Idle Time-Pass?

The ill-fated Chokhi Dhani trip (see previous posts), far from causing any bitterness, became a subject of amusement this morning as Shekhawat-ji did a post-mortem of the circumstances that led to its cancellation. What obviously rankles him is his loss of face in front of the transporter, after insisting that a bus be made available for us on January 8. “I had to kill someone,” he declared. “I needed an excuse to cancel the bus and so I told them that a member had died of heart attack and we were all in mourning. What else could I say?”
He however, put the blame squarely on the ladies for being instrumental at setting the ball rolling and then backing out. Geeta-ji (right) tried to defend herself, saying she had brought her share of money today, but Shekhawat-ji was in no mood to listen. He named someone who promised to bring five passengers, only to do the vanishing act herself. Yet another was to get three people, but her house was getting demolished and she excused herself. Mrs Harbans Singh (below, left) intervened, saying if it was her ticket that could make a difference, she was willing to pay. “I had already told Shekhawat-ji that,” she said.
But nobody needed any excuses now as the “dil todne walis” were identified and the finger-pointing game had started in all playfulness. The ladies also drew comfort from the belief that the Chokhi Dhani trip was not meant to happen. Shekhawat-ji described it as "panauti averted", echoing the sentiments of many who argued that had we forced the trip, the “bus could well meet with an accident” or, as Santosh-ji remarked, “giant poisonous worms would crawl out of our food”.
Whatever consolation this might serve, one lesson everybody had learnt was not to go by what the ladies say in future. Motwani-sah’b (below) was correct (see post of 30/12/10) in his prediction that nothing would come of the Chokhi Dhani trip as the ladies are bound to play spoilsport. Sunita-ji’s famous “gayi bhains pani mein” comment (see post of 16/12/10) was also a timely warning. Still, for the future, Shekhawat-ji is prepared to take his chances, provided everybody pays up well in advance and nobody demands a refund.
The upshot of all this is that as members, we know how to take a setback on the chin and yet, keep up a smile. Where else would you find another merry group of people making light of a grim situation the way we do? Rather than being bogged down, we are now looking forward to a new picnic announcement soon.
Or is this all merely idle time-pass?

Renu Babani says:
We have all heard of the old saying: 'Empty vessels make the most sound'. Well, as usual, several members talk a lot. But when it seriously comes to paying for any picnic, there is lots of banter and opinions are voiced and the majority tends to back out. Yes, we do end up taking things in our stride, but it does get embarrassing for the one who does the hard work. So let's not repeat it.
--Renu