Mundane Matters

Routine Tuesday. Came home, filled water... this has become a must chore. The pangs of staying in a government accomodation, water supply is twice a day and in the summers, if you don't run the motor once, the neighbours and their over crowded families dry up the tanks. So I have to do the needful and run my motor with vengeance. The days I work late, I hand over my keys to my neigbour Usha didi and she does fill the waters for me.

The Garwali family above my flat is funny. We share the same connection, so when I run my motor, their water stops coming. Each time they hear my car park dot at 7 in the evening, I can see grim writ large -- the daughters with their nighties, the men topless and in their striped pyjamas like prisoners sit in their balcony everyday and keep a hawk's eye on me. Must be thinking 'the bitch has come on time, again'. Then they start sending emissaries. They want me to stop running the motor. Well, I am not that unreasonable, so after 20 minutes, I give them the pleasure of having their fill. Water -- its such a scarce commodity in south Delhi!

And then my Dylan has become such a neighbour's ire. He has developed this penchant for peeing right outside the house of this particular sardarji's family. Now this sardarji's family are a recluse by themselves. Apparently, they have fought with everyone in the locality so they keep to themselves and have no friends. Last week, a woman rang my doorbell and came charging. I realised it was the wife, madam sardarni. She said, 'You let your dog out so he pees outside my house?" I replied I had no clue he did that but will ask the maid to clean up and promised to tie him up. She went back a little disappointed, I didn't pick a fight. So poor Dylan runs like a mad soul at the backyard and his free outing is a little restricted now. He takes out his frustration on me -- hops, bites and pulls the rubber band off my hair. By the way, he has developed a taste for icecreams and can't sleep without a pillow these days!

The Garwali aunty says,"Bigaar rakha hain aapne usko (you have spoilt him thorough)". I have no answer to that. They have an overfed black labrador, who looks totally retarded like one of the inmates of the house. I have not heard him bark once in my two years of stay in the area. I asked the aunty why. Her anwer is that he is a "shannt" (peaceful) soul. "But your dog is tez (very smart)," she quips [because Dylan barks like nobody's business]. Little do they know, he is terrfied of the neigbour's cat. I have to admit, I am proud of Dylan's image management. His barkings have kept many of my peeping and call-on (at the drop of a hat) neighbours at bay. I can now read in peace!