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Fiction Short Story

by C.S. Prabhakara

Total Recall

When Ajit Kumar 'Rambo' Segovia, CEO of Segovia Inc, returned from holiday in Zurich with his family and found that his dog Bruno ceased to respond to his name or recognise anyone in the household, he flew off the handle. Bruno looked pathetic. There he lay forlorn in the corner. He would occasionally get up and saunter around for a few crumbs of bread and dog biscuits.

"It is strange, people in the neighbourhood fawn around us after our return from our overseas holiday, but Bruno looks unconcerned. He needs the attention of a vet," said Mrs. Seema Segovia.

Little Bittu was in tears "Mummy, look at Bruno, he doesn't even wag his tail, is he cut up with all of us, because we left him for 15 long days with Ram Singh and Samir uncle?"

Next day, it was stormy in the corporate headquarters. The monthly review meeting of the group was unusually turbulent. Rambo was furious when he looked at the first quarter sales performance of his company.

"It's outrageous. Despite an increase in advertising expenditure, capital investment and recruitment, the group has not honoured its commitments. Are the functional heads just warming their chairs? I see a total collapse of professionalism in the group. Unless the situation is redeemed in the next quarter, some heads will roll and some will have to relinquish a part of their perks and privileges." Rambo then looked at Shravan Mudalliar, the SBU Chief, who in turn looked at his marketing chief.

Insiders in the corridors of power were flummoxed at this unprecedented flareup in the conference hall. The lackluster performance was anticipated in view of the recession. A little birdy in the CEO's office chirruped, "Rambo's ire is due to Bruno's amnesia."

In his swank office in the first floor, Samir Rajadhyaksha, the officer on special duty to the CEO, was squirming in his seat. He had just then received a dress down from the CEO. Damage control was his forte and high on his agenda. He summoned Dr Rameswaran, the best vet in town, to attend to Bruno.

"Bruno looks hale and hearty. His: forlorn attitude is inexplicable. Since he can not be counseled, I could try out with a small dose of Prozac but the results cannot be predicted." The doc sounded unsure and tentative.

Samir next called Dr Mukherjee, the eminent homeopath. "Does he respond to any other name? When is he forlorn before food or after? At what time of the day? Does he bark continuously or intermittently? Does he bark at objects or beings? If so what is the colour of the object or sex of the being? Is he more comfortable walking or lying down? What is the position of the tail, when he lies down?" The questioning was incessant and searching. He then opened his notebook PC and called the homeopathic diagnostic software 'Radar' on the screen. He keyed the information on the pop-up menu on-screen. "I think Bryonia 2M three times a day would alleviate Bruno's condition," opined the learned homeopath as he handed out the sugar pills in a small bottle.

As the week passed, there was some improvement in Bruno's condition. Ashish Sharma, marketing officer, a dog lover and one of the confidants of Samir, asked him during a tete-a-tete about the mode of treatment followed to bring about this improvement

"There was no need for medicines because the dog was quite OK."

"Really? I heard the dog did not respond to his name and suffered from amnesia."

"How can he respond to a name that is not his?"

"Is that a trick question?"

Samir laughed and cleared the mystery. "When Rambo went abroad, his servant Ramsingh and I were assigned the onerous responsibility of looking after the dog. I used to make periodic visits to his bungalow to oversee whether Ram Singh was sticking to the schedule of feeding the dog and taking him out for a walk.

"One day, I found the dog moaning and writhing with pain. I immediately asked Ram Singh to fetch a vet, but by the time he came, the dog was dead. I instinctively knew that this would sound the death knell of my career. Untimely demise of the only dog of the only son of Mr. Ajit Kumar (Rambo) Segovia, the CEO of Segovia Inc., would be deemed a corporate calamity. Anybody who is remotely associated with this tragedy is guilty of slipshod imbecility and online inefficiency of horrendous proportions. If I informed Rambo, while he was holidaying in Zurich, I knew he would immediately fax me my termination letter. I therefore told Ram Singh to bury the dog in the backyard and keep the information under wraps."

Ashish sported a confused look and Samir continued, "I went round the kennels in town in search of a docile brown Cocker Spaniel of the same size and shade as Bruno. After a seemingly endless search, I found one in a kennel on the outskirts of the city. I gave the breeder Rs 10,000 for the dog and asked him to keep his mouth shut about the transaction. Obviously the dog seemed out of place in his new habitat."

"But did the assortment of allopathic and homeopathic treatments bring about the dog's adjustment to the new household?"

"The drugs were administered for a week to avoid Bittu's suspicion. You know he's a sharp kid. And just as any other dog, Bruno also got accustomed to the new environs and his new name. I hear that Dr Mukherjee is now shouting from the rooftop that he can ensure total recall to any dog suffering from amnesia.

Dr Rameswaram, I believe, plans to present a paper on "Effect of Fluoxetineon Canine Amnesia".

"What is the dog's true name?"

"You are too inquisitive. His true name is the password for my exit from this company."

© Copyright 2002 C.S. Prabhakara

 
About the Author:

Mr. C.S. Prabhakara is a senior executive in a public sector enterprise in India. His hobbies include writing and music. His stories and articles have been published in leading publications and e-zines in India. He is an engineer with Post Graduate diploma in Management. He was trained in Public Enterprise Management at the University of Leeds, UK. He lives in Bangalore with a wife and son. He can be reached at: csprabhakara@rediffmail.com