This has reference to the Sunday story on denial of houses on rent to Muslims in our cities (July 8). My mother narrated an experience she had in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, where her parents had taken a house owned by a Muslim on rent. The locality had many Muslim families. Ours was an orthodox Brahmin family. Many others belonging to different castes lived in the area peacefully. Whenever there was a festival, Hindu or Muslim, people used to greet one another. It didn’t matter whether it was Diwali, Ramzan or Christmas. My mother recalled how the Muslim family used to send sweets to her house during festivals in a separate box meant for vegetarians. I wonder why society has changed so much in 40 years.
Anirudh Bharadwaj,
Bangalore
We have rented out our house at Noida to a gentleman from U.P. So far, we have not asked him what his caste is. Our owner-tenant relationship is doing fine. My mother once took a Muslim landlord’s house on rent in Bangalore. Every morning, she found that the ‘kolam’ (rangoli) she drew got erased mysteriously. To her surprise, she found that it was the landlady who erased it. When she asked, my mother was told that ‘kolam’ was not allowed in a Muslim household. My mother vacated the house.
Geetha Krishnamurthy,
New Delhi
