Pune hotel bars Panditji for carrying doggy in bag

5-star doesn’t allow Ravi Shankar to check in with a therapeutic canine owing to fears that it may shoo away foreigners

PUNE: Pandit Ravi Shankar, renowned across the world for pulling strings consummately, could not persuade a Pune 5-star hotel to allow him to check in with his therapeutic dog. The hotel adheres to a strict no-pets policy, apparently because the sight of an animal lounging in the lobby makes its foreign guests believe that the property has gone to the dogs.

Ravi Shankar, 87, is visiting Pune to perform at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on December 15. The event will represent his first recital in India after two years, and the first in Pune after 19 years.

But the comeback to the city began with a riff of discord when Ravi Shankar – accompanied by his wife Sukanya and their daughter Anoushka – reached the Sun-n-Sand hotel. The touring party was told that there was no room available for Suki, the therapeutic dog that has been accompanying Ravi Shankar for the past few years.

According to Ravi Shankar’s personal assistant, doctors had prescribed the company of the dog after the maestro fell ill with viral double pneumonia. Such breeds are said to hasten recovery.

But C Behl, the general manager of Sun-n-Sand, told DNA that no exceptions could be made because of policy considerations. “Shah Rukh refused to stay at my hotel when we denied entry to his pet,” Behl said.

“Salman Khan stayed with us while his pet slept outside in his car. We strictly adhere to a no-pets policy because more than 72% of our guests are foreigners and they are very sticky about animals moving in the lounge and corridors.”

Ravi Shankar and his companions had been dogged by anxieties even before they boarded a flight to Pune from New Delhi. It took the entourage an hour to explain to airport authorities that Suki presented no threat to fellow passengers because it was a well-bred flier.

“The dog is a therapeutic breed cleared by federal agencies. It is non-allergic and does not shed hair,” said one of Ravi Shankar’s tour managers. “We had all the papers and airport authorities relented, but it took a while before we could board the plane.”

Satish Vyas, who has organised Ravi Shankar’s Pune performance said: “We were lucky that nobody on the plane objected to the pet. Otherwise, they could have been stranded there.”

An official of Deccan Rendezvous, the hotel where Ravi Shankar and family eventually checked in, said “We’re making an exception for this great musician, though we also have a no-pets policy.”

Sources close to Ravi Shankar said that hotels in the US, where the maestro now lives with his family, dedicate special suites for guests with pets. In India, however, most hotels have a no-pets policy.

“Love your animals,” Ravi Shankar said later at a press conference in Pune on Thursday.