SUMMARY OF CHAPTER - 5.

Dawa’s panic initially had more to do with his mental state than the itching all over his body. There was a kind of persistent, irritable itching that could be lessened only by the pain from scratching and biting. As he was a dignified dog, he preferred not to scratch in public.

The day he found bits of fur in his claw, he retired to the solace of the Memorial Chorten. Despite the presence of humans and dogs, the place was tranquil. Sitting all aloof, Dawa hoped for some soothing effect of the tranquil place on his mind and itchy body.

He made some interesting observations about how humans and dogs interacted and clashed with each other, why some humans were phobic about dogs, the negative attitude of humans when it comes to harmonious coexistence with dogs and how repulsive were some humans about the dogs with mange. Sitting hidden under a bush, Dawa felt tension ebbing and that he could also think in a cool way. Soon his symptoms will be apparent to other dogs. He knew that he had got it with his careless, unguarded encounter with the fluffy dog. She charmed her way into his heart and he spent many hours in her company sitting close to her, feeling good about it. Of course her symptoms were not visible as her owner had already taken her to a vet. Thinking about the owner, Dawa regretted not having an owner who would stroke and scratch him and a tear fell down from his right eye.

So lost in thoughts, Dawa was completely unaware of the onset of the evening and the couple sitting close to him, talking about a friend who was sick, how she could be cured through the healing power of prayers and meditation. They also talked about one Gelong Ma Pelmo, who also got enlightenment in a cave, which now happens to be a place of pilgrimage. Dawa got up all excited on hearing this. The old couple then noticed him and started hurling abuses at him for giving them the fleas while he stretched himself after a long rest. Dawa’s sense of shame took him farther away from the couple than was really necessary. As a result, he failed to hear about the location of the cave.

His anxiety made Dawa decide to discuss his thoughts, plans with Dampa and seek his advice e. As he did not want to inflict Dampa with mange, he wandered around the temple in the hope of meeting Dampa. Once he even called out to him (Dampa) from a distance, but Dampa greeted back and went inside. Finally he could send word to Dampa through a teenage dog.

Soon afterwards, Dampa came down, took a hard look at Dawa. Dawa talked about his problems – his disease, bewilderment and all. His pure Dzongkha with all the right honorific terms, in a modulated voice convinced Dampa of Dawa’s great language prowess. Dawa also informed Dampa of his desire to go away. Dampa tried his best to make Dawa aware of the dangers of the dogs in his area and in the other areas as well. They would tear him into pieces if they found him shying away from his responsibilities or intruding in their areas. But Dawa was prepared to take the risk. He then asked Dampa about the cave. Dampa replied that he had heard of the cave being somewhere in Tang, east of Thimphu. He also went on to add that there were four or five passes in between.

Dampa could not provide any more information, not even the names of the passes. But his eyes lit up when he saw the black-brown damchi sunning himself in front of the house across the street. As the dog was brought up in Tronsa, Dampa asked him about the passes. The damchi had difficulty in recollecting the names due to old age. He simply asked Dawa to go east. Dawa could not control his excitement and probed him further for the names of the passes, how high they were. The oldie could call up to mind Pelela and Dochula and a place called Bumthang nearby Trongsa. He then went back to sleep and was soon snoring sonorously. Dawa and Dampa stood there for a while watching with gratitude and tenderness the body heaving rhythmically.

Dawa felt like leaving immediately. He wanted to get away from the precarious situation and to cure himself. Dampa was not convinced and tried his best to stop Dawa from undertaking this futile adventure. So Dawa told him the truth that besides finding the cure, he wanted to be free from the dirty politics of the dog community. Dampa argued by saying that politics was there in every community and mange was a common disease among dogs.

Dawa decided to leave early morning the next day, when most of the dogs would be sound asleep, tired from the prolonged nightly howling. His departure was easier than expected. As he neared Dochula, where the dog pound was, he was suddenly paralyzed by the fear of being caught and impounded. His fear proved baseless as most of the early-risers were airport-bound or prayer-sayers, who had no intention of paying any attention to him.

The chilly morning air did nothing to soothe his mange-ravaged body, but the downhill climb was easy. He ate some cold food from the wayside. Dawa also met a group of aggressive dogs at Lungtenphu, at the outskirts of Thimphu. But he was a smart survivor and used his surviving tactics by walking with his head bent low along the edge of the road and keeping out of harm’s way. As he entered the parking lot in Wangduephodrang, he was greeted by a young dog, who remarked that it was the cleanest town in Bhutan. Then pointing to the billowing smoke rising up in the air, he said furthermore that the food was going up ("dogs paying the price for human cleanliness") into the pristine air, leaving the dogs hungry. Dawa moved on. He had no intention of staying in a place where there was no food for the dogs.

P.N. I am really busy these days. So I am not sure whether I could do a good job or not. Naturally, i'll keep on making some additions and alterations.