Police Swoop

Our worst fears were confirmed today. For after the club’s Holi festivities yesterday morning and all members having dispersed, some people hung around in the Garden for what was to be an extended, but private celebration of sorts.
Bottles were uncorked, chicken roast and salads ordered and amidst raucous laughter, jokes and songs, everyone was having a ball… till 10:45 a.m. when out of the blue, the police descended on the group and spoilt the party. The miscreants were rounded up and taken in a van to Oshiwara Police Station... only to be let off after a while.
This was the big talking point for the club today. As is natural in such cases, many versions of the incident were making the rounds with no one getting any wiser. What was clear though was that residents of neighboring buildings had objected and called in the cops. The watchman of the Garden had also warned the men several times. An eyewitness, who took refuge in a chemist’s shop (munching a chocolate to evade suspicion) recounted that it was nothing but false bravado that had landed the revelers in a soup. The same men who bragged about their ‘connections’ with the cops were the first to run helter-skelter for their lives. And funnily, they were the ones today taking a moral high ground, pointing fingers at those caught with their hands in the cookie jar!
On his part though, Hari Singh Shekhawat cleared the air of all misgivings (top pic), assuring members that nobody from the Club was involved in the incident in any manner. This obviously makes us 'good boys'. But Srichand Arora sounded a note of caution, lest any of us be ever caught on the wrong foot in future.
Amid all the posturing and moralising, our little friend Ali (Nazma Sayyad’s grandson) strayed into our midst. He was in school uniform and had expected to find gran’ma in the Garden. As the school buses were on strike, he apparently could not find his way home. Shekhawat offered to drop him after the exercises, but Kishor Babani intervened and like a good, caring samaritan (bottom pic) took the boy in his car and deposited him where he belongs.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* "I am telling you to please stop worrying. Listen to me, I know what I am saying."
* "Maybe this uncle can help me find my way. I AM LOST!"
Harish Wadhwa:
Kishor-da is the bade-dilwala man in our group -- always willing to extend a helping hand. An adorable example of how grounded and good a gentleman he is. Keeping up the high values of the Babani family, Dilip- bhai is no less when he rushed to the police station yesterday to rescue his fellowmates. Arora-ji was in a jovial mood as usual, or maybe a little high due to the extra dose of the 'green herb' of Holi and the daylong sessions of ingestion. After all, Holi is meant to be celebrated like this, he remarked during Chai. Arora-ji khush to hum sab khush. Love you Arora-ji for your zinda-dil attitude.