Prime Suspects

Speculation is rife on the identity of the lady featured in last Sunday’s post of Pehchan Kaun. Anxiety to unravel the mystery has reached feverish pitch, such that nobody quite remembered it was Hari Singh Shekhawat’s birthday today – except for Srichand Arora. Taking the cue from him, one by one everybody wished Shekhawat (right pic) and then clapped and sang in his honour.
Initially, Sunita Jajodia (below) was beieved to be the ‘mystery lady’ of the b&w picture with almost every second member convinced about her identity. But in two days, the needle of suspicion swung inexplicably, pointing at Geeta Sardana (below).
By the end of the week, Monthi Serrao (bottom, left) emerged as a strong possibility with an overwhelming majority picking on her. At present, they make for the three key suspects in this guessing game while a couple of others like Kiran Arora and Nafisa Sayyad are the also-rans.
Unlike earlier rounds of Pehchan Kaun, this time we did not disclose the many names put forward in the course of the week -- lest anyone got influenced. We noticed also that quite often, some members did not take kindly to being identified with a photograph of someone "not so good looking". However, this did not prevent the persistent buzz over the past week with some like Monthi suddenly raising their voice in exasperation, “No, it is not me!”
Ramila Mistry was rebuffed twice (“Kya dekh rahi tu?”) when she tried doing some intense face-reading, first with Sunita and then, Geeta. Geeta herself was heard tactfully grilling Nafisa on whether she was always slim, even in her younger days… before ending in a quandary over choosing between Sunita and Kiran Arora. However, it has to be said that nobody takes this game as seriously as Geeta. Having been a winner twice in the past, this time she had a printout of the photograph with her and was seen quietly comparing it with all the female faces around. But then, this was only to confirm the suspicion that she was trying to deflect attention away from her.
Anyway, by tomorrow morning we should know. Don't be surprised if one of these 'suspects' turns out to be the winner. The prize distribution is being combined with the joint birthday celebration of three April-borns – Shekhawat, Renu Babani and Neelam Garg. A lady from the Yoga Group is also likely to join. So make sure, you check the blog tomorrow.