Nawada villagers’ tribute to ‘man’s best friend’

NAWADA: It was an unusual funeral procession attended by hundreds of villagers in Nawada to bid a tearful adieu to their favourite dog Rocky, who died on Saturday.

The 10-year-old Rocky of Bara Pandey village under the Roh police station in Nawada district was known for loyalty to the villagers and rancour towards antisocial elements. That had made Rocky the best of friends of every villager. Not a single burglary had been reported in the village for the last several years due to Rocky’s strict vigil. The entire village mourned the demise of the proverbial ‘man’s best friend’ and wondered whether the village would ever get a sound sleep after this loss of life.

According to villagers Ramdhani Yadav, Sudhir Sao and others, Rocky was the ‘chowkidar’ in the night and a peace-loving animal during daytime. “He had never bitten or hurt any villager and ate whatever the villagers offered him without any grudge. Rocky never confined himself to any particular house and was different from other street dogs as he was seldom seen in the company of its tribe,” said Sudhir Sao.

The mourning villagers provided Rocky an ochre coloured ‘kafan’ (shroud) and carried the bier on their shoulders right up to the village burial ground with the entire village in tow. ‘Rocky amar rahe’, shouted the mourning villagers when its mortal remains were consigned to flames.