Bonjour, new guests from small-town India
Puneet Dhawan of Accor is brimming with ideas on ways to revive the hospitality sector
ILLUSTRATION: MANJULA PADMANABHAN
Residents of the building in which I live aren’t allowed to keep pets. So I can’t ask Rockette the raccoon to live with me. Not that she wants to. “Yuck!” is her response when I apologise. “Who would want to stay in a human house?”
“Well,” I say, “I’m quite like having a warm dry home, with running water and electricity...” But Rockette’s shiny black nose curls up in a combination of amusement and pity. “That’s just coz you’ve got used to being in prison!” she says. According to her, the only useful feature of human life is our food. Specifically cookies. “All right,” I say, ignoring the shadow of an insult lurking within these remarks, “in that case, why did you seek me out? You did seem to enjoy my bathtub, for instance!”
“I did enjoy it,” says the little furry creature, “but only for the novelty.” She’s giving me an appraising look, as if making up her mind about something. “The reason I came here wasn’t to stay with you.” She hesitates again before continuing. “It was to invite you to come outside! With me.”
Huh? I simply cannot understand what she means. Raccoons live up in tree-hollows or the crawl-spaces under buildings. They sneak around using the storm-water drains as highways through the city and raid garbage dumps for food. How can I, a large hairless human being with no claws on my paws, no whiskers and no foraging skills, possibly enter the world of my raccoon buddy?
Rockette chitters with laughter at the confusion on my face. “Oh, what a crazy idea!” she giggles, before saying something even more bizarre: “I meant, come outside AS A RACCOON! Not as a human.” What? “I can’t understand any of this,” I say, wondering if I’ve finally caught Covid-19 and descended into instant delirium. My furry buddy gives me a withering look. “Don’t you believe ANY of the books you read in childhood? Uff! Just shut your eyes —”
A moment later, my whole body is gripped in tingling shudders. My boundaries shrink. My head flattens, my snout shoots out forward, my ears pop out on either side and my skin ripples with fur. There’s no time to feel afraid! “Open your eyes,” says Rockette. She’s no longer speaking in English. I’m wholly entangled in my clothes. “Help!” I yelp, my voice making a funny growly sound. “My head’s stuck in my sleeve!”
Moments later we’re scrambling out of the bathroom window that my buddy had thoughtfully left open earlier in the day. “Oh-oh-ooo!” I yelp as we jump down into the thick grass. My body feels as flexible as a rubber balloon. And a tail — I have a huge fluffy tail! “This is SO AMAZING,” I gasp. My nose is smelling in CinemaScope and Technicolor: Grass, leaves, insects, garbage, birds, bats, oh my! “Welcome to the real world,” says Rockette as she vanishes into the undergrowth. I twiddle my whiskers with delight and plunge in behind her.
Manjula Padmanabhan, author and artist, writes of her life in the fictional town of Elsewhere, US, in this weekly column
Puneet Dhawan of Accor is brimming with ideas on ways to revive the hospitality sector
Citroen’s first vehicle sports a novel design and European interiors. It is also meant to be as comfortable as ...
The pandemic is only the tip of the iceberg that the country’s cash-poor airlines — both regional and national ...
The government is yet to specify the framework of its recently announced old vehicle scrappage policy
Here is a checklist that equips you to discern the market nuances
Sensex, Nifty 50 have witnessed sharp decline
The fund has consistently outperformed S&P BSE 100 TRI over one, three and five years
Returns are superior to immediate annuity plans, but SCSS can secure better rates for new investors sooner if ...
With the public looking beyond mainstream media for reports from the ground, independent digital platforms are ...
While Supreme Court has cleared the way for women seeking longer tenures and senior roles in the Indian Army, ...
Mughal Gardens in the Capital open to visitors — albeit with Covid-19 protocol — for the annual Udyanotsav
Salty, buttery, cheese coated or with maple syrup and bacon — popcorn is lending its adaptable self to gourmet ...
Its name is the starting point of a brand’s journey and can make a big difference in the success sweepstakes
Sober spirits are the in thing
A peek into where ad spends went last year and where they are headed tomorrow
Can Swiggy Instamart disrupt the ecommerce groceries space, currently ruled by the Amazons and Big Baskets? ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor