Oh those naughty room boys,,,,,,,,,

I was reminded of this incident this morning after reading cybers suggested gift of Indian sweets for beaches guests,,,,,,,,,,

Earlier this year mrs'hippy and I were staying in a hotel in India ( better not name it), whilst out during the day we'd bought a small selection of Indan milk sweets all in a nice box like they are.
We enjoyed a few of them that evening and put the remainder in the fridge which was in our room, next day went out & about, came back to the room, thought Umm we'll have a couple more sweets, opened the box, and yes some had gone, there wasn't that many to start with so it was easy to spot,,,,,,,,, It had to have been the room boys, who'd been in for sheets/towels whatever. What should we do, we found it more funny than anything,,,,
Anyway next day after leaving the rest of the sweets in the box but adding a little note inside the box too,also positioning everything so that we'd know if the box had been touched, we went out. When we came back, straight away we checked, the box had been moved and obviously opened. No more sweets had gone but they'd read our little note which just said, " If you value your job, Don't do It,,,,,,,,
We never said anything to anyone and the room boys couldn't make eye contact with us for the rest of our stay, our satisfactin came from the fact that We knew they knew, that we knew that they knew we knew,,,,,,,,,,

Moral >>> Always eat your sweets in one sitting

The note you left was apt! It achieved the desired result without any hassles!!

What do most Indians feel about "steeling eatable", Some statements that I have heard are funny and ummy

1. It is not considered an offence, even Krishna is said to be steeling butter as a child.

2. Dane Dane pe likha hai Khane wale ka naam (every grain has the name of 'who would eat' written on it)

3. Chori ki mithai aur meethi lagti hai (Stolen sweets are sweeter)

There would be hardly any kid in India who has not stolen any eatable.

I confess having done it ..my mother would keep the box of Pinni (round home made sweets) in hard to reach places...and still we would take out a pinni or two when she was not around, and yes it tasted better

So telling them that they are risking their jobs by 'steeling sweets' is harsh in India

This remained me of a funny incident happened about 5 years back. This happened at the home of my sister’s friend. A thief entered their home and stolen a golden necklace. These people had gone somewhere outside and kept the necklace in milk inside the fridge. Some people leave gold in milk to increase its ‘glow’.

The thief opened the fridge drank the milk and then saw the gold! Either that thief was an extremely lucky one or one with a deep understanding of things.

And the real fun is that they refused to complain to the police. In their community they have a peculiar custom during wedding ceremonies. They put a gold ring in milk and people sip in turns. The one who drink last takes the ring. Usually this is the brother. So they believed that the thief was an ‘unknown’ brother to her!

ashish0608 said,,,,,,,,,,
So telling them that they are risking their jobs by 'steeling sweets' is harsh
------------------------
Sorry I disagree,,,,,,,,,
These Guys are in a position of trust,,,,,,,
We warned them in a nice way,
I'm on there level, I've been there and done it,,,,,,,,
If I don't nip it in the bud now whats next?,,,,,
some jewelly!, the odd travellers cheque,,,,,,,,,,
I know what you are saying, But not in this instance,,,,,,,,,,

I have to agree with 70s hippy on this one! These guys are in a position of trust and are part of the network of honesty that makes India such a great place to visit.
One one or two incidents of theft word gets around and if, the hotel relies on the LP pancake trail for custom, things are going to be difficult for him!!
Yeah there really are hotels that get the bulk of their trade via LP type travellers!!
There is the other side of the coin, I guy I met once who had complained that the room boys just weren't cleaning his room properly.
He then had to stand in embarrassed silence as the boys were brought into his room at double time, parade style,
They were then royally dressed down with as many decibles as the manager could manage, and a few slaps and kicks were thrown in to make them feel totally worthless!
Rough justice!

On the Indian obsession with sweets--

Near Madurai, we had stopped at a local sugar refinery, a hut with large vat where the juice was being boiled and skimmed of impurities. This stuff is then poured into an enormous wooden grid, rather like a large ice tray. When it cools, out pop little cubes of molasses, which the poor use instead of refined sugar. We were given samples to eat. My girlfriend, a first timer to India, politely took one, sampled it, and found it pretty nasty.

We arrived a few minutes later at a village and got out, Mandy still clutching her little cube (being a first timer, it never occurred to her to toss it out the car window).

A bunch of kids came up. Mandy asked what she should do with the sugar. I told her to give it to a kid. She protested that she had already taken a bite of it. "They don't care," I told her.

She handed it off to a boy, whose eyes flashed with delight. He popped it into his mouth. A little later we saw it in the sticky fingers of another kid, then another . . .

what about nasty hotel staff that steals things (and not just sweets)? has anyone left something in their hotel room and then had it returned by the hotel? let's limit the scope to India.

i keep wondering what goes on in the room boys/cleaning lady when she sees that the guest left something behind.

- to take or to report?

from my experience in 90% occurences nothing has been reported as "found" after i check out. even such private things as lingerie - why would anyone want a worn night shirt? when i return to the hotel and make a point (saying that i had left it behind and they did not "find" it) they become overly careful and after i leave write me a letter back listing all the stuff that i - now intentionally - left behind and asking me to reply within 28 days if i want it (!).

i am still puzzled by a theft of sandal wood Ganesha statues from my hotel room in Delhi (i found them missing upon packing.) the hotel security assured me that NOONE in India would even think of stealing Lord Ganesha (was security also implicated, i wonder?)

anything else that is "OK" to steal from Indian perspective (so that we are extra cautious), or the opposite, that noone would dare to take?

I left a girlfriend once
and when i got back she was gone ...
Pretty sure someone in the hotel stole her

Bryan

Not so naughty room boy (off topic??)

An experience in Benares in 1966 (it was Banares then) made a lasting impression on us. We were staying in a simple guest house some distance from the ghats.

When we were about to leave for Nepal I discovered I was still carrying a handfull of coins from England in my pack. Having no further use for them I left them piled up neatly on the table and we took a rickshaw to the railway station.

Just before the railway station the boy from the guest house, pedalling frantically, caught up with us shouting Sir sir, you forgot! and presented us with the money. I didn't have the heart to tell him we had intentionally left them behind, thanked him profusely and stuck them back in my pocket.

I'm pretty sure we later tossed them into the Ganges on the steamer trip from Patna to the railhead for Nepal.

Alan, things may have changed since Benares became Varanassi... because it was in Varanassi that I had my digital camera stolen. my biggest loss to a hotel theft to date.

i think honesty has its price. what use would have they made of your coins? but the story - you're still telling it now, in 2004.

cynical V-V

Yes, of course you're right v-v, times have changed - -everywhere.

We still haven't had anything stolen in India though. Maybe next time - for telling that story!

"What use would they have made" of a pile of British coins? We imagine they would have exchanged them for a small fortune in rupees... had they stolen them.

Room boys are the lowest of the low on the payscale. Many work without pay to have a roof over their head and food to eat. Anything a tourist leaves behind, intentionally or not, will be put to good use. But it's no suprise that the coins were returned as money is in a category all its own and is to be feared and respected.

It makes sense to be careful with one's belongings which one values, irrespective of whether they would or would not be attractive to someone else to steal.

Why tempt anyone by leaving things around ? The days of Raja Harishchandra in India have long since gone!

The security is bullshitting ! In today's Kalyug, even the Gods are not immune to theft ! What religious value would a Ganesh idol have, for, say a non-Hindu? In fact I wouldn't put it beyond even a Hindu stealing an idol of Ganesha. A thief is a thief, he does not have any religion!!

As I've said in the earlier post, its better to be safe than sorry!