A couple of weeks back an acquaintance of mine had visited Mysore. He chose a reputed Hotel to make his stay in the City of Palaces, memorable. As it turned out, it was indeed memorable; but in a way that will tarnish the very image of the people of Mysore and also the immature way of handling the tourists who are one of the main source of income to most of the Tourist-dependent outlets here.

The rickshaw ride was an interesting one as the rick chap gave a brief summary (in broken Hindi and English [rather too broken]!!!) of all the events that happened between March 2008 and February 2010, in excruciating detail. How the governments have managed to make their lives more and more miserable. How the petrol prices have rocketed since then and there were no ways that he or his family can even make a visit to the magnificent mall which he just pointed out was being built by Radisson. Sad indeed.

Oh yes, this tourist was all he got from morning and he had to get the whole amount which he was supposed to earn from that morning. So, there he goes, all the way around Mysore, with the meter running, to show him all the palaces built by Rajas and Maharajas; and all the new-age Malls and Hotels coming up which he fears will make Mysore as congested as Bangalore. And yes, the meter is still running!!! A distance of 4 kms from Bus stand cost him 170 Rs. But all this was fun and kinda worth it, as he got a nice chat-pati run through the pages of history of the City of palaces; a common man's perspective !!!

A hand-shake and a gratuity of 30 Rs made that rick guy feel on top of the world!!! He was kind enough to unload the luggage and get it all the way till the waiting lounge at the hotel... All the humble protests didn't heed any results here!!!

Rick-guy's character in this story bids adieu and the Receptionist's character comes in... sweeping him off his feet !!! A pleasant lady clad in a simple yet elegant saree wearing a million dollar smile!!! So fair that he could see the blood flow all around her face in those teeny-tiny blood veins!!! (As i fear that this might even be read by some female population, i will stop at that, although, I could go on and on for a while explaining the features, again, in excruciating detail!!!)

[* I don’t wanna take out the name of the Hotel; so lets just call it "Poop International" !!! ]

"Poop International" was one of the favorites among the tourists visiting this City of Palaces!!! (I have a feeling that the Receptionist’s smile played a major role here) Anyway, we'll get into the Receptionist's character later and get back to our Tourist's Mysore. There he was, looking at the Receptionist who carried a smile better than anything else and was greeted with a gracious "Good Evening Sir. How may i help you?”

'In more ways than one' he thought; but all he could speak out was "Very Good evening. I would like to have a room for one. What options do I have?".. This made her reply with a list of available suites and packages that is of absolutely no interest to anyone reading or writing this!!! So let’s just skip to the part where she yells at him "We really wouldn't care even if you opt to leave our Poop International immediately".

Oh wait.. did i leave out the part which led to all that yelling? Here's what transpired between the two:

"Thank you. I will have the Single Premier Suite. I will check out two days from now on Monday afternoon".

"Wonderful choice Mr. Wahid. That is one of the best our Poop has to offer. Let me just get all the procedures done soon and you will be relaxing in your room in no time". (Which later turned to be funny coz that never eventually happened... he did go to his room... but relaxing... never happened throughout his stay in the hotel !)

"Sir, could you please provide an Identity Proof so that i can enter all the related details. Please feel free to relax at the lounge and i will get back to you once I am done".

"Oh. Will the American Driving license be good enough for an Identity Proof? I am not really carrying my Passport or Voter's Id".

"I am afraid it’s not possible Mr. Wahid. A Passport is a must."

"Is there any other option?"

"No Sir. We do not allow any customers if we don’t have a valid Identity proof; a voter's id or a Passport."

"I precisely remember staying at this very same Poop International the last time I visited Mysore and I also remember showing my US Driving License as my Identity proof. US driving license holds good more than the Passport itself in most of the countries across the globe".

"I am not aware of that, Sir; and i would really appreciate if you could somehow arrange for a valid ID proof so that I can accommodate you in our Poop".

"How can I possibly do that when my passport is in my Hometown in Tamil Nadu. I didn't find any reason to carry my passport when I will be travelling by Bus all the way. Could I please speak to your Manager? I am sure he will have an alternative."

"I am sorry Mr. Wahid, but its not possible as I have strict orders not to disturb him for matters of this magnitude".

"This magnitude??? I traveled for 12 hours to come here and you are suddenly asking me to provide my passport and you find this not even important enough to get me to speak to your manager".

"I understand that Mr. Wahid, but I am under strict orders to never allow anyone without a valid Identity proof to be accommodated in our Poop".

"What exactly changed in last one year that my request is not even being considered?"

"I don't know if you are aware but there were serial blasts in Mumbai last year and there have been very strict orders since then for all the......" [an awkward pause....]

"… for all the Muslims...? Are you kidding me!!!!?”

"No Mr. Wahid, I didn't mean that. I am afraid you misunderstood me. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"But you did. I came straight from the Bus stand to this very same Hotel since I had a wonderful stay last time. I didn't even think for a moment about any other option. Even though I knew that it would not cost more than 40 bucks from the bus stand to the Poop International, I didn't even mind when the auto guy took me for a ride all the way around. I love this city for the hospitable and friendly environment it provides to tourists like me".

"Mr. Wahid, I cannot help you on this and I would really appreciate if you can somehow arrange for an Identity proof".

"How can i possibly do that when I am hundreds of Kilometers away from my home??!!!" [This time in a frustrated voice]

"Mr. Wahid, we, at Poop, really wouldn't care even if you opt to leave our Poop International immediately. It’s highly impossible to allow you here in the Poop without a passport or a Voter's ID".

At this point he could've just got the hell out of the Poop International and find a better place with a better receptionist, who not just has a pretty face but also is sane and polite enough with a mere courtesy to provide any other alternative or at least let him speak to a manager !!! But he didn't... He was more than stubborn now to stay at the very same Hotel... Ego is, at times, Good!!!

"Is there a possibility that I can get a copy of my Passport faxed here and you could use it as a proof?"

"I believe that is possible. That would be sufficient."

He called his wife at home and got a copy of his Passport faxed immediately. He was finally helped to get to his "premium suite" at the Poop International.

Paid a hefty amount to stay at the city of Palaces and all he could think throughout his stay here was the way he was treated at the Poop.

What exactly went wrong here? Whose mistake was it here? Who screwed it up for him?

Was it because he didn't want to risk carrying his passport as he didn't find it “necessary”?

Was is it the way Ms.Poop International handled the situation ?

Was it the terrorist strike that happened in Bombay? (Oops.. i meant Mumbai !!! I apologize for hurting the feelings of The Sena)

Was it his Name?

Was it the absence of a formal strict ruling throughout the country for a uniform law on sensitive issues like these?

Was it because of lack of awareness?

Or was it just another event that hardly matters???

Whatever it was... Who is at the receiving end?

The rickshaw guy will find hundreds of tourists to fool around throughout his life...

Poop International will anyway have its own share of customers... This is hardly an issue for them...

There will be hundreds of new faces that receptionist will greet...

But Mysore... Mysore lost a dear Tourist !!!!

- NandKishore G