There are so many others I would strike conversations with, many nameless, smiling, super-efficient hotel staff, but warm and dignified, the way they are trained to be at The Oberoi. That includes almost all the front desk staff, and those at Tiffin, where I ate half my meals when in Bombay. We all know that Tiffin, open and exposed to the lobby, took the first assault. I do hope and pray that all the brilliant people who fed me and so many others in what had so quickly become Bombay’s favourite happening restaurant, are safe and will be there to bring my meal again and to chat about their lives, their plans and ambitions. Ditto for Cornel from laundry who got your stuff back an hour sooner than you asked, spotless and almost too well-ironed for clumsy me and asked you a question about politics and one about cricket. I hope he is fine too.

I used the expression nameless for hotel staff because the uniform and style give them a kind of anonymity, and the distance and rank-consciousness that their training breeds prevents them from getting too familiar with a guest, or letting the guest get too familiar. So you usually remember faces, not names. But one is easy to remember, Abhimanyu on the front desk, because that is also my son’s name. I told him that the first time I saw him, and probably reminded him each time I ran into him on the many subsequent visits. He is the type who is always smiling, helpful and always has an opinion too. I hope he is well too, along with all his cheerful mates, and I find him, as usual, smiling at the front office.

... contd.