You might not believe me if I say that my grandfather was a well-built man! You would have to think again if I say that he was really mentally quick or acute! That is because he had the slightest trouble in doing a tiny job—“Catching a fat rat out of our house”! As my grandfather was very orthodox, he would not use rat poison, as he thought it was a sin. Here in India, to catch a rat long back in 1970 without the use of a pest control man is tough! But let me proceed with the story..



It all began one morning in November the 6th (I could still remember the day) when I woke up very quickly, hearing a thud and then a loud noise and something crash and clatter! I was shocked to see that there was utter chaos in the house. My grandfather was running from one end to the other, in a wild manner as if he was searching for something he lost miserably! “Grandpa, what is happening?” I shouted. “Oh! My boy! You woke up already?” he asked. “Yes! But what is happening in the house? Why all the noise? Why are you so excited?” I asked in a hurry. “Nothing my son, there is a fat rat in the room! We had enough of rodent droppings! I am trying to find the rat from daylight. The wicked rat has bitten all my books and office papers. It has eaten away all the bread and cheese in the house! And now, I am trying to get rid of it” he babbled angrily, with a snort. “Ha! Is that all? I will catch it for you”, I said laughing, as I couldn’t control my laughter. I questioned him again, “But, how did it get in to the house?”. Grandfather replied in a hurry, looking for the rat under the bed. “I just can’t figure that out. Maybe because of the heavy rain yesterday, the rat sought some shelter and unfortunately found only our house for that!”



Then, all of a sudden the rat came out from under my bed and bit grandfather’s toe in a jiffy and rushed out from the room. “Ouch!” shouted my grandfather, “This rat is a nuisance!” We ran out of the room and went into the hall. Grandmother came out from the kitchen and spoke. “Did you catch it? The neighbors just called and asked what was happening in our house and what the commotion is?”. “Forget the neighbors! We need to catch that brat! But let’s try not to use poison” my grandfather murmured irritably. We tried to catch the rat the entire day. But we just couldn’t find it. It just disappeared. The place became quiet. “I think it’s gone!” said grandmother. “No! It’s still there lingering somewhere! Maybe it might have got into the bathroom!” said grandfather, “I will definitely try to catch it tomorrow! But let’s make sure that never to let another rodent in the house. Then, the rodents could multiply and it would become a tough job”



Evening passed and at night my grandfather was sleeping soundly, when he felt some sort of sensation running through his body. Now, to describe more about that, my grandfather was actually wearing a half pant and the clever rat had just the time to creep up inside the pant, which was rather a big pant to allow any rodent in it. At the count of the next few seconds my grandfather woke up the entire house, shouting and screaming at the top of his lungs. “Help! It’s the rat!” At the next moment he was laughing as if someone was tickling him and then started to scream again! The rat jumped out and started to sprint. Grandfather took a stick and began to chase it. He was in a rage, now! Grandmother helped in opening the big back door (we usually had for the servants to come in) and the rat rushed out, followed by the grandfather and me. We forgot that it was 12.00 in the night and we made a terrible noise. All the neighbors got up and came out. In a hurry I had the rat trap with peanut butter, in my hand but the rat was very quick. It got into the huge dustbin in the road and dug its way in to the bottom. My grandfather still wanted revenge. He began to dig the smelly dustbin filled with junk, food and snacks, I threw some in yesterday. Luckily he caught the rat’s tail and the rat was trying to get away. It began to shiver and dance. My grandfather put the rat into the rattrap and shut it and shouted. “Hurrah!” and started to hop with joy, showing the captured rat trap to the neighbors, as they all joined in the fun. Sorry to say, the story ends here, when my grandfather took the rattrap carrying the rat and walking for a mile and leaving it way far behind, in a deserted ruined area!

After the death of grandfather and grandmother, I still have that old smelly rattrap in the cupboard and I could still remember the day my grandfather caught the rat. Well, all I can say that it was such a memorable experience!