Festive Break

Close on the heels of Srichand Arora and Monthi Serrao, two more senior members have taken a break, effective today. Bapu Rane (left) has gone to his village in Ratnagiri to join his friends and relatives at the Ganesh festivities there. Tara Chand Seth (right) is off to Delhi to be with his elder son, till winter sets in. He divides time between Delhi and Mumbai, spending three to four months on every visit. As usual, he did not specify when he is likely to return.
This steady exodus is beginning to tell upon our numbers at the Garden. As it is, the monsoon continues to play spoil sport. And then, with known regulars like Hari Singh Shekhawat, Razia Khan and Yusuf Rassiwala lying low and showing no signs of returning, attendance has dropped drastically of late. Seeing barely four members exercising when he came this morning, Kishor Babani offered to abduct some people walking around in the Garden in order to raise our count!
Fortunately, by the time we wound up, we were up by a dozen or so. In the event, late comers like Dilip Babani, Geeta Sardhana and Harbans Singh have come to play the role of morale boosters. Another late-morning surprise was Khatoon Baig, who resumed after her Ramzan break of over a month. She announced that her son, Naved has just landed a prestigious job with a U.S.-based company and is back from California after training. In her happiness, she distributed American chocolates (above) to all present.
Our heartiest congratulations to mother and son.