The Honourable Guests

It was a sunny afternoon around two or so. I was standing outside our house in the garden. Hubby was leaving for office after his lunch. He was near the car and that’s when I saw this ahem… our tiny guest a rodent or I’d rather use a more effective term ‘ rat’. Mr. or Mrs. Rat appeared from nowhere ( my guess is from under the car) and stood short of two feet from me. I was paralyzed into standing still. After giving me a cool look for about five seconds or so Rat turned to retrace its steps, but half way down realized my husband was standing there. But after an encouter with me a five footer (5.1’ to be exact) the rat got bolder for after all it has to handle a few more inches of height only. My husband didn’t notice the rat and so technically there was no encounter. Then the Rat slowly moved realizing that the shelter under car was ruled out, crossed the road towards a house diagonally opposite ours. Their car was waiting there with an offer of plenty of shelter for Mr. Guest. But lo on its way a dog with its litter of tiny puppies was seated. The puppies got curious at the sight of some movable thing and stood with their ears raised. The mother dog lazily got up and sat on its haunches looking at Mr. Rat who had stopped a mere foot away from the dog. I shudder to think of what would have happened if only Mr.Tom was there instead of the Doggy . Mr.Jerry got lucky this time around. Both the rat and the dog gave soul searching look at each other and then our bold Mr.rat scurried past the dog into the opposite house. After the encounter I was at my wits end trying to understand the terror that grips us (at least most of us) at the sight of rats or some insects. Is it because we connect plague with rats, malaria and dengue with mosquitoes and other epidemics with various other animals and insect. Do we ever notice the perseverance with which rats build their tunnels. Try dismantling one , you’d find a new one the very next day. Ask me, I have a lot of experience. Or the perseverance with which the mosquitoes return to for some more blood after we have shooed them away . Maybe it’s the fair game of nature in providing each one with some potential weapon for self protection. But what right do we have to complain about these uninvited guests, as we are the ones who generate and mismanage garbage, have unkempt roads choking drains and squalor all around. So its high time we start to behave with decorum to our guests.