For young readers: A classic Assamese children’s novel about a dog gets an English translation

Arnab Khura finally got a baby cot made for the puppies. The sides of the cot as well as the top were covered with netting. But even if one managed to get Jigma into the cot, it was much harder to get Taniya in. Earlier, Arnab Khura would sit in the verandah reading the newspaper while having his morning cup of tea. Tom would sit close to his feet. When he finished his tea, he would pour whatever was left in the cup on the floor in front of Tom who would lick it up and then go away. But nowadays things were different. He had to take Jigma and Taniya to do their morning rounds before locking them up in a goral, a netted enclosure, something like the enclosures for cows, called goral in Assam.

So nowadays, the newspaper would remain unread, the morning tea would go cold in the cup. On some days, Arnab Khura, the poor man, barely had time to hurriedly eat his meal before rushing off to work. Jilmil’s condition was also the same. And Khuri’s too. Meanwhile strange things continued to happen in the household. One day, an elephant was passing by their gate. Taniya stood at the gate, looked at the elephant and started to bark. The elephant did not pay any heed to that teeny little thing. But the mahout could not contain his laughter. Everyone in Jilmil’s verandah also broke out laughing. But the next moment, they became serious and alert – What if Taniya went out and began chasing the elephant? As soon as they thought of it, they saw her sneaking out through the gate into the road!

Jilmil and her father followed her. But our lady, Taniya, would not be deterred. She kept running after the elephant, barking all the way. And then, it was the usual trouble to get her back to the house. Jilmil’s father put Taniya firmly in her netted cot and shut the opening tightly. Jigma didn’t pay any heed. He had his lunch and went to sleep on the sack. And after barking for a while, Taniya too ate the fish and rice that she had been given in her detention cell and went to sleep. Poor thing! She had had quite a day. How much excitement could that little bundle of mischief take?

Did you know that Taniya also had a special method of getting her head out of her collar and then proceeding to run off to the road? After that, it was the same old story again. The household would have to rush after her to get her back. Once she sneaked out of the gate and started chasing a huge black dog that had appeared out of nowhere! That black dog could have torn Taniya into shreds! And then, this other time, Taniya started to bark at a monkey who was sitting on a tree. The monkey came down. When Tom was there, the monkeys did not dare to come anywhere near the ground. But after the arrival of these two little bhetguti creatures, their comings and goings had distinctly increased.

One day, Jilmil’s mother had just poured some oil into a heated pan to fry some fish. Hearing a commotion, she went out to investigate. She turned the knob of the gas cooker to the lowest flame before going out, thinking she would be back quickly. But there was some hullabaloo outside – Jigma was barking as loudly as he could. That meant that the two of them had again escaped! Jigma was still here, but where was Taniya? On seeing Khuri, Jigma ran up to her. He kept looking at the wood-apple tree in their backyard and barked non-stop. Looking in that direction Jilmil’s mother saw that a huge monkey was holding Taniya tightly to its chest just as it would hold a baby! It was climbing from the wood-apple tree to the mango tree. Jilmil’s mother was petrified. But what could the poor woman do? There was no one else at home! Even her neighbours were out at that time.

Her last hope was Jogen Bordeuta. He was an old man, and normally did not go out during the day; that would normally be the time for his short nap. His house was also close by. But before she could get there, she looked up and started to scream – the monkey was taking Taniya away. Jogen Bordeuta was not feeling too well that day. He had a pain in his waist. Hearing the loud screams, he got up and came out. He was astonished to see what was happening! The monkey was still holding tightly on to Taniya, while sitting on a branch of the mango tree. He looked down to see what was going on. Jogen Bordeuta asked Jilmil’s mother to stop screaming. He told her to go in and bring whatever fruits she had at home. Jilmil’s mother came back with some bananas and apples. Putting the fruits at the bottom of the mango tree, Jogen Bordeuta went into Jilmil’s house, taking Jigma with him. He also asked Khuri to come inside. They needed to disappear from the monkey’s view.

But something was not in order inside – there was the smell of burnt food everywhere. Khuri ran into the kitchen. The oil that she had put on the pan had completely burnt and was giving out a very strong smell! She quickly covered the pan and switched on the exhaust fan in the kitchen. She could hear her heart thump. Thank God, she had reduced the gas to the lowest flame, otherwise there could have been a bigger disaster. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.

Just then, Jogen Bordeuta indicated to her to come to the window. The monkey was climbing down the tree still holding Taniya with one hand. It reached the ground, and then took the banana and let go of Taniya who scurried back to the house.

The monkey took the apples and bananas, and promptly disappeared. Taniya now stood close to Jilmil’s mother and started to shiver. Putting her tail between her legs, she began to shake violently. At this not only Jilmil’s mother, but also Jogen Bordeuta got frightened. The little puppy was shivering so much, what could the matter be? Did the monkey bite or scratch the poor little thing? Suddenly, they heard a car stop outside. Jilmil and her father were back. That meant that that drama between the monkey and the dog had gone on for quite a while. The day was almost over, but Jilmil’s mother had not managed to finish any of her daily chores. The clothes to be washed were still lying in a heap, the house had not been swept, lunch had not been cooked. Just as Jilmil sat down on a chair to take off her shoes, Taniya jumped up on to her lap.

On other days, when Taniya would jump up like that, Jilmil’s mother would not be too happy. After all, Jilmil’s clothes would get covered in dog hair. But that day, she said nothing. Jilmil held the trembling Taniya for some time. Then she gently put Taniya down for her to lap up the milk from her saucer that Jilmil had left for her in the morning. She had now stopped trembling. She ran and started to nibble Jigma’s ear. This meant that Taniya had been trembling out of sheer fright. Everyone was relieved.

Excerpted with permission from Taniya, Arupa Patangia Kalita, translated from Assamese by Meenaxi Barkotokoi, Puffin.