Once upon a time in a jungle somewhere, there lived a dog, a three-legged dog; ignored, neglected; lived all his life in isolation. He never complained about his mundane and forlorn life but deep down he knew that his life was slipping into the stranglehold of nothingness. He wanted to scream out loud in frustration but the prevailing norms of society didn’t encourage anyone to indulge in such activities. He had a secret wish to live like a rockstar and lead a kickass life. He brooded “I mean, look at that lambu giraffe, always seen surrounded by his friends, what a roaring social life he has! And that reindeer, when he went on his Christmas duty, his wife sang a popular Hindi movie song for him. And how about that king of jungle, that self-righteous, badass tiger (not lion); dude, he gets free accommodation, security, a car with that red beacon and all the things that he doesn’t even require. Why on earth would that gangsta need security? To add to that, he gets all adulation from his sycophantic followers. Why cannot god be little impartial for once and give me the life which I long for? I visit the temple everyday and give him 5 rupees; but for what? Being the subject of all his entertainment? And then I have to console myself with that clichéd statement – it’s all because of the karma or some shit of my previous life. Dude, then what is the point in coming to you and throwing myself on your clemency? And if I don’t worship you, you will unleash your wrath on me, now what kind of a deal is that?” He liked Amitabh Bachchan’s subversive ranting in Dewaar and wanted to emulate that, but refrained because that dude in the temple looked a bit apathetic.
Anyway, one day he came back from work, sat down with a cup of tea and played his favorite song – ‘washing powder Nirma.’ Suddenly a news flashed on TV, it’s about some ongoing protest regarding the selection of the king for the next term. Now, that jungle had quarterly events to select their king (not 5 years) and mostly the events were WWE matches or gymnastics. But this time people wanted a change, a change which will open up the competition for everyone. So, there was like this protest thing going on near the Banyan tree square. One of the protestors demanded some transparency in the process and started an indefinite fast (later everyone came to know that he did not know much about that event). After a series of meetings, the core committee finally decided to have a half marathon race to select the king for the next term. “Howz that for a break?” the dog mused “it’s not an impossible task for me. I do run once in a while when it rains or when the bigger dogs chase me. So what if people laugh at me? They laughed at me all my life, I have nothing to lose, I will take part in this event.”
So, finally the day arrived, he wore his best sneakers and tracksuits, took a rickshaw and reached the stadium on time. People in his office were discussing that this stadium will not host any event after December 2012. He looked at that monstrous stadium and was transfixed by its aura; this place has seen it all; tears, laughter, joy, dejection; so many legends were born here and so many of them said goodbye to the game. Frightened and anxious, he went to the registration counter and was greeted with a few sniggers. But then, as per the guidelines, anyone could take part in the event and no racial or anti-semantic statements were allowed, but can rules change the prejudices? Anyway, he took his badge and walked towards the starting line where he saw other contestants; they were big and athletic. They had coaches discussing the strategies with them, they had fans cheering for them from the stand, their irreproachable outfits accentuated their imposing looks.
Floodlights blazed the shiny tracks and the lush green surface surrounding it; he had never seen anything like that before. Nervous, scared, he stood at the starting line with other contestants. “So this is it, my moment of redemption, my 21 kms of fame.” Unknowingly, he whispered a prayer; he had a lot of faith in that dude when he was a kid and used to visit the temple with his mom.
Gun fired and the race began, and in the blink of an eye, the cheetah whizzed past him followed by the horse and deer. Within few seconds he realized that it’s pointless to continue this race “forget about winning, I wouldn’t be able to reach the finishing line.” His frail body and three legs were giving up, it was too much for him to endure. But the feeling of belongingness and the atmosphere overwhelmed him, he would never get this stage again, he wanted to be part of this mad race for some more time. So he ran, ran with all his might, leaving behind all humiliation, banter, pain, stigma. He stumbled a few times and made a fool of himself, but somehow he managed to complete the race.
No one looked at him as everyone was congratulating the winners and those big guys, but no one was laughing at him either. He decided to stay back and watch the award ceremony; so he stood in one corner. He applauded fervently when those superstars went up the podium to collect the trophies and medals. Then the organizers announced that those who finished the race will be awarded with a certificate.
