It was a balmy Sunday noon. Standing near the doorstep of spouse’s paternal cousin, Radhamani, I began dilly-dallying, dithering over whether to sound the doorbell or not.

Perhaps she may be luxuriating on her siesta, I thought. But then again, I had come on an important work, I convinced myself.

Finally, when I did ring the bell, Radha opened the door with bleary eyes. Apparently she had been jolted off from her joyful slumber by me! Nevertheless she greeted me with warm, ebullient “hello”.

Thereafter Radha flung herself in a flurry of activity, flitting in and out of the kitchen, whipping up sizzling hot dosas, with accompaniment of piquant chutney and aloo sabji. After offering them to me, she hovered around to replenish my platter with more of these.

As I stoked myself up with this ambrosial delight, I happened to cast my eyes on my glass of water that had turned empty. Lo! Even before I could vocalise my need, Radha had dashed in to appear back with a jar of cool drinking water. 

In between, pointing my finger towards an objet d'art in the display rack, I casually remarked, “That’s an exquisite showpiece”. Pat came Radha’s words, “Hey! It’s all yours. You ought to take it! Lest you’d hurt our feelings!” Truly, I was getting snowed under by all the munificence and hospitality.

Incidentally, just the previous day, some of us were discussing on how the spirit of hospitality, the salient component of Indian culture, was somewhat waning nowadays (especially, with everyone inexorably getting incarcerated in their own worlds!) 

Just venture visiting someone on a weekday evening without prior notice!    Bracketing exceptions, you feel you’re being looked at daggers, as if visually being lambasted with, “couldn’t you have given a tinkle before popping in”?

Leave alone plying you with delicacies unlike in bygone times, today, people feel lackadaisical even to get up to offer you some water! Thanks to the energy-sapping jobs, and the concomitant jangling nerves and raddled-out bodies!

But here there was an overdose of hospitality, I mused. Even after I bid Radha au revoir, she strung along with me till the time I hailed an auto. Not to mention, I hastily hopped in before Radha in her hospitality gusto, could haul me up and place me inside the vehicle!