Rat talk!

"Of all the gin joints in all the rooms, he walked into mine." He is clever, laced with sharp features and quite big in size. He used to enter my room through a narrow gap beside the door. He dug sharply to find a way inside my small nest. I tried to block his way. He stayed silent for a few days. I mistook his silence and thought that we made peace with each other.
The joy was shortlived. He ate my share of biscuits which were hidden inside my luggage carrier. The clever little creature tore my bag, went inside and took a few pieces happily.
I waited for his next arrival to make 'revenge'. He came with a cool head and made a few jumps to reach into the room wall. A cable wire is attached to hang my clothes. He landed on the wire just like a circus performer. His next target was my roomie's bed. He had the precision of a film hero who is engaging on a fight with his villain. 

When he is inside, he doesn't often make noise. We realise his presence when he deals with plastic covers. Food isn't the only thing that excites his senses. I had this collection of newspaper reports kept safely in a file inside my bag. One day, he ate a huge portion of my stories and my favourite bag had to be repaired.
You might be wondering why I did nothing despite these attacks. There is a personal reason. I grew up reading Basheer and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal. I could not bear the thought of killing a creature to satisfy my needs.

I remembered the lizard who used to visit us when we were having dinner. My mother would offer a small portion of rice and he would happily savour it and give a thankful look.

But I can't be friends with a rat! A friend suggested buying rat pads. I looked for natural ways. We applied garlic paste but he didn't fell in the trap. I started to adapt. I began to finish my food instead of keeping it in the room.  I fixed a nail in the top part of the wall to hang my food items. The smart rat has not paid a visit lately. 

Rat race

They may appear small, but they can make our lives a nightmare. They can transmit diseases and can do many other things. Their active presence may indicate that all is not well inside our house.

Did you know that rats are newsmakers and are being worshipped in some places? In Bihar, a group of rats drink up all the liquor that was stored in an excise godown. People actively serve milk to some 25, 000 rats at a temple in Bikaner as a form of worship 

! In life, we often expect others to make way and consider their silence as a sign of approval. This time I thought to stand on the other side!