His heart skipped a beat when his name reverberated around that big bad stadium. While he went up to collect the certificate that big bully elephant shook his hand and said “well done dude.” A feeling of elation swept through him as he heard few scattered applause. He looked at everyone around him; they were his heroes and he had the privilege to share the stage with them. He pondered “I cannot be like that fearless lion who doesn’t back down from any challenge or that horse who runs faster than the wind, I am just an ordinary dog with three legs; but I can live with pride, I can win a certificate, I did not go unnoticed. There were many gifted players who couldn’t do it. They didn’t understand the rules of the game; they did not know when the race started.” He held his certificate and walked towards his house. He was tired and was not able to walk, but the dizzying heights of euphoria alleviated all the pain. He wanted to share this joy with someone, have a drink and talk about this achievement for sometime, but he did not know anyone. When he reached the hilltop, he saw one small puppy; he showed his certificate to him. The puppy didn’t understand anything but he guessed it’s a big thing, so he asked “dude, are you like superman?” He smiled and then walked towards his house singing on top of his voice “washing powder Nirma.”
Image source - http://www.soultravelmultimedia.com
About Debajyoti
this is brilliant!
a story of an underdog who wins finally in the end whether a small win or big always has the ability to tug at our heart strings. this one did too
bravo to the 3 legged dog & to the writer who penned his life’s biggest moment
hey thanx. this is good coz i know this could possibly be the first and last comment on this post. so let it be good
thank u so much
the thing with this story is you can replace the dog with any one of our names too
at least i have been in a similar space…feeling dwarfed by achievers & bigger players & yet living well to relive & tell the tale
yes i ll keep replacing that dog with our names
. so i got 2 comments on this post 
great.
Man! I love your blog dude!
thanx nikhil. how did u get here? indiblogger is down
enjoyed ur post…. i can feel the stupid dog……. brilliant writing…
thank u so much. glad u liked it.
yeah surely many of us cd take up tht place of the dog… wt matters is ” to attempt ” not the results
well few understand tht though !!
thank u so much for ur comment, really appreciate it.
Good one.
Are you in the running to be the new age Vishnu Sharma or Aesop?
no. just that ppl got irritated with my monotonous posts so i thought i ll irritate them even more
.
Did I forget to mention… it’s quite inspiring too.
With everyone of us in the running for the big prize, there are all those little achievements we miss out on enjoying… those that are the true key to being happy.
my stupid posts cannot inspire anyone they just look for comments and votes
.
really nice……
thanx santosh. great to get a comment from u. ur blog is supercool although i have voted a few times without going through the post
. liked that chocolate muffin.
Lovely, lovely story, Debajyoti. And thought-provoking too
thank u sudhagee for the comment and encouragement
.
Nice inspiring post.. and awesome is the fav song”washing powder nirma”
liked it
coz even i like “washing powder nirma” song
. thanx a lot
Nothing to add really but felt compelled to comment. “Inspiring”,”thought provoking”,”nice” are some of the words I’d like to use. Looking forward to read more of your work.
thanx zach. r u sure u want to come back again
? thanx a lot, i love comments and thats the only reason i write.
OMG! It is like I have been the 3-legged dog at so many places in life!!! It is jus amazing that this story could be anyone else’s story too!!! There are many meaningful stories in that “dumb-looking” story up there!!! What creativity! *applause*
thank u so much nix. dont encourage me coz i m planning to come up with another dumb post
and i ll force u to read that as well.
Having read a couple of your posts ; i know,whether i encourage you or discourage you ;you will continue to entertain us-and thank God for that.But seriously i enjoyed it tremendously.So now it goes like this-”Even a lame dog has it’s day”–good thought!!
thanx
. for me a comment is nothing but an encouragement. someone wasting time to write few words here is a huge thing for me. and see i have found ur blog although u haven’t submitted any of ur posts on indivine, i m sherlock holmes 
.
Iwish i knew how to attach permalinks.
oh thats very simple. just add ur post link and title on the respective fields and submit, done. plzzzzzzzz do it.
Very inspirational buddy. I, or anyone else can identify with the dog. Absolutely brilliant.
thanx Akshay. great to see your comment here. ll come up with another disastrous post next week
lol! I’ll be waiting to trash that one as well
Very very nice..n y r u asking ppl not to read this?
thanx Keerthana. i thought no one will like it so it’s better to warn everyone of the impending trauma
I liked it thoroughly! A great story and great narration. We all can identify with the dog some time or other in our lives.
thank u so much. glad u liked it.
