Weekend High

Hari Singh Shekhawat was right about Yusuf Rassiwala yesterday. He said that now that Yusuf-bhai had shown up after one week, we can expect him to make his next appearance not before another week. Sure enough, Yusuf-bhai was absent today.
But Srichand Arora (below, left) was there. He too had disappeared for a while, nursing a slip disc and congested chest (which had got aggravated because of the renovation work at his home). Today, he came limping into the Garden with a crepe bandage, stapled securely above his left ankle. He was in obvious pain, but kept a brave front. “Since it was getting boring at home, I decided to drop by,” he explained.
Arora-sah’b did not take part in the exercises, choosing to sit by on a bench and watch us instead. Those who enquired about the cause of his distress were given several evasive, but hilarious explanations: “I went to bed and woke up with a sprained leg!” “I wanted to play football with a cricket ball!” This was to only spark all sorts of speculative stories among members, the most credible one being, “He tried to kick someone, but ended up kicking the wall!”
Be that as it may, Arora-sah’b’s presence brightened the mood in the Garden, particularly after an inordinately lean phase. What’s more, from a daily turnout of barely 15 over the past five days, attendance swelled to an incredible 40-plus this morning. With women back in a majority, there was no stopping the constant banter, sharp digs and humorous asides.
Funnily, Shekhawat-ji (right) chose this day to explain what had gone wrong with him after his return from his last Diwali vacation. He began by extolling the benefits of attending the Club everyday, how laughter is a “complete exercise” and keeps body and mind fit, etc. when Gopvinita cornered him with a teaser: “What happened to you when you stopped talking to us, refusing to smile or even recognize us?”
That did it. Shekhawat-ji bared his heart, confessing to his personal battle with depression and how he finally got over it with medical intervention. He suspected a woman, known to be a practitioner of black magic in his village, who could have “mixed something” in what he had eaten or drank. Such frankspeak, appropriately laced with crude slang and humorous exchanges, only builds trust and strengthens the bonding between members.

Lead pic: Nahid Khan distributing prasad on behalf of an elderly lady.

Renu Babani says:
Looks like everyone had fun today at the Garden. And why not? We are in New Delhi, just reached a while ago at the hotel. Shall keep myself updated with the blog whenever time permits. Tomorrow it's Haridwar.
--Renu