Celebration Time

It is Celebration Time at the Club. For, close on the heels of the New Year blast the day-before, Harish Wadhwa came up with a pleasant surprise this morning as he distributed akroth ki barfi to celebrate the birthday of his son, Karan.
Adding to the gaiety, Kishor Babani held a dual celebration: His wife, Renu has just come back from her holiday at Oman and significantly, her return coincides with the birthday of their daughter, Harsha in Canada.
Actually the Babanis’ treat was not altogether unexpected. Before leaving, Renu-ji had said she would return to Mumbai on January 2 and knowing her, we were sure that she would not come empty-handed to the Garden today. The least she would do was bring us chocolates from her trip. What nobody had expected though, was the large assortment of salty and sweets, including the choicest Arbabi mithai, laid out for the asking. The romantic couplets which Kishor-bhai read out in praise of his wife, made the occasion all the more sweet.
It was a nice fun-filled morning, but for a dampener: Harish-bhai will not be coming from tomorrow as he would be away to attend the golden jubilee reunion of his alma mater, BITS Pilani. In effect, he will not be able to accompany us to Chokhi Dhani, should the trip for January 8 at all materialize.
In fact, a huge question mark hangs over this excursion since most members are still non-committal. Shekhawat-ji needs a minimum of 30 people to avail of discounts on bulk bookings and make the trip economically viable by bus. But the Rs 700 he is asking per head appears to be “not worth the money" (or effort) for many who see this as nothing more than an evening out for dinner. Shekhawat-ji’s explanation that the entertainment, rather than food, is what matters, somehow, does not seem to convince them.
The next couple of days will bring some clarity to the picture.