Surprise Treat

The Garden wore a festive look this morning (right pic) -- for the unlikeliest of reasons. Swati Punjabi had ‘tied the noose’ around her neck on this day, many years ago. Or so she was to say (‘galey mein phanda’) -- of course, in good humour -- to explain why she was keen to treat us all on her wedding anniversary.
The celebration took many by surprise. Swati does not belong to the Club. Nor did she inform us earlier. But Bapu Rane probably knew about it because he had come prepared with his dentures on. And then, as the exercises progressed and the circle started getting bigger and bigger, Shekhawat became suspicious. “Aaj koi party hai?” he asked, surveying the unusually big turnout. Soon a tea boy appeared on the corner bench and we knew that something was on.
But Shekhawat had other concerns. While people were helping themselves to Swati’s home-made cutlets and dhoklas (and wafers), he stood in the sun with a small group, finalizing the passenger list for Kashmir. He has already booked tickets for 20 members (partly by rail, partly by air) and has another dozen on hold who are yet to pay up. Many like Khatoon Baig were paying today with additions of two or three names (of family members/ friends). What’s more, some like Nafisa Sayyad, who had no intention of going, are joining in. Even Srichand and Kiran Arora are also confirmed.
Clearly Shekhawat has pulled off a miracle. Just yesterday morning, he had only 15 confirmed names – upon which Mumtaz Jahan threatened to dissociate herself from the trip. She said she was committed to taking 45 people at least and if Shekhawat failed to generate that number, not only would it become "economically non-viable", but her prestige would be compromised. Now she has no such fear. The way things are going, there could be a problem of plenty.
Harish Wadhwa:
* The morning treat was a real surprise and an unexpected one for all of us. Amazing that Swati-ji chose to celebrate the day with us. Well, we wish her many more wonderful years of togetherness so that we continue to get such nice home-made goodies. Nice pic of her getting a peck on the cheek from her well-wisher (on behalf of all of us, who wouldn't ever dare...Oops!)
* From the pics it appears that the women enjoyed the party more than the men!