All the while, when Bertram, the Austrian from Bandra heard of or witnessed the gruesome and pitched battles between his countrymen and Indian stray dogs, he laughed his head off, going to the point of blogging about Gunter and the Wolf's troubles with the canines.
On a new moon day in dusty, broken down Andheri, karma would rear its ugly head on Bertram. Inflammed by a dry and hot February day, Bertram took the painful and agonising walk through the Andheri market on J.P. Road. The honking of auto rickshaws, the aggresive bikers, the dirty savages spitting and the pollution made the unbearable heat even worse.
As Bertram crossed the Hanuman Temple, he stepped on an unidentified object. Within a second, a loud howl shook the Austrian out of his self-imposed anger with Andheri. Betram had stepped on the paw of a stray dog. The frightened mutt limped away to safety, choosing not to harm the Salzburger. On compassionate grounds, Betram tried to buy a pack of biscuits for the mutt, but the terrified creature ran towards Andheri station fearing for its life.
A sad episode that was none the less over, thought Bertram, but the future had a twist of fortunes awaiting the Bavarian beer-lover.
12 hours after the first encounter with the mutt, Bertram was walking again on the same J.P. Road. Only this time, the streets were empty and the dogs ruled the roost. As Betram recalled the wonderful moments of the Sicilian opera that he had watched, one bark from a stray turned to 10. It was now time for the morning's mutt to settle old scores. Shouts of shoo, aus, hutt, all fell on ears that were not willing to listen. The mutts smelt Austrian blood. They moved in towards Bertram, who quickly used his reflexes to start a barrage of stone-throws straight at the mutts. The shocked strays made a dash for nearby lanes, barking at their loudest and calling for reinforcements. Bertram was unshaken. It was he, who paid the taxes to the Indian Government and not the canines. The roads were his property.
As Bertram crossed the infamous Navrang Cinema Hall, the barks got softer until they came to a standstill. Yes, it was another victory for the nation that is the successor to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Somewhere in celestial bliss, Franz Joseph I would have been proud that another one of his soldiers repelled a stray-dog attack in the land of savages!
On a new moon day in dusty, broken down Andheri, karma would rear its ugly head on Bertram. Inflammed by a dry and hot February day, Bertram took the painful and agonising walk through the Andheri market on J.P. Road. The honking of auto rickshaws, the aggresive bikers, the dirty savages spitting and the pollution made the unbearable heat even worse.
As Bertram crossed the Hanuman Temple, he stepped on an unidentified object. Within a second, a loud howl shook the Austrian out of his self-imposed anger with Andheri. Betram had stepped on the paw of a stray dog. The frightened mutt limped away to safety, choosing not to harm the Salzburger. On compassionate grounds, Betram tried to buy a pack of biscuits for the mutt, but the terrified creature ran towards Andheri station fearing for its life.
A sad episode that was none the less over, thought Bertram, but the future had a twist of fortunes awaiting the Bavarian beer-lover.
12 hours after the first encounter with the mutt, Bertram was walking again on the same J.P. Road. Only this time, the streets were empty and the dogs ruled the roost. As Betram recalled the wonderful moments of the Sicilian opera that he had watched, one bark from a stray turned to 10. It was now time for the morning's mutt to settle old scores. Shouts of shoo, aus, hutt, all fell on ears that were not willing to listen. The mutts smelt Austrian blood. They moved in towards Bertram, who quickly used his reflexes to start a barrage of stone-throws straight at the mutts. The shocked strays made a dash for nearby lanes, barking at their loudest and calling for reinforcements. Bertram was unshaken. It was he, who paid the taxes to the Indian Government and not the canines. The roads were his property.
As Bertram crossed the infamous Navrang Cinema Hall, the barks got softer until they came to a standstill. Yes, it was another victory for the nation that is the successor to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Somewhere in celestial bliss, Franz Joseph I would have been proud that another one of his soldiers repelled a stray-dog attack in the land of savages!
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