Waiter, there's a rat in my pants!

A rodent climbed into an elderly woman's pants at an upscale South Mumbai food joint on Saturday

In the film Ratatouille, Remy the 'master chef' rat loved serving up pleasures of a gastronomical kind, to patrons from lands far and wide. Quite contrarily, one of Remy's brethren ended up causing some shock, furore and faintness at Spoons, a food joint in Nariman Point, on Saturday night.u00a0 Dhun Baldawala (72), a resident of Kemps Corner, was dining at Spoons, an eatery at Cr2 Mall, Nariman Point. Little did she know that she would soon have to contend with a problem of the rodent kind.

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Illustration/Satish Acharya

Despe'rat'e
After a movie at the nearby Inox, Baldawala's family decided to dine at Spoons. Early into the dinner, Baldawala felt the desperate maneuverings of a trapped mouse inside her pants. The woman nearly faint ed with shock, but held on to the trapped rat with all her might. The panic-stricken family did not know what to do.u00a0Other diners at the restaurant fled helter-skelter at the prospect of a similar misfortune. Only a few elderly couples came to her aid initially.

According to Naozer, Baldawala's son, "The authorities did not bother to respond to our pleas. Even the waiters kept their distance. They appeared to be busy shutting down the restaurant. They did not offer help of any kind. The manager called me up much later to apologise." Given the cold shoulder by the restaurant authorities, the family rushed outside the restaurant for help. According to Rashna Baldawala, Naozer's wife, "Some ladies outside were kind enough to come inside and help. They surrounded the area creating a human wall, using their dupattas to shield my mother as she took off her pants in order to get rid off the rat, which was dead by then."


The rat that ran up the pants of Dhun Baldawala, who was dining with
her family at a food joint in Nariman Point on Saturday

After her traumatic encounter with the rodent, Baldawala was taken to a hospital, where she was adminis- tered a Tetanus injection as a precautionary measure. Naozer further added, "I thought that my mother would collapse. Hats off to her for enduring the incident so boldly. My mother is really very brave." Rashna said, "What would have happened if the victim were a child or a pregnant woman? The restaurants should exercise great care when it comes to matters of cleanliness and hygiene. I request the citizens to stay alert when they eat out."

The other side
The authorities at Spoon claimed to regret that the incident took place. Vivek Raghunath, manager of Spoons, said, "We are extremely disturbed by the incident and deeply concerned about the safety of our guests. We regret the inconvenience caused. Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers. We have taken extra measures to reinforce the hygiene standards of the restaurant. We will also sanitise the food court to ensure that such incidents don't repeat themselves."u00a0