After my father passed away, my mother (Dumpy’s Didu) opted to live alone in Nagpur, despite my requests to live with us. She did, however, spend some time with us in Ahmedabad every year. She planned her visits to coincide with Dumpy’s presence in Ahmedabad. Though initially uneasy with a dog in the house, Didu developed an intriguing relationship with Tito over time.
Tito quickly recognized the old lady’s usefulness. Didu would be the one to put food in his bowl on days when Alka and I would be away! Tito sensed that Didu was hesitant to pet or play with him. He kept his natural exuberance in check while dealing with Didu. When Didu fed him, he would stay a little distance away from the bowl and wait for Didu to put the food before moving to the bowl to eat. After eating, he’d step back and let Didu pour water in the bowl for him to drink. The non-touch technique of the relationship suited both the parties.
Trouble arose initially when an outsider rang the doorbell while Didu and Tito were alone at home. The wooden front door also had a second wire mesh door on the outside. The wooden door therefore could be opened to see the visitor. Tito would rush to the front door, when the bell rang, ahead of Didu and stand guard behind the wooden door, trying to protect Didu from the intruder. While packages for delivery could be collected by partially opening the wire mesh door, difficulty arose when the visitor was required to enter the house to carry out some repairs in the house. The visitor would be hesitant to enter with Tito on the loose. Didu soon learned to handle the situation. She would order Tito in Bengali to follow her to her ground floor bedroom. She would then order Tito to go to the enclosed veranda adjoining her bedroom. After Tito obeyed her, she would shut the door between the bedroom and the veranda thereby locking up Tito in the veranda. Surprisingly, Tito meekly obeyed her and would walk out to the veranda despite knowing that he would be locked up until the visitor departed. We could never fathom as to how the two of them reached an agreement on the neat arrangement!
When in Ahmedabad, Didu occupied the bedroom on the ground floor. In the afternoons, she would usually take a short post-lunch nap. Tito would silently accompany Didu to the bedroom and lie down against the wall next to the air conditioner a little away from the bed from where he could keep an eye on her. Tito’s gentle and submissive demeanour toward Didu was totally opposite to his usual hyper exuberance. Didu and Tito are now united in God’s abode, keeping each other company, the way they did on earth.
