Everyone of my generation is familiar with the story of the stork and the fox. For those of you who aren’t, here’s a brief recap:

Once upon a time ( don’t you love starting stories like this ?) there was a fox who invited the stork to dinner .

The stork willingly accepted and went to the fox’s house all dressed up, eager to experience the fox’s hospitality.

When they sat down to dinner, Mrs Fox brought out her best silver dishes with the famous food that the Fox family was know for.

The fox looked at the feast but was unable to eat a morsel for the food was served in flat dishes.However, being a polite guest, he tried to nibble at something and finally thanked the Foxes for their hospitality and left for home.

A few days later, the Foxes were invited to the Storks’ for dinner and were treated to a sumptuous meal. This time the Storks served the finest fish in their finest china – exquisite vases from the Qing dynasty that were perfect for them to savour the food with their long necks and beaks reaching down to the bottom.

This time it was the Foxes’ turn to go hungry but not before they realised that a good host always tries to make his guest comfortable.

The good host

Taking a cue from this story, Hubby Dear tries to take it to the next level. Not only does he insist on giving the guest what he would like, but he also insists on giving the guest food that he is familiar with .

So today, I am entertaining an important overseas visitor with Biryani and Raan since the gentleman happens to be a Muslim of Indian origin.

“Surely won’t that be akin to carrying coals to Newcastle?” I asked Hubby Dear.

“Of course not ! You should give a guest what he likes,” and he reminded me of a family story of his Uncle, the Important Government Official.

That story goes like this :

Uncle appeared promptly at 7 on the due date and the assistant and his wife welcomed him warmly and the appropriate amount of deference. Pleased with the Assistant’s attention to detail by providing his favourite whiskey ( even though the hosts were teetotalers) Uncle settled down and looked quite comfortable in his subordinate’s house.

Once upon a time, when Important Uncle’s wife was away visiting her parents, he was invited to dinner by his Junior Assistant who happened to be a traditional, orthodox Brahmin from the South.

He beamed when he was led to the place of honour on a well appointed dining table laden with a sumptuous spread.

With the starched napkin tucked into his collar, he was about to tuck into the first course when it struck him that all the food was vegetarian!

Not withstanding the fact that the meal was delicious and well prepared, Uncle was offended. Adopting a reprimanding tone, he expressed his disappointment to the vexed Junior Assistant .

“When you come to my house,” he thundered , “ I go out of my way to ensure you get a vegetarian meal.Surely you could have taken some effort to ensure I have something non- vegetarian in my plate?”

The poor Junior Assistant stammered his apologies and quickly asked his wife to request the next door neighbours to whip up a masala omelette.

Thankfully, in these days of Swiggy and Zomato, one can easily set such a lapse right within an hour but I do hope my dinner guest tonight appreciates and enjoys the home-made non-vegetarian fare served tonight.

Ciao