‘Good Evening!’

Today, at the instance of Srichand Arora, the Club resolved to greet every late-comer with a ‘Good Evening’! No 'Good Mornings', no 'Namastes', no 'Jai Srikrishnas'. The idea was to make the laggards a little self-conscious; not to embarrass them. So Bapu Rane, Razia Khan, Sandhya Narang, Sitaram Hivarkar, Monthi Serrao … were welcomed by turn with a chorus of Good Evenings – much to the amusement of all present.
By the time Harish Wadhwa’s turn came, the Good Evenings had become Good Night. And then Kiran Sajjan (left) walked in – as usual the last to show up – putting everyone in a quandry. Tara Chand Seth suggested greeting her with ‘Good Bye’. The lady, visibly groggy from last night’s sleep, turned all the more dazed and lost. Even when Monthi comforted her with a polite ‘Good Morning’, she did not respond. Arora’s timely intervention and an apology for taking liberties finally helped Kiran get a clear perspective of things.
However, it must be said that the nature of our day-to-day interaction, if anything, has strengthened the bonding between members over time. As Harish observed today, all the leg pulling, subtle innuendoes and mischievous jibes exchanged during the exercises – which, till recently, used to be frowned upon – is now par for the course. The veneer of formality has lifted and we have become free-spirited individuals. Hari Naraiyani pointed out how Razia has started hitting the high-fives with male members, something unimaginable earlier. Arora added how the ladies hugged him on his birthday (last Saturday), without a sense of restraint or shyness.
Of course, this has a lot to do with a change in attitude – more collectively than individually. For instance, when in the past have we played host to members of another laughter club? Never. We did it last Sunday. Now, there is talk of the laughter club of Garden No 2 paying us a visit on February 4 (Saturday), courtesy Hem Chand Jain (left). By reaching out and welcoming everyone with open arms, we are only enriching ourselves.
On the excursion front, Shekhawat had two announcements to make (middle pic). One, he has so far enlisted 14 members for the Goa trip. And two, Nirmal Resort at Karjat is offering a fabulous deal that works out to Rs300 per head (three meals included) provided we are a group of 30 minimum. With an added Rs200 for the bus, charges should not exceed Rs 500 all-told. The date decided for the trip is February 11. Saturday.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Kiran Sajjan-ji is one of the most soft-spoken ladies and least talkative. She joins us for the sheer pleasure of our company. No problems, even if she gets late due to her personal commitments. She always carries a big smile.
* For a moment, I was surprised when greeted with 'Goodnight', but soon understood the leg-pulling. Well, it was Jain-saab's turn to join the Badmaash Company chai today. Little did we know that he is full of fun and a guru at jokes -- streets ahead of Kishor-da and Hari Naraiyani-ji. You have to hear him to believe it. Chhupe Rustam hain janab!
(No Chhupe Rustam -- Jain-saab is a terrific raconteur of repute with a devastating sense of humour. He deserves to be crowned 'Badshah of Badmaash Company!' --Big Laaf)
Kishor Babani:
DEAR BLOGMONSTER, WHERE IS MY GURU GYAN TODAY?
(Guruji, it is very much there, published as usual early morning. --Big Laaf)