In the Mood

Being a Saturday, everybody was in an unusually boisterous mood today. Like a well-earned weekend break, all 22 members, to the last late-comer, were out to play the fool – to the extent that exercises began almost 15 minutes behind time. Despite repeated requests and reminders, the discussions on the sidelines never seemed to end. And at the centre of it all was our ‘principal’, Srichand Arora.
So was it any surprise that today, for the first time, he had to be reminded of his role on “maintaining discipline in the class”?
When Yusuf Rassiwala pulled him up for not concentrating enough on the exercises, Arora looked completely bewildered for a moment, only to growl back, eyes popping out: “Aye, how dare you scold me!” But it was in jest. For within moments, he was back to his jovial self, taking digs at whoever he fancied and keeping everybody amused. And then, just when Geeta Sardhana was seen to be also taking liberties, he held up the exercises and glowered angrily at her. She took the hint and was back at her place – though for a few minutes.
The constant see-saw in behaviour was no less entertaining, which prompted Dilip Babani to comment that he only wished Arora “stayed in the same mood” throughout the year. “Why are you all targeting me today?” was the instant retort. But at the end of the exercises, Arora made up for being hard on Geeta and presented her with a bunch of white flowers (above, left), plucked from a shrub close to where we exercise.
Renu Babani:
Did anybody seriously think that Mr Arora would upset his sister in any way? Those flowers were a sign of making peace and showed the real bro-sis relationship. Today was really the week-end and it showed among the members. Everyone had decided to pass remarks before leaving home. The hour passed so swiftly, not forgetting Kishor's jokes that, as always, ended the session on a high note. I am sure everyone has gotten used to this daily dose of fun and laughter and somehow, all of us know that it will always remain that way.
Dilip Babani:
We all must obey our beloved Arora-ji. We cannot target him. We just have some fun during the exercises so that everybody laughs. If you are in a good mood, you can exercise better. We are not against anybody. All members are innocent. Nobody even thinks of hurting anybody in any way. But all are free to speak and laugh.