Miss...

She must have been a "Miss"!

Well, her name was Karuppayi (that's female for sure)! And she didn't seem to have a significant other. So Miss Karuppayi, we shall say...

I don't remember how and when we got introduced but I obviously know where! She was the pet of the watchman and the maid (Mr. and Mrs.) at Greenpeace Maplewoods (apartments) on Lakshmanasamy Salai in KK. Nagar (that's Chennnai, India)...

I also don't know how it happened, but I know for sure that she was one of the most beautiful things that's ever happened to me!

She would stir (even from her slumber) at my very sight (or was it smell)! As soon as she me saw walk out the elevator or down the stairs, she would arise and come up to me...

It didn't matter whether I said something or even looked at her! She always knew that there was only one thing she was going to do. Follow me…

If I was walking out the door, she would walk along! Whether I stayed on the same side of the street or crossed over. And no matter where I stopped, whom I talked to or what I did, she would hang around. For she knew what was coming…

As soon she saw me turn around towards her, her tail would wag furiously and her tongue would be outstretched! And as soon as I stretched my hand out, she would grab from it whatever it held (a bun, a biscuit or a "porai") and instantly head back home…

She knew I worked nights! And she knew the sound of my car as it pulled up. I'm sure she knew that I was the only one to arrive in the wee hours of the morning...

And then she did the most amazing thing one could ever conceive!

As soon as she saw me park my car in my reserved space, she would walk up to the space between the stairs and the elevator!  And as soon as she saw me close the doors of the elevator (someone obviously trained her not to get in to the elevator), she would start running up the stairs furiously…

She always got to the third floor ahead of me! And her eyes would light up when she saw me emerge from the elevator. Because she knew what was going to happen next…

I would ring the bell! And someone would come to get the door. But even as they pushed it open, even before I could enter, she would squeeze her way into the drawing room of my home…

She wouldn't go any further, she would sit just right there! And not move till I brought out her treat, opened the door again to let her out and place it on a ledge in the foyer…

It wouldn't be over yet! Sometimes, she'd eat what I left on the ledge and sometimes she wouldn't. But soon, I would hear her nails scraping my front door…

I went to the door but was never surprised by what I saw! She would look at me, I'm never sure what she said but I knew that she wanted to be let back in…

Most times I would be just tired, but sometimes, I would just open the door and let her back in! And she'd do nothing but just sit there, even as I sat on my recliner and watched some TV…

Everyone knew about us! They talked about us and even wondered. What was it that she saw in me that she did those things she did with me but with no other person in that entire building. With no other person, period.

I never wondered! I just enjoyed it…


And then one day I left! The Land of Opportunity (America) was calling and I had dreams to fulfill…

She must've thought I went to work or something! She must've waited for me to come back. I'm sure she hung around the parking lot, the elevator and the foyer space. And scratched the door of my home till the wood wore out...

For 3 years, I never went back! And when I did, I was told she left (so had the watchman and the maid). And I never gave her another thought…

Until last Friday night!

In my dream (in the wee hours of the morning), I went looking for her! I roamed through the streets, one after another. I saw a million black dogs, they all looked similar…

But even as I walked to end of that last street (I don't know why I know it but I do), I heard a distinct bark! I turned around and I saw her. "It's me, Thayi", it sounded like she was saying (I remember the words distinctly)…


"She must've missed me", I told myself, as I woke up to a Saturday morning!

"I Miss you too Karuppayi", I think, as I write this on Monday afternoon…

Tammy Jo...

I left at 6 AM!

Google maps indicated a 7 hour 52 minute journey, and with a couple of breaks, I was looking at about 9 hours. And if I could do anything to avoid traffic delays (what with construction work on I95), I wanted to do exactly that...

The rain came right behind! It washed the entire 170 mile stretch on I85 N, sometimes gentle to render a misty view, but at other times, fierce to force me to follow a giant truck which served as a guiding path under very low visibility...

I still made good time! I passed the 170 miles in a little less than 3 hours and was on to I95 N, which I would take for the best part of the next 5 hours (save only the 40 mile homestretch on I 295 N) and even as rain slowed down a little, I heard another rumble, this time in my stomach...

I shouldn't have stopped, really! At least not right where the construction work on I95 began, knowing that the traffic can get backed up pretty fast in that stretch. Sure enough, when I got back, it was almost stand-still, cars lined up as far as the eye could see...

I merged with the mess coming in from the ramp and deftly slid over to the left most lane. I don't know why I do that everytime I'm in a jam but it gave me a strange sense of comfort...


First, he was just a photo opportunity (like any dog that puts his head out of the window from the car right ahead of you)!

But soon after I had perfected my skill of shooting some pictures with my iPhone held in landscape mode right on top of the steering wheel, with both hands holding both (wheel and phone), I realized that he was a little more...

Having his head out of the left window in a car that stood on the left most lane afforded him a view of the oncoming traffic (southbound). A little later, he disappeared, only to appear in just a few seconds, this time from the right...

"What's going on?", he must have wondered. He must have noticed that the cars on the left were moving but the cars on the right stood still. For soon, he started going back and forth. A quick look out the left followed by a discerning peek out the right...

And soon I realized I was following him! I was quickly reminded of the analogy of watching a game of tennis from somewhere in the middle of the court and how the head follows the ball as it is struck by either player, left to right and back again. Only this was better...

Surely, he must've felt the rain! Gentle as it was, it was falling for sure, but he didn't seem to mind it. His well-timed curiosity continued and my eyes followed...


And then the magic moment came!

Back at the right window, he spent just that extra second this time. I don't think he gave up! He must've figured, "It is what it is. They'll move when they move"...

For, even as he thrust his head out a little, closed his eyes, lifted his head, opened his mouth wide and let the rain drops fall in, the wheels northbound on I95 started rolling...


Rain and the traffic ensured that the next 5 hours stretched into 6 and more, but just those few seconds made it worth the ride...

Thanks for your time, Tammy Jo...