Open to All

After countless phone calls and personal invites to members, Hari Singh Shekhawat today formally opened the doors for the Lonavala picnic to non-members (left pic). For all his effort, he could just about garner 21 members for the trip. Since they will not fill even half a bus, he has had to fall upon “guests” – who would, in any case, enjoy the same facilities as the members at no extra cost.
For less than Rs1000 all-told, the two-day Lonavala trip, scheduled for 15-16 October, is a steal by any standard. You cannot get it any cheaper. But strangely enough, many of those who had jumped at the idea when Shekhawat announced the dates, have developed cold feet now. A number of them (mainly ladies) had been at the forefront, campaigning for a picnic – till such time it was decided. Apart from the financial aspect, what these members do not realize is that being out together in a group and sharing time with friends away from home is an experience money cannot buy.
The only hitch though is that the group might have to be split during the night as there will not be enough rooms available for everybody in one guest house. As indicated in an earlier post, a second guest house has been identified close-by – which should be fine so long as we are able to coordinate our movements during the day.
Meanwhile, there's news of Ramila Mistry (right) disappearing once again. She has yet to recover from her pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and is already off to Veraval (in Gujarat) where she will once again pay obeisance to Lord Shiva, at Somnath Temple. We wish her a safe and happy trip and look forward to her return on October 17.
Renu Babani:
Congrats to Mr Shekhawat for managing to get so many members for the picnic. Yes, sad that many members have opted out, but they have their own commitments and personal reasons. However, the guests shall certainly appear in good numbers and hopefully, we shall have a full bus. Inspite of the fact that we shall be divided into two different places, it is just one night; it doesn't really matter as we will be together the entire time. At least we are finally going to make the trip!