R for Rat



Welcome! 
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school? 

Its day eighteen and the alphabet is R.



R is for Rat. That is what I learnt in school. 
Rat as in the rodent that is a menace and dread in every household. Its cousin the Mouse is probably more welcome in laboratories as its commonly used as a lab animal. 
Outside the scientific setting, even a small kid with relate the word ‘Mouse’ to the black device attached to a laptop or PC … 

Zebronics Usb Comfort + Wired Optical Mouse






A close cousin of the rat is the mouse. A mouse is the  ā¤ĩā¤žā¤šā¤¨ (vahan meaning transport or vehicle) of Lord Ganesha. You will always find a tiny mouse at the feet of any idol or image of this favourite elephant headed God.

This is the famous DagduSheth Ganapati of Pune. Click on the image to see his ‘vahan’ at the bottom left of the image- at the feet of the Lord Ganesh


Using the attributes of this mammal, the word rat has entered our vocabulary in many different ways.. 

  • We smell a ‘rat’ whenever we suspect some discrepancy or untoward…. 
  • The neighbourhood hunk possibly achieved this status by being a gym ‘rat’ and spending hours and hours working out at the health club!
  • The office colleagues called him a ‘rat’ for betraying them in a crunch.
  • Hair stylists refer to something called the Hair ‘Rat’ .. now now, there is no need to curl up in distaste! From what I have read, this was quite in fashion years ago to easily create classical hair styles. Women collected fallen hair, put it into a mesh bag and created the ‘rat’. This article gives more info. Recently I remember seeing one used at a local parlour to create the prefect French Knot the difference being, it was commercially made. 
Lets meet some of the famous rodents…
  • Scabbers who is the pet of Ronald Weasely. How many Harry Potter fans here?
  • Ratatouille is a cute movie with a rat as the central figure and the movie has won one Oscar! 
  • Can we ever forget Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry?? Though they are technically referred to as ‘Mouse’ I think both can find a place of honour in this post 🙂
  • The Pied Piper of Hamelin must also find a mention in this post. He is said to have rid the city of rats in the year 1284. My research revealed some interesting stuff about Hamelin city which is in Germany. There is an automated clock describing the story of the Pied Piper. Do read this very interesting article on Mental Floss about Hamelin city.
I guess rat’s the way to go!
We end the third week of the blogging challenge. Its been tough in parts and a breeze in others. Hang in there folks!

6 Replies to “R for Rat”

  1. I like the expression 'like a rat up a drainpipe' which means to escape quickly. Bye, must dash!

    A-Z of My Friend Rosey!

  2. I smiled when I read, "Rat as in the rodent that is a menace and dread in every household."

    Not "every household!" In mine they are wonderful pets! Really, rats make very good pets. They are intelligent and social. They love interaction with their people and males particularly will just sit on your shoulder while you do other things! Females stay more active throughout their lives, males get lazier. They like to stay clean, and will use just one corner for their "toilet" area. We have had them trained to return to their cage (after a free time in an enclosed room) by ringing a bell! They were rewarded with a treat. The only draw back is they don't live nearly long enough.

  3. @Lisa- I stand corrected! I did not know that rats were good pets (except for Scabbers ofcourse!!). Thanks for sharing this info. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Melanie Crouse Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *