Monday, May 2, 2011

A Brief Encounter With A Saint Bernard And Its Master

My husband and I were slowly cruising in Indira Nagar (Bangalore), in one of its narrow Cross Roads, when through the car window I spotted a handsome, awesome looking St. Bernard, being taken for a walk. He was big and cute : I also noticed he was squeaking clean, jouncing, along sniffing at the bushes, as though hunting for some hidden treasure. I love dogs, especially, the big, friendly and really cuddly dogs. I didn't pay much attention to the man with the dog, enamoured and engrossed as I was, having eyes only for the big creature.

Then, barely giving a fleeting glance at the Dog Walker, I noticed he was wearing an outfit, dark blue in colour like a watchman's uniform. It struck me also for some reason that the fellow was extremely proud to be led by such a huge dog, in the knowledge that the Dog was the Cynosure of all passersby.

We continued on our leisurely journey to the Club ahead, with me singing paens of that dog, doing my "oohs" and my "aahs" and general excited blabbering, no doubt distracting my husband from his driving. At that point, my husband casually turned to inform me that the man walking the Dog was not a watchman, but the famous Indian cricketer and fast bowler Venketesh Prasad, who lived in the neighbourhood.

A bolt of lightening struck me and his face flashed back into my mind's eye, and sure enough I recalled and recognized that man to be the very same Venketesh Prasad. How could I fail to recognize him instantly ?
I have a seen him so many times when we lived in Indira Nagar.  But, as one might say  "out of the Cricket field out of mind", or some such like. Also, not being a great fan of Cricket should excuse me mistaking him for a watchman. ( maybe it was the blue jeans and blue designer shirt that did the trick all matching, matching)  No offense meant, Mr. Prasad ...... a lady's lapse of memory.

All this led me to imagine what might have transpired, if perchance we had stopped the car, and I had stepped out to pet the dog, and at the same time shoot a quick question at the dog walker - " Iska naam kya hai Bahadur"?

And Venketesh Prasad quick with his reposte, as he was on the bowling tracks says " Iska naam kya pooch rahi  hain aap ? Pehele mera naam kya hai, aap jaaniye. Mai hoon naa Venketesh Prasad ".

Not fully satisfied with his answer, dumb creature that I am, I persist with my questioning, "
Bahut accha bhaiyya, lekin Jaanwar ka naam bhi Bathaiye tho !"

I can well imagine my husband desperately looking for a tree and a rope to hang himself with in utter embarrassment.

Rama Ananth.
Heavy petting
Taking time out to admire the sunflowers.
Did you all have a good laugh at my expense?

19 comments:

  1. hahaha.. just what i needed to pull me back to earth. this is so funny. I am sure the conversation would have gone on the lines you suggest. hahaha... poor guy prasad. I would have really liked to know the dog's name.. heeheee. i wonder what would have happened if you were walking instead of driving..
    hilarious. thanks for the share!

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  2. LOL ahahah this was a nice blog... funny too.. I guess you are right.. sometimes we see these famous people on tv.. but if we see them in everyday life.. we fail to recognize them... I am your total opposite I guess... I love cricket! I've been following the ipl yaaay 2 months of cricket LOL. btw the picts are nice... even i like the dog!

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  3. ha ha ha nice story yes I did have a laugh at your expense and thankfully you did not get down from the car would've been hilarious though

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  4. Yes .. made me smile THANK YOU :)

    they are big and so calm and docile dogs ..

    Bikram's

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  5. Rama, I take it your husband made a choice not to speak up too soon. Such a pity! Are you planning on watching some cricket now?
    It is great to be back on these pages my friend.

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  6. Hahah. So funny.

    PS:- Rama, you may want to remove word verification. Google has inbuilt spam protection now

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  7. Thanks for my laugh of the morning Rama:):) Poor Mr. Prasad that conversation would have been a lethal blow to his ego:)

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  8. I love dogs and your tale was so funny. I wonder if he would have been thunderstruck instead of replying. But, I can quite imagine your husband trying to hang himself from a tree :). My husband would have looked to come under a speeding car if I was in your situation ;-P.

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  9. Hi everybody,
    thanks for seeing the humour in it.
    I really don't know what would have actually happened,but because it is in the world of my imagination, anything can be made possible.

    Rachna the side roads are so narrow with people walking, it would have been impossible to find a speeding car.

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  10. "iska naam kya hai bahadur" hahaha! Ultimate! Imagine Venketesh Prasad's face when he hears your question....i was howling in laughter ( literally) after reading your post! Do blog some lighter posts as this one:)))

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  11. I absolutely loved it!OMG,,you imagination brought a smile on my face today:-)

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  12. Watchman... heck you are just like me. Except that my husband is now accustomed to my not recognizing anybody or picking up any vibes. Total tube-light. So I have decided to get angry with him itself. "How come you never tell me these things?", I growl heh heh heh. But I totally understand, a St. Bernard IS a gorgeous dog, who cares who the St. Bernard is dragging along. I am totally with you on this one. Next time you see him (the dog), give him a hug on my behalf.

    My3

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  13. Absolutely wonderful and fascinating!!
    Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the visit. :)

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  14. beautiful pics with lovely narration

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