Aware of plenty of fictional sitcom episodes where there is a death in a hotel never expecting it would ever happen next door to where I was staying in Delhi.
The first I was aware was three police turning up to the hotel. I passed them in the foyer as I was on my way out. The usual cheerful manager was fully occupied barely acknowledging as I dropped off the room key. He was sorting through paperwork looking for something. Despite its recent technological progress India is still bogged down with paper.
I was staying in 105. One of the choice rooms in this hotel as it has windows and only one adjoining neighbour. In case of power failure, mainly during the day, it means you can still read and do things whereas the other cell rooms become pitch. In 104 the death occurred.
I had seen this man each day as he ventured from his room. A tall man in a grey Pathani suit. The baggy pants, loose shirt and jacket all of the same fabric. He was tall and carried a dignity in his step. He spoke not at all I am aware of. No pleasantries passed with the staff. Even a nod I gave was not acknowledged. A character lest to say. I surmised he was in Delhi for the Republic Day Parade, as quite a few were, though he had been around for a few weeks.
Returning later in the day it was evident that something had disturbed the general atmosphere and banter of the hotel staff. There were quiet hushed tones and much organisation. I did not hear the television from the next room which was always on the English spoken Indian news channel. I learned of the terrorist attacks in Indonesia, while in the bathroom, from room 104.
Not paying too much heed I forgot about the police earlier in the day. Security was heightened so I rationalised they were just checking the paper trails in hotels. All guest need to be registered, whether foreign or Indian. The Indians carry an ID card and I have seen the hotel manager turn away those who do not have theirs on them.
I assumed my neighbour had checked out of the hotel. The room was without light or noise, in the early evening, when I moved downstairs to use the limited range hotel wifi. It was then the facts unfolded. Visits from the next immediate boss and a phone call to 'Madam', the big boss, one who is respected and feared by all. It was the day managers job and he was animated, to say the least. Whilst in Hindi I grasped some of the story. Phone calls are not quiet matters here. All were gathered around the phone for clarification and input. The occupant of 104 had been found when he did not follow his daily routine. I learned he had been staying in the hotel for nearly a year. His routine was well known. He was fiercely healthy looking. In his eighty fourth year he was travelling well. I did not think him this age. My guess would have been past mid sixty. Apparently he had not been ill but had been estranged from his family, an unmarried son and his wife, over some dispute.
The hotel staff were pleased that I was unperturbed that he had expired next door, though Indian guest were relocated to another floor. The body had been removed by the son in police presence and apparently the only thing he was interested in was the state of the bank balance. This shocked the staff more than the death. Disrespect of the father is not tolerated. Neither son nor wife had known where he had been put up the past year. He would have been constantly consuming from his savings in hotel bill.
The room remained locked for several days. No one wanted to go within but finally, one day, it was time. All of his possessions were placed into garbage bags. The family did not want them. They would find a home easily on the streets. Everything was emptied from the room into the corridor and it was ceremoniously cleaned from top to bottom. Bedding was thrown away. Everything was scrubbed, more so than I expect it had received in some time. Despite constantly sweeping and washing the floor it still seems to stay with a layer of dirt. Ammonia and disinfectant seeped from the room. The process took several hours and the room would not be fully cleaned until a holy man came and performed a ritual cleansing. But not today, not on Tuesday or Saturday I was informed.
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