That was an amazing write up. Though written with a humorous tinge it has a great lesson hidden in it.. Stick on and you will be noticed. My experience has taught me that lesson too.
thank u so much. i see so many amazing posts everyday so i thought even i ll try something and wrote this stupid post
.
I arrived late only to find your post has already arrived! Or, rather, you have arrived.
Beautiful piece of writing. I do identify with the protagonist! Those sacrilegious streaks of doubt sound so familiar. The allegory is splendidly maintained throughout. I specially love the fact that the underdog decided to act rather than just keep cribbing. Therein lies a lesson.
It is an absolutely refreshing post.
thanx. it feels great to get a few encouraging words from someone like u and thats the reason why i forced u to read this
. thanx for dropping by
So much praise has already been showered on this post. Ill just say one thing *INSPIRING*
thank u so much abha. great to see ur comment here
This is one I am using to teach DD about true sportsman spirit. Couldn’t rely on the tried and tested tales since the underdog always wins in the end. Needed one where you play fair, do your best, lose but go home with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Thanks for providing all those elements.
thanx meera. my story is becoming popular now
.
A different blog! I loved the intro before the story. I agreed most with “wanting to share the joy of the certificate, finding a puppy who didnt know what the certificate meant. Ha Ha quite like life
yup quite like life
. thank u so much for visiting
Hey!! really nice story. Sort of motivational. And the 3 legged dog reminds me of ROSHESH’s poem (SARABHAI Vs SARABHAI) “Teen Pair Wala Kutta”
. Really liked your imagination.
well roshesh’s poem was too good, my post cannot be anywhere close to that
. may be i was thinking bout that poem when i decided to have ‘teen pair wala kutta’ as the protagonist.
bloody brilliant bro
Never expected this from you.. bada bada paragraphs, i just read every line !
funny and sometimes touchy and has a great message..
do what you wish to, never care what others say !
i believe you have some of your own experiences like this ?? is there any / ?
whatever i must say i enjoyed reading and i envy your strength to write like this and humor
great one ! keep going
i forgot something..
yes my link
http://deepakkarthikspeaks.blogspot.com/
thanx. ppl were getting bugged of the same kinda posts so i thought lemme try something different. was a stupid attempt. btw even i envy ur ability to come up with new posts in every half an hour with ur powerful writing
How did I miss this one? What a great story and told so well. I simply loved the dog and his spirit….makes me wanna sing and dance around the house to ‘washing powder Nirma’!
hey thanx. i thought u decided not to comment on my posts. and guess what? i love that washing powder nirma song. thank u so much but don’t encourage me too much otherwise i might come up with something even more bizarre next time.
This is wonderful and captures the strength of your writing. Was out on vacation and came back and found this. Wish you a happy new year!
wish u the same. and thanx for reading
Super Story. I can relate to the underdog (don’t we all??)…. It doesn’t matter whether we win or lose, what matters is the satisfaction of having done something. Life can be very competitive at times but we should always know the basic fact, “we are leading our lives for our sake and not for anyone else’s”. Brilliant write-up.
hey thanx Neha. well now that everyone is done reading this post; this is a story of ppl like us. was a stupid attempt, hope people liked it. i have few stories saved in my D drive but don’t have the courage to publish them. may be i ll someday.
Please publish all your stories. Anyway it is not save to keep evertyhing in ih the hard drive….always save in some cloud. This was a fantastic write. I relate this to one of the Poem call “The Race”. Your story is motivating and this Poem too which runs in a different ta tangent but with the same message (http://iamdirtyineedwashing.blogspot.in/2012/02/race-motivational-poem.html).
thank u so much for this wonderful comment. yeah i ll publish, they need a bit of proofreading as well. ll go through ur poem. thanx again
Hi Debajyoti
Absolutely loved it! Thats one good dog!! Btw, whats with Washing Powder Nirma? ha ha
hehehe. not able to write anything because of 20 hours of power cuts everyday, so recycling old posts
.
