Vikram Seth

[AmitaSarin at aol.com]

A caution against searching too hard for deep symbolic meanings.  When Lata
addresses Kabir as "My Dear Rat" she quite possibly means exactly that -- Rat
as in rodent. Animal names, as well as nonsense words are often used as
humorous terms of endearment.  English-speaking Indians might translate these
into English.  Or perhaps this is a British habit.  In any case, I know of so
many people nicknamed Bunny, Puppy, and so on.  Lata is probably refering
affectionately and teasingly to her boy friend.  Perhaps he had just done
something sneaky or rat-like.  A page no. or the rest of the letter might
help unravel the mystery.

Best of luck!
Amita Sarin