This is an incident that happened to me during the initial months of my stay in Delhi. During that time I was put up at my company’s guest house in Noida. I was in sector 15A which falls right at the border with Delhi. I had some friends putting up at the Delhi side of the border at a place called Mayur Vihar. It was about 5kms from my place n I used to regularly take rickshaws to visit them.
The period was about November and my first winter in Delhi was setting in. The climate was very pleasant and so after visiting them in the evening I decided to walk back to my place. It was around 8 PM at night and since it was a Sunday the road was pretty deserted which is strange considering the fact that it’s the main connection between Delhi and Noida.
Now those who have visited this are would testify to the fact that after humans the most common living things in this neighborhood are cows and dogs. These creatures have been left stray by their owners after their utility expired. But they are domesticated and tend to be close to passersby who may remind them of their erstwhile owners. As I was walking back I saw a dog coming in the opposite direction. Now I have always been afraid of dogs and so slightly stepped aside to let is pass before proceeding. But after going ahead a few steps I realized that I wasn’t walking alone anymore. The dog was coming after me following my pace. I stopped again and let it go ahead. After going ahead a few paces it stopped and then lay down. Happy that it’s found its sweet spot I continued on my way only to realize that it’s also started. Being a cynophobic as I already mentioned, I got into a panic. Not knowing what to do I picked up my pace only to find the dog also get into his stride. When I reached a slightly busy junction I crossed the road hoping to loose but found the dog was with me when I reached the other side.
I realized that I had to find a faster way of transport and a human pulled rickshaw wont work. I continued walking praying an auto will come by. My prayers were soon answered and I jumped into the first auto that came my way agreeing to pay him the unreasonably high rate esp considering that more than half the distance was already covered. But my priority for the moment was to escape my “Stalker”.
I reached home safe with all body parts intact only with a much lighter wallet. My last sight was that of the animal running behind the auto with his tongue hanging out as it panted. But after reaching home I felt very bad for the animal though. He must have picked up my scent which reminded him of his old master; the animal seemed to be of a good breed and not a common mongrel. I felt I should have treated the creature better esp since I consider myself a nature lover. Next time I went to my frnds place I was looking out for the animal hoping to find it. I never did.
The period was about November and my first winter in Delhi was setting in. The climate was very pleasant and so after visiting them in the evening I decided to walk back to my place. It was around 8 PM at night and since it was a Sunday the road was pretty deserted which is strange considering the fact that it’s the main connection between Delhi and Noida.
Now those who have visited this are would testify to the fact that after humans the most common living things in this neighborhood are cows and dogs. These creatures have been left stray by their owners after their utility expired. But they are domesticated and tend to be close to passersby who may remind them of their erstwhile owners. As I was walking back I saw a dog coming in the opposite direction. Now I have always been afraid of dogs and so slightly stepped aside to let is pass before proceeding. But after going ahead a few steps I realized that I wasn’t walking alone anymore. The dog was coming after me following my pace. I stopped again and let it go ahead. After going ahead a few paces it stopped and then lay down. Happy that it’s found its sweet spot I continued on my way only to realize that it’s also started. Being a cynophobic as I already mentioned, I got into a panic. Not knowing what to do I picked up my pace only to find the dog also get into his stride. When I reached a slightly busy junction I crossed the road hoping to loose but found the dog was with me when I reached the other side.
I realized that I had to find a faster way of transport and a human pulled rickshaw wont work. I continued walking praying an auto will come by. My prayers were soon answered and I jumped into the first auto that came my way agreeing to pay him the unreasonably high rate esp considering that more than half the distance was already covered. But my priority for the moment was to escape my “Stalker”.
I reached home safe with all body parts intact only with a much lighter wallet. My last sight was that of the animal running behind the auto with his tongue hanging out as it panted. But after reaching home I felt very bad for the animal though. He must have picked up my scent which reminded him of his old master; the animal seemed to be of a good breed and not a common mongrel. I felt I should have treated the creature better esp since I consider myself a nature lover. Next time I went to my frnds place I was looking out for the animal hoping to find it. I never did.
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