Regular Work-a-day

The exuberance and the energy on ushering in the New Year have all but fizzled out. The sun rose at 7:12 a.m., as usual, but it was not as chilly as it used to be. Yet, attendance dropped drastically with several key members, including Srichand Arora, Santosh Tyagi, Yusuf Rassiwala, Renu Babani and Geeta Sardhana not turning up. It was back to business-as-usual at the Garden.
Still, Nahid Khan (left) tried to infuse some cheer by needling Kishor Babani on the absence of his “sukh” today. Turns out, sukh is another term for saali or sister-in-law – someone who comes and goes (as opposed to “wife”, who stays on forever). Others had politely enquired about the brother-in-law, James who was a regular till yesterday. But Nahid has a mischievous streak about her, which surfaces at odd moments and can put people at a loss for words – Kishor included.
Quite unaffected by all the banter, Bapu Rane (right) brooded over the chances of Sachin Tendulkar making his 100th Test century today in Australia. Once, when asked to make a wish (“Ooper waley se kuchh bhi maango”), he promptly blurted, “Sachin ka maha-shatak” as though nothing else mattered in the world. This cricket fanatic must have been a very, very disappointed man when, within an hour or so, Sachin was dismissed for 41 runs.
Meanwhile, Hari Naraiyani came in for high praise, particularly from Tara Chand Seth (left) and Sunita Jajodia, for his act of generosity yesterday (see post). The latter wasn’t present when the Frooty tetrapacks were distributed, but from what she had heard – the trouble the old man took to make everybody happy – she was touched. More than the contents or weight of the boxes, it was the thought behind the act that mattered, added Tara Chand.
Like many others this morning, Hari Naraiyani was absent.
KISHORSPEAK:
"We may be senior citizens, but are definitely better than the others. At least, we are regulars at the Garden... Kudos to that! We deserve a pat on our backs!!!"
(Hey, that PICSPEAK was from Renu, not Kishor! --Anonymous)
Harish Wadhwa:
If you watch carefully, Rane-ji has one molar left (Hee-hee). So he is still young. A smiling face adds to his charisma.
Similarly Tara Chand-ji is not just regular, he does all exercises with sincerity. His smile and stamina make him young.
Nahid-ji has dark hair and is a 'ring masterni' during the exercises. She is also seen smiling.
Moral of the story: ALL THOSE WHO EXERCISE AND LAUGH ARE YOUNG!