Biscuit in Sittilingi

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Biscuit is the color of a freshly-baked, hot out of the oven, melt-in-the mouth, well, biscuit. His two light-brown spots remind me of a warm, sun-kissed beach, and I can't help thinking that he's been given a perfect name by one of the kids in Thulir, Sittilingi. 

A lion at heart, he seems fearless.

You should see him walk on  the road, barking, growling, challenging all the (so far non - existent) ferocious dogs of the area. It's a disaster to go outside the campus because he will invariably follow you and create something of a doggie turf war, with you helplessly stuck in the middle. 


A lion at heart, I said. Not so much in his actions. Because once he had barked out his challenge, and the other dogs responded with gusto and run like crazy to try and attack him, he would promptly shut up, go quiet as a mouse and conveniently skulk, hide and cower behind our legs! 

Luckily for me ( A coward at heart, and in my actions) I had two friends armed with experience and sticks, fending off the dogs that surrounded us, coming in droves from goodness knows where. The ordeal lasted until the next empty stretch ( we had a long way to go) when Biscuit would be back in his element, running ahead of us, growling and barking ferociously like he owned the place - the swagger of a king until the next set of dogs would come, ready to do battle. Again he would disappear in a way that would have made Houdini jealous! It was the craziest walk I've ever had! It's hard to be annoyed with him for long though :) 


Read about my visit to Thulir here  

Incidentally, Karadi Tales in collaboration with PARI (People's Archive of Rural India) has brought out a five book series of stories from Rural India - one of the books  - 'Coming Home', written by Priti David, is based on the people of Sittilingi - I haven't read it yet, but I am sure excited that it is available for everyone to read :) Here is the link to the book - Coming Home

























 

Location: Sittling, Tamil Nadu 636906, India

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