thanks. wrote it when i started blogging, so not sure how good was that. but if you are saying its good then may be it’s not that bad
i love that song washing powder nirma
awww this was a heart warming nice one… enjoyed it thoroughly and yeah the message was so beautiful … great read …!!!
thank you so much. dunno why i wrote this post but once i wrote it, i wanted everyone to read it
Rocking.
hahaha. thank you but i am still editing
Enjoyed this post so much!
thank you so much. glad you liked it.
that was a great story
shows that we all have the courage and powe to do anything in this world
we should belive on ourselves
Thank You
http://drivingwithpen.blogspot.in/
thank you so much. glad you liked it
Oh my gosh! You are a brilliant storyteller. Super-fine writing ya.
Btw, this one reminds me of Animal Farm. Looks like we have our own George Orwell, now
so i have to keep the wiki open whenever i read your posts or comments, eh? didn’t know about animal farm and george orwell. now read few lines
. thanx Nambiar, that was my one and only short story (actually it’s not a short story, i have put it in the wrong category).
Uma said it. This is an allegory of the first order. And you said you wouldn’t get comments? I loved the Nirma part! Vintage Deb
thanx Zephyr. Uma read it long back, i made some changes after that
but probably i spoilt it. i love that Nirma song 
.
No comments, eh?
The certificate somehow saved the dog. Wonder what would have happened if the certificate was not there? I too was very very bad at sports. I know how the dog felt.
This reminded me of Animal Farm too.
i was the worst sportsperson ever entered a ground
. yeah, one of my friends also mentioned about animal farm which prompted me to go through the wiki page. just read couple of lines but may be later will go through it.
hey, thanx for the comment dude
Brillant post! amazingly done with an old lame dog story:)
thank you so much for reading
. glad you liked it.
i guess, it could have been better but unfortunately, i am not a good writer
Good one ! That dog sounds like a common man of India….among all the politicians !
yes, that indeed is one common man. thank you for reading.
Been in the wilderness for the past week, posting pre-written drafts from a cyber cafe…else I wouldn’t be the tail trying to wag the three-legged dog:):) I have come to assume superb humour in your posts and look forward to them on that count alone. This time you surprised me with a message as well..and a message that resonates with everyone! You keep threatening us with more posts..i wish you would deliver on those threats more frequently:)
hahaha. you have been posting drafts from cyber cafes and i have been trying to cope up with 20 hours of power cuts everyday. i have seen couple of posts on your blog including that guest post but owing to this power cuts, i was not able to read them. will try to read them offline today or else will clear my backlog tomorrow
.
thank you so much for this lovely comment as usual and congratulations on that guest post
Motivating post
liked it!
thank you. glad you liked it
. just wrote something based on read life experience 
Gosh this is one hell of a post! This is brailliant writing and you are a wondeful story teller,. The post oozes positivity. Very motivating! and I like the three legged dog a lot
thank you so much Jenny
. i am really honored to have genuine readers like you on my blog and i really apologize that i couldn’t visit your blog of late. thanks again and yup, we all love that three legged dog 
And who hasn’t experienced these feelings in their lives, even the so-called super achievers have known this feeling when they started out. Sometimes, life just goes by while we are chasing achievements and forget simple pleasures of living and participating. A simple story that gives a powerful message in the times of one-upmanship and narcissism!
hey, thanks a lot for reading this post and for summarizing it so beautifully yes, we all experience these feelings now and then, and it’s for us to decide how we want to deal with them. thanks again
anyone who ever feels like an underdog (three legged or not) can come here and find inspiration..
because you story proves that in the world of badass tiger’s and hungry lions.. even the underdog can win
i am delighted to see a comment here on this page. thank you so much
nice dude !!
thank you so much!!
“Every dog has his day.”
What a lovely story. Now I can use this story to keep kids enthralled…
Thanks for posting.
thank you so much for reading this old post! i posted this when i just started blogging, so probably it’s not written well (not that i write masterpieces now). thanks again for the kind words
Now why did your underdog reminded me of us? Could it be his refined taste in music? What a very clever story. Beautifully narrated.
hahaha, yeah, it’s his taste in music. also because an underdog wrote this story. thank you so much for reading this! and i am really saddened to see your ‘get published’ story not getting selected.
C’est la vie! Nirma, nirma.
hahaha, exactly!