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I've often wondered, coming across one of the battalions of cows and bulls that frequent
IIT-B, what I'd do if I were charged by one of them. I've imagined myself waiting with nerves of steel till the last second and then stepping aside gracefully to confound the beast. Yesterday I discovered what I'd really do. I do not know if it was a cow, a buffalo, or a bull; it sufficed that it was bovine, had an evil glint in its eye, and most importantly, had horns. I stood still in indecision; was I going to stand my ground, or was I going to let this creature run my life? The next few seconds promptly enforced the latter course of action: the bull (I shall call it that for convenience) snorted and started galloping (I know bulls don't gallop, but this one did) straight at me.
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DaEarToDaGround Dogs
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DBT crony Srinath is a B'lorean currently doing his PhD in Information Technology at I I T - B, . EMail | ||
| This story, I'm sure, will someday be published in Reader's Digest, once their stock of "How I saved myself from a grizzly bear" stories are over - Srinath |
I ran like the wind. It is not a pleasant thing to be caught with one's pants down. Again, it is not a pleasant task to run for one's life from a raging bull. To do both simultaneously is a curse I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I bounced down the slippery slopes at speeds I had thought impossible; I'm not sure, but I think I saw a couple of grazing mountain goats cast envious glances. I slipped, I slid, I leaped; I was well on my way to beating the existing mark for the downhill 100 m dash when it struck me that the bull was no longer chasing me. What had happened was this: when one sees a friend in trouble, the first instinct is to laugh heartily. Abhijit, having a keener sense of mirth than most, was hee-hawing a little distance away. The b. must have found this new sound more interesting than the chase; it changed direction and went for Abhijit. Abhijit, unprepared for the calamity, was just beginning to run when the bull reached him. They both slipped, thankfully in opposite directions, and fell. The bull recovered his feet, took a close at Abhijit, decided that it was unfair competition to take on Abhijit, who, by the way, is built considerably better than most bulls, and dashed off into the horizon.
