Whoosh.... thud

When it rains like it does when the monsoons are 'normal' it is akin to the heavens opening up a reservoir. And with all the grey eclipsing the sun for weeks together, new lives begin to thrive - both flora and fauna. Fauna are, of course, the insects and bugs of all shapes and all miniature sizes. The flora is the algae that grows like a lush translucent (not to forget the slimy) green carpet on anything that is smooth, especially concrete courtyards and steps. Back in my childhood home, our entire front yard had been converted from green to concrete just to avoid the muddy swamp it became during the rains. This, of course, made it ideal for the algae. Walking from the front door to the gate, about 20-25 feet, was a daily challenge because of the high probability of slipping. Every Sunday morning our maid would douse the more slick areas with bleaching powder to arrest the algal growth and for some friction for our shoes.When I think of the rain, and our algae-covered yard, I think of my dog, Cleo.

We had two dogs - Sweetie and Cleo. Sweetie was the older one - very dignified, suave, smart, confident and a holier-than-thou take on life. Cleo was just the opposite, she was a klutz, a shade (actually several shades) dumb, with the saddest and most pleading eyes possible; and being around Sweetie.... well it was too much to live up to. Coming to the algae-coated concrete front yard and Cleo:

Every time a stray cow walked past our gate when Cleo was sitting on the grill-enclosed front verandah looking at the gate, she would go into a barking frenzy. And if the grill was open, she would rush to the gate in a simultaneity of speed (that would put greyhounds to shame) and woofs. The poor stray cow would try to hobble away as fast as her hoofs could carry it. Cleo would still be relentless - she would stick her head out through the gate and bark out, "I see you -  I see you". Now picture this - a rain-soaked morning, a concrete yard made slick with algae, an open grill on the front verandah (normally kept open in the morning hours with the maid at work, and for the dogs to walk around the yard), Cleo sitting on the front verandah her head between her paws looking at the gate, and... a stray cow dares (ahem!) to saunter past our gate, and my doggie's ever-watchful eyes. No sooner does Cleo spot the cow that she springs into action - her barking frenzy begins before she flings her paws onto the algae-covered yard at full throttle. And then...... there she goes... her body inclined at 45 degrees to the ground sliding down the slippery yard at the same speed, her bark half-arrested, and then she hits the gate - thud! Fortunately her little brain has reflexes she doesn't, so her head turns to avoid her velvety nose from coming into violent contact with the gate.This whoosh-thud act gets repeated several times during the monsoons year after year. To Cleo's credit, the stray cows always run away. Sometimes when I am there I have managed to close the grill microseconds before she shoots out. But mostly, before I can finish shouting "Cleo- don't.." she has already hit the gate! And then she walks back with this grin on her face as though she's telling me," aren't I doing a good job of keeping the bovine away?" I tell her" Don't kid yourself - the cows return every morning". If she could do the humanspeak, she would have in all possibility said, "And, I chase them away every time." Sweetie who watches all this with half an eye open and no other muscle as much twitching, would sometimes look at me as though saying, "Seriously!"