Flat Earth: Mixed grilling at the Four Seasons?

CAN anyone make head or tail of the goings-on in Boston? When Narasimha Rao, the Indian Prime Minister, and his entourage flew in and roosted in the grand Four Seasons Hotel last week, all seemed well. Then it turned out that the hotel had banned non-white staff from any contact with the PM and his party. The news leaked out, there was a fearful stink, the hotel apologised and gave the aggrieved bellhops dollars 179 ( pounds 120) for lost earnings in tips. But it's all a great puzzle. Why should a hotel company suddenly break the anti-discrimination laws in such an egregious way? The Four Seasons says the Indians demanded it, for security reasons. But that's even odder: an aversion to non- whites seems a curious encumbrance for the elected leader of 800 million of them. The New York Times says the Indian government should be 'thoroughly investigated' for fostering racial discrimination. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts commission on discrimination has descended on the Four Seasons for mass grillings.