under the bold caption “Missing” was the photograph of a dog- it could have been an Afghan Hound or a Mexican Chihuahua or an Irish Setter- I am not frightfully well up on the ‘personnel’ of the canine world. It had gone missing in the City Market area since the evening of the 5th and it responded to the names “Babloo” and “Miggles” and the finder was promised a “handsome” reward.

That decided it for I dearly wanted to close my greedy fingers around that “handsome” reward and wondered idly what it could be? Possibly, an all-expenses paid- round-the-world air ticket. Of course it was quite possible that I would be fobbed off with a 500 –gm stand up pack of bones and dog biscuits and a grateful smile.

That decided it for I dearly wanted to close my greedy fingers around that “handsome” reward and wondered idly what it could be. Possibly, an all-expenses paid- round-the-world air ticket. Of course it was quite possible that I would be fobbed off with a 500 –gm stand up pack of bones and dog biscuits and a grateful smile. Nevertheless, I wanted to be the first to locate the missing Babloo and claim the reward.

Planning a military style campaign, I procured an old map of the City Market area and divided it into sectors and salient’s and marked out in red and green the pockets where the missing Babloo alias Miggles was likely to be holed up and I took to the streets crying out plaintively, “Babloo, Miggles!” and feeling pretty foolish too.

As I reached the intersection of Silver Jubilee Park Road and the Town Hall Road, a fierce dog fight was on and dogs of all lineage, bloodline and pedigree were locked in a free-for-all. Thinking that Babloo might be among the spirited fighters, I picked up a stick and gingerly prodded it into the tangled canine mass till it separated itself into its dog elements and I eagerly and intently peered into the eyes of individual dogs frequently consulting the photograph I had snipped out of the newspaper, but alas! Babloo wasn’t among the combatants.

On a sudden hunch, I made a quick trip to the Corporation Dog Pound thinking that Babloo might have been caught in a dragnet and fetched up in the clinker, but the front office attendant informed me, after consulting his register, that no such dog had checked in and I had to begin my wearly search all over again.

As evening fell, I beat a tired path home, dogless, rather like Napoleon retreating from the Gates of Moscow.

I have come to the salutary (and empirical) conclusion that it is a dog’s life searching for missing dogs.

Philosophy aside, when am I going to resume my search for Babloo alias Miggles? Well, not until I have washed the dozen odd scratches and bruises in triple strength antiseptic and taken a stiff shot of an anti-rabies vaccine.

S. Raghunath