Having a Ball

The chatterboxes were in their elements today. Shekhawat reveled in the fast ballooning passenger list for the Kashmir trip. Nafisa Sayyad was in a particularly wicked mood as she lampooned the eating habits of Gujaratis. Geeta Sardana refused to conduct the exercises (it was her turn today) and threatened to go home pronto if we insisted. “I come here to enjoy,” she maintained. “Let me enjoy!”
Eventually we had to fall back on the tried and trusted Khan duo, Nahid and Razia for taking us through the morning.
In the absence of Srichand Arora, everybody was keen on having a ball today. Even Sitaram Hivarkar justified the constant chatter. “Talking is a tonic,” he remarked jovially. Santosh Tyagi and Ramila Mistry dropped by from a yoga camp in the neighboring garden. “We come here to laugh because we don’t get to even talk there,” they explained.
Hari Naraiyani (left) tried needling Shekhawat for his anxiety to get more and more people on the Kashmir bandwagon: “What do you mean by saying that those who do not go to Kashmir would regret later? If I were to say that those who ARE going will regret later…” When some ladies gave him a cold look, Naraiyani withdrew, but went about asking everyone individually, “Did I say anything wrong?” He also conceded that it requires real himmat for taking such a huge contingent to Kashmir and only Shekhawat has it in him!
Meanwhile, news comes in of Tara Chand Seth (above, right) not keeping well in Delhi. Some complications have been detected in his heart, following an ECG test. He says that he is under medication and his condition is stable at present. But he will soon have to undergo some intensive tests at the hospital where he had a bypass surgery done some years back. His son will be reaching him from Mumbai the day after tomorrow.
Let us all wish Tara Chand an early recovery and pray that he is able to return in our midst, hale and hearty. He was intending to be back by mid-June.
Harish Wadhwa:
* When it comes to Hari Naraini-ji, he can be very witty at times. We all wish the Kashmir contingent a lot of fun, happiness and memories. May you all enjoy the bounty of nature at its best in our 'crown of India' during this trip.
* May God bless Tara Chand-ji with early recovery and good health.