce on me the moment I start to panic?

I was still rooted there. Frozen. And sweating!

In a flash I decided against running! Because I would have definitely tripped and fallen! Funnily enough, that was the clinching logic! I didn’t want to trip and fall in all that tension! I just started to walk at a steady pace towards the general direction of my hostel. I still was in my cocoon. Fortunately, I didn’t hear any footsteps! Or atleast no sound of footsteps reached my ears! And then suddenly he was in front of me!

The teeny weeny guy whom I feed with biscuits now and then. I almost tripped on him! He had the same "Hi buddy, I have no demands but it would be nice if you give me a biscuit" look on him! I don’t know how dogs manage that! May be the sheer lack of demands is what makes one want to give to dogs! Of course, they should not growl! I started to relax, may be this was the guy who growled! May be he thought he is under attack and growled! He started to walk with me. May be he is as relieved as me to see him!

And then the growl came again. The same long glutteral (?) growl! I stopped and looked at my companion puzzled! He was not looking at me, he had turned around and standing towards the direction from which the growl came. He was stiff. He was showing his pathetic non existent teeny weeny fangs! He growled back! Although this was a punny growl, which made me almost hit my forehead in sarcasm, the situation made me hold back! We both knew where we stood! Against and with a growl like that! So we immediately started our walk back towards the hostel increasing the length and the speed of the steps!

As we approached the hostel, the lamp there was widening my circle of visibility! With the security guard noticing me, I turned around to see if I can see something.

Out there, still hidden behind the fog, I could see the origin of the threatening growl. I could just see the glittering eyes. Reflected from the lamp from my hostel. I looked at my companion. He stood there for a minute, and without even giving me another look, quietly proceeded towards the now smoldering make shift fire place the guard had made for himself, he snuggled into himself and went to sleep.

PS: Something happened to me at office last week! Not with dogs but with colleagues! Reminded me of this incident that happened almost 7 years ago.