The Slumdog Millionaire

Vishwanathan Iyer posted under Flash Fiction QuinTale-29 on 2021-04-10



At the end of every high rise building, there lies a kingdom of filth and garbage. The undeclared kings are Man’s best friends. They surely have marked their territories and never allow a foreigner to cross the borders at any cost.  They howl and bark incessantly till the stranger moves out of the boundary. If they find support from the larger beasts around, they do not fail to attack too. However, if the opponent is stronger, they simply surrender.  The kingdom and the rules of these canines are similar to humans. When humans find support they attack ferociously against anybody, but when they find themselves weaker, they meekly surrender irrespective of cruelty of the stronger opponent. Strange, but true! “Hey, look what I found,” exclaimed Raju holding a football with his teeth. Though the ball was in bad shape, Raju found happiness rolling it on the ground.  “Moti, are you ready for a football match with me?” he invited his close friend, who was busy playing with a mat lying near the bin.  “How do we form teams?” asked a confused Moti.  “No teams, doggy, it is only me and you, we enjoy. Mind you, no cheating,” clarified Raju. “You are the only cheater here, and everyone here knows that. If you do not cheat, the game will be clean,” teasingly replied Moti.  “Okay, let’s start the game,” announced Raju and both started playing with a ball which was useless. Both howled, barked, and pounced on each other and were having a merry time. Just then, both saw Bruno coming their way. Bruno was a German Shepherd and used to come to this place every day. The walk announced his pride. The eyes, alert to counter-attack any stray that disturbs this royal canine. The master exhibited great care and love too. Bruno was a well fed and a well-trained dog. The way he was maintained exhibited he was pampered by his masters. They had a special belt across his neck with ‘Bruno’ imbibed. A new t-shirt each day made him look beautiful and a long chain decorated his neck. He was properly trained for daily activities. Bruno responded perfectly to every instruction commanded by his master and scored brownie points each day. When Bruno raised his leg to pee near the dustbin, his master reacted, “Not here, Bruno, it’s so filthy place.” Bruno moved ahead near a tree and relieved himself. The master got involved in his mobile as usual. “Look, his master shouted, when he came near the dustbin to pee and look at us, this dustbin is our kingdom. What hypocrisy?” dejectedly complained Moti. “Yeah true, but do you realize we are Kings? We can sleep, eat, and play freely as per our wish. Poor Bruno, he is chained, he cannot even pee as per his wish” convincingly said Raju.  “Come, let’s play, take care of your goal post,” he shouted kicking the ball. Remember, every dog has his day!  Enjoy wherever you are, whatever you are!

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