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Illustration by Teesta Chakraborty
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In another place and another time – definitely not lock-down days – Xander would have been a part of history that harked back to princes and kings who fought wars on horseback, perhaps even riding on elephants, while phalanges of foot soldiers marched towards the battle-field at double time, and in the spaces between, dogs like Xander, panting easily, tongues lolling out but swallowing air effortlessly, went about their job, readying themselves for their real work – waiting for the night when their handlers and the rest of army took a well-deserved rest and the dogs like Xander, kept watch, guarding the garrison against the possibility of an enemy stealthily creeping in with the night.