‘Red Alert’

Last night’s thundershower had threatened to wash away our morning exercises today. But slowly, one after another, everybody turned up (well, almost). Even G.R.Garg and P.Motwani were there. Srichand Arora came driving in 40 km from Panvel to keep his appointment with us.
But two absentees have become a subject of growing concern. Ramila Mistry (left) and Dilip Babani were last seen at the Diwali get-together in the Chinese Hut. The former had reported sick with body-ache and flu, which could be attributed to the weather change. Last heard, she had promised to resume this week, but to date there’s been no trace of her.
Dilip-bhai (right) has always been the proverbial ‘mystery man’, adept at springing surprises. He could be attending regularly for days on end – often turning up before time – and suddenly he would do the disappearing act. His wife, Kajal is understandably busy with her kids in the morning and cannot be expected to attend the Club every day. But this gentleman, who at times, has been sighted entering the Garden while we are leaving, seems to have vanished completely.
Maybe, we need to sound a Red Alert for these missing members.
Meanwhile, Rane Bhau is doing well conducting the Laughter Round these days. Since the time he took charge, he has introduced some innovative elements, the most significant being the rounding up in Hindi for “Very Good, Very Good, Hey!” He has got us to say, “Bahut Achche, Bahut Achche, Hey!” Arora-sa’ab wants the “Hey” bit to be also translated – probably to “Oui"! But Harish-bhai suggested that it can be “Mazaa aa gaya!”
Many members like Harish-bhai are demanding to know the identity of the lady walking past the picture of ‘Rane Gandhi’ in last Sunday’s Pic of the Week (see post of November 14). Santosh Tyagi (left) has the answer. According to her, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Santa Singh had to write an essay on the Father of the Nation. He did a fairly good job, painstakingly covering Gandhi-ji’s life from birth to death, but in the end, he pleaded ignorance on a point of detail: “Maaloom nahin, yeh Jayanti kaun thi.”
Well, now we know!

Harish Wadhwa says:
Hello! Young, handsome and the beautiful, tomorrow morning is fafda-jalebi treat being arranged by Arora-ji. Don't miss the fun. Have some warm nimbu pani in the morning to enjoy the goodies better. Our wish is to cheer one and all the members. And hopefully tempt the missing faces on Red Alert to start coming regularly.
--Harish

Harish Wadhwa adds:
With prabhat-pheri ahead of Babaji Guru Nanak Dev's birth celebrations on November 21, we can expect kada prasad from Mrs Harbans Singh. Please keep reminding her. After all, we are the beneficiaries.
--Harish

Harish Wadhwa adds further:
Our dear Santosh Aunty ("Aunty mat bolo naa!")is always ready with Santa-Banta jokes and her stock never gets exhausted. I am sure the two gentlemen are related to her. (Ooops!) Inspire her to share the laughter with everyone, everyday. May God bless her with a long and healthy life and hope that we keep getting this Laughter ka Daily dose.
--Harish

Renu Babani says:
Yes, maybe we should have a MIA (Missing in Action) List. Strange, I thought I was not a regular in the morning, but seems like the tables have turned. So, Mrs Bose, let's give ourselves a pat on the back. We have done well for ourselves! The weather is really weird, but let's hope that members do turn up like today at least. At least when I come in the morning, I don't feel guilty the entire day.
--Renu