Living it Up

One of the biggest blessings of winter mornings is the joy of being at your sartorial best. Shorts, floaters and tees are replaced by colourful trousers, closed footwear, cardigans, stoles and mufflers. Everybody is in formals. True, the Mumbai chill is not too severe; but still, it provides reason enough to dress up – rather than be dressed down in casuals. Besides, at no other time of the day does this city allow you to be as fashionably indulgent.
Sure enough, our members are living it up in style. Some like Arora-sah’b and Geeta-ji are particularly conscious about coordinating colours and textures, not to miss the understated elegance displayed by Razia Khan, Monthi-ji, Mumtaz Jahan and other ladies. Yusuf-bhai and Shekhawat-ji are also looking suitably dapper, so much so that collectively, our members stand out in the Garden for being the most colourful, energetic and smartly turned out among all the stragglers around.
There are many other distinctive features that mark us out as a Club. Nowhere else would you find so many happy faces, such a strong sense of fellow-feeling and a complete absence of politicking. We have absolutely NO money in any kitty. We have no fees for joining, no penalties for leaving. There are no bosses around, no duties, no compulsions and no expectations. We are not bound by anybody’s rules.
And yet, we have a ball right round the year – whether it is with our daily ritual of jokes narration post-exercise, or while setting out on an excursion/picnic or ganging up for a movie in a nearby multiplex, or celebrating birthdays, religious festivals, anniversaries… Today, Santosh-ji (right) came with a box of gajak (brittle sesame candy) for us from Delhi. She was under no obligation to do so. Nor was there any need to formally thank her. We take such things for granted, as in a family. For that is what we are ultimately – at the beginning of the day.