No Monkey Business

               The monkey looked tentatively as I continued my walk.

              For the past few days, I have been getting up early in the morning and been going out for my daily dose of sunshine. While I am frequently on my cycle, I had decided in favour of jogging this morning and had commenced my labored running. I am a moderately fit person who is somehow not used to too much of planned exercise. In fact, I hate exercise, and my morning activities were actually due to an official compulsion, which I had decided to take advantage of in order to improve my fitness.

Monkeys lined up for their daily errand on my boundary wall

              The route that I take is a favourite playground of a group of monkeys as well as at least seven different tribes of stray dogs, each with well defined and properly marked territories. I am no stranger to inter as well as intra species territorial wars amongst the non – biped primates and canines. Both of them keep trying to expand their horizon of influence and attack the bipeds at times. We have seen a great increase in the number of dog bites and monkey bites in the past couple of months.

              As I started my brisk walk in preparation for a jog, the group of monkeys passed by me, lining both sides of the road.

              The young monkey had been clinging to his mother when he saw me. The mother was used to presence of bipeds so early in the morning, and did not pay any heed. The youngster, however, was not so sure. It continued to look at me as I approached their location. Then it got a little bold and left his mother’s side to take a few steps towards the middle of the road, thus coming directly on the path that I intended to take. The mother was still not concerned, and the monkey leader sitting on the side did not raise any alarm either. Happy with his exploits, the monkey strolled back to his mother, and stayed by her sides. He did not cling to her.

A youngster plays around the monkey herd

              The mother had found something to munch upon, and did not pay any attention to the youngster. A little away, another mother was sitting with a somewhat older baby were sitting and playing with a wrapper which interested them. Further away, another monkey was looking for ticks and lice on her friend's body. It was a close-knit group, with general bonhomie.

              The youngster decided to shift his focus back to me as I started my jog. He approached me, a little bolder this time. I paid him no heed, and he was further emboldened. As he came closer, I decided it was time for some action. I picked up a piece of stone from the road. The young one decided not to take any chances, and hurried back to his mother, while I continued with my jog. The leader, who was sitting on the sidewalk a little ahead got mildly interested and looked lazily at me. He continued his gaze as I jogged past him, and them continued his lazy vigil while basking in the morning sun. I cleared the group’s territory without a clash or any further interaction, and continued with my laboured running.

              Monkey presence is profound in the place where I live. In fact, my house, with a vast garden and tens of trees, is a battleground between dogs and monkeys, and a “war” breaks out almost every other month. Aadya loves cycling, and is not afraid of any monkey business while she is on wheels. Shaivi, however, has not been able to learn the art, and is therefore restricted in mobility. She once got scared of a mock attack by some monkey – kids, and now refuses to go near them. Somehow, she had not been able to learn cycling, either.

              However, both of them had got quite attached to a stray cat that had tried to befriend them. They named her “Munni”, and used to feed her and play with her. The feline took some time to understand that the special treatment to her species was accorded only by the two young creatures inhabiting the house, and arduously avoided me in particular. It would often curl up to my daughters, specially Aadya, whenever they played outdoors. It did not take long for the cat to make a resting place of Aadya’s lap. However, whenever she saw a dog or a monkey around, she never relied on any of my daughters for support, and promptly ran away.

              But all these are old tales. Both my daughters are couped up in a flat in my hometown, with few dogs and no monkeys around. The only young primates are the two chattering bipeds living with my wife, who have to be woken up every morning and put to bed every night.