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Mid-interview, at a popular nightclub, a journalist suddenly locked eyes with a plump rat, cheerfully perched upon a silk cushion. She screamed with horror, but Mr. Whiskers seemed as unruffled as the waiters. He had obviously just come down from the members’ enclosure. Meanwhile, at the door, the bouncers aggressively flexed their muscles at wannabe-clubbers who didn’t look hip (or rich) enough to get in. Evidently a fur coat is just as effective as a Mercedes these days.

Midway up a peak in Ramagiri, a village found on the way to the Puttur range of hills, this reporter receives a piece of information that stops him in his tracks. “Bear sightings are common here,” says the guide. “But, not to worry, a match stick can keep a bear at bay. The animal is scared of fire.” Comforted, the reporter continues on the trek. Minutes later, agitated by what appears to be the noise of shuffling paws, the reporter asks for the match box. The guide answers nonchalantly, “I never carry one.”

Listening to a litany of woes from a couple in a cross-cultural marriage, this reporter says in a consoling tone, “Such problems are common in a cross-cultural marriage”. In jest, the wife tells the reporter, “It is not a cross-cultural marriage. How can it be when one of them lacks culture?”

(Contributed by Shonali Muthalaly and Prince Frederick.)

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