June 22. “Mowgli is terrified of thunder and lightning.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“It’s stopped raining again.”

“The rains are very scattered. Not a good sign at all.”

“Where’s Dost?”

“Went for a series of meetings. He is on his way back home. Are you hungry?”

“I am very hungry.”

“Come, I’ll tell you a very touching story in the meantime.”

“That’ll distract me.”

“Policemen and the locals of Koppal district in Hubli were present in full force to bid adieu to Varun, a Doberman, who had served the police department for eight years. Varun was just a month old when he joined the force. Trainers took him under their wings when he turned three months old and trained him for 11 months in Bangalore before transferring him as part of a crack team of sniffer dogs to Koppal. He soon became an integral part of the crime detection team. During his time, Varun helped crack 90 theft cases and 30 murder mysteries in record time. At his funeral, people exchanged tales of the brave soul, blew bugles and fired three rounds before burying him with full police honours.”

“Bravo, Varun.”