Day 379

Nahid Khan made a good-humoured remark this morning: “Hum sab naughty ho gaye hain!”
It is highly unlikely that even a year back, Nahid would have made such a comment. She used to then remain quite withdrawn, keep to herself and leave the Garden soon after the exercises. Today, she is the direct polar opposite. Hugely gregarious and outgoing, she stands up for her opinions, participates in all the activities of the Club and is a tough task master in her own way. Small wonder, the ladies have christened her Nahid Bhai (right).
Nahid’s comment was prompted by the normal unruliness that accompanies our exercise sessions these days. It has become part of our routine to pull one another’s legs, engage in mindless banter, crack silly jokes… all in a spirit of bonhomie, with no offence meant. So when Srichand Arora commands Sunita Jajodia (as he did today) to step into the circle, no offence is taken and she meekly complies. And when he converted “Very Good-Very Good” to “Meri Bhi Good-Teri Bhi Good”, he was only provoking Kishor Babani to quip, “Jolly Good-Jolly Good”, which got further corrupted by Sitaram Hivarkar to “Holly-wood! Bolly-wood!”
All this was unimaginable till about a year back. Exercising then was a daily chore with perhaps a birthday treat or Revital capsules thrown in for good measure. Let alone take liberties, nobody even joked with an open mind. Everybody was at their best behaviour – restrained, self-centred, even standoffish. There were no jokes’ sessions, no movie outings. No Talkative Trio (left pic), no Badmaash Company, no Chandaal Chaukdi... Everybody talked discipline.
Today, discipline is as much a keyword, but it is self-inculcated, not imposed. Everybody knows where to draw the line and the exercises are not compromised in any manner. That remains sacrosanct. Everything else that follows on the sidelines is an icing on the proverbial cake. So addictive has this icing become that most of us cannot do without showing up at the Garden every morning – even if it were for a few minutes. It's a habit that grows.
Indeed, so much has changed in one year.
Says HARISH WADHWA:
No Talkative Trio, no Badmaash Company, no Chandaal Chaukdi ... Not Very Good-Not Very Good. No silly jokes, no leg-pulling, no mindless banter... Not Good-Not Good. No jabber-jabber, no hee-hee, no khil-khil... Jolly No Good-Jolly No Good! Let us have some GOOD things tomorrow to compensate for today.