In line with the battery of birthdays this month, Kishor and Renu Babani had a little celebration for their son in the Garden this morning. Dr Prakash Babani is at present in Canada, pursuing his medical studies. But until recently, he was with us on an extended holiday and had won the hearts of all in a very short time. It was only natural that everyone should rejoice with feeling and bless the boy today. The ‘extra laugh’ was raised as usual and there were jumbo packets of biscuits (right pic) for all those present.
The other reason for us to rejoice this morning was the return of two prodigals. Both Ram Shankar Shukla (left pic) and Nahid Khan (right pic) had disappeared for more than a fortnight without as much of a by-your-leave. It turns out that Shukla had taken his lota-kambal on pilgrimage to the higher reaches of the Himalayas, beyond Haridwar – to Gangotri and Jamunotri (from where the Ganges and Jamuna originate). And Nahid was doing Ho-Ho Ha-Ha inside the Gol Gombuz of Bijapur. She had been holidaying with her friend, Lakshmi in a nearby village. We welcome them back into civilisation with open arms.
The surprise element about the party was however, lifted early morning when Yusuf-bhai showed up with the little girl cradled in his arms -- thus putting to rest weeks of mindless speculation within the Club. He had deliberately kept the suspense going for a reason. He was against accepting presents. Rather than respect his wishes, some members pooled in to gift the child a ‘baby rider’. Others like Razia Khan and Sushma Gupta individually gave the girl presents in keeping with the occasion. How they had learnt about the birthday shall remain a mystery.
However, beyond all these niceties and symbolic gestures, the event shall be remembered for the opportunity it afforded the Club on meeting one of the most cultured and respected families of the Bohra community in the city. It was indeed a privilege to get up and close with them for the first time. Our good wishes go to all of them, in particular to Baby Jamilla for ushering in her first birthday with Big Laaf. 
However hard anyone might try instilling discipline in the Club, it isn’t going to work. Talking of correctness, decorum, punctuality, remaining silent during exercises, etc. all for our own good, is like pouring water on a duck’s back. For it’s a wild bunch out there that can never be tamed. (In any case, it is too late in the day to be reformed by anyone.)
For instance, it is he who now prods Shekhawat to ‘shoot’ at a public toilet (in the Slow-and Fast round), pulls up Arora for coming in late or talking too much, gets people to abruptly dance to his mobile, warns everybody of a jaasoos in our midst…
Till recently, you could slot people in the Club into two neat categories. First, there were the regulars – Hari Singh Shekhawat, Nahid Khan, Ved Prakash Grover, Kishor Babani… people you could trust and count upon meeting every morning. As surely as night follows the day, they were there in the Garden daily, before time, without fail.
Whoever coined the phrase, ‘fox’s wedding’ should have visited the Garden today. It was nice and windy there. The sky was clear except for clumps of white cumulous clouds floating about. Only Bapu Rane noticed a huge, dark mass approaching menacingly from the north-west horizon. “It will rain heavily,” he pronounced.
and it poured. The winds howled, throwing the blue canvas flaps asunder and showering us with water sprays while we continued with the free-hand exercises. All hell broke loose for about 40 minutes. Magically, just when we had finished, the dark cloud passed away and it was bright sunshine once again!
Whether it was a case of being more loyal than the king or sticking to the letter of the law is hard to say. But one thing was clear: The men of the Club were caught napping today as the women, in a rare show of strength, trooped into the Garden en masse and started the exercises at the dot of seven. By the time the men woke up to being upstaged, the ladies had already reached the fourth exercise of the Laughter Round!
The umbrellas are out. A fairly wet week-end established the onset of monsoon. With the newspapers also raising a “heavy rain alert in the next 48 hours”, nobody took any chances today. Luckily we did not have to open our umbrellas. And the exercises passed off peacefully.
He also raised the issue of discipline (post of June 16) and appealed to all to be serious about the exercises and remain sensitive towards the Club’s image.
Yusuf Rassiwala started it – announcing a party (see post of June 14) without revealing the reason. Now Santosh Tyagi has beaten him to it. Yesterday she announced a treat for today, but did not disclose the reason. “Let it be a surprise,” she had said.
The meeting was conducted along predictable lines with the five biggies taking stock of the club’s finances and exploring avenues for augmenting the revenue stream. Treasurer Monthi Serrao (left pic), very generously put in an advertisement cheque of Rs4,800 for her company, Roshan Packaging Industries.
While Yusuf Rassiwala was conducting the exercises today, Kishor’s mobile broke into a peppy number and immediately Shekhawat and Bapu Rane began clapping with the beat. Soon Grover joined them. And then Bose and Kishor followed, thereby creating a rather odd spectacle of five gents clapping in unison while the exercises were on.
Sardar Tohba Singh (in pic) is back. He arrived last evening from Faridabad and the first thing he did today was report for the exercises at the Garden. From the open-armed welcomes he received (especially from Ved Prakash Grover and Srichand Arora) and the way he greeted everyone with folded hands it appeared as though he always belonged here. Within moments he had made himself at home.
So when he joined us, many actually called him “Jingle Bells” (see post of November 8, 2011). In time though, his quiet and comforting presence had become a habit for us and many would look forward to his sermons after the exercises. And then one day, he simply left.
We were in luck today. Out of nowhere, when no one had expected, Khatoon Baig (pic left) fished out a box filled with the most scrumptious, dental-friendly chikkis imaginable. She had just returned from a holiday in Mahabaleshwar. And like a caring family member, she had brought the sweets for all those missing her in the Garden.
The grandfather had seen seventy-four summers to the day. For the little girl, this was just her first summer. And together they made a big song and dance of what must be the rarest of rare birthday overlaps within a family. 
But there were other things to regale her through the colorful and fun-filled evening – from live music and a dance duet, to a mimicry act and tinsel shower to great food… and of course, a huge three-tier pinky-pink birthday cake.
Hari Singh Shekhawat may appear to be a man in an incredible hurry. He has about three months still to go to finalise all arrangements for the Kashmir trip. But he wants everything wrapped up here and now (and in any case, before end-June) in spite of repeated advice from everyone to take it easy. It goes to Shekhawat’s credit, his foresight and understanding of the people travelling with him that he is leaving nothing to chance. He has not just booked tickets for all the 36 of them, allotted everybody seats and berth numbers on the train and paired them suitably for sharing hotel rooms. More significantly, he has obtained an undertaking from Mumtaz Jahan (who is overseeing the accommodation and travel at the Srinagar end) on an itinerary for the week-long tour of Kashmir's scenic spots.
Still, certain things are beyond anybody’s control, no matter how hard Shekhawat might try to play safe. For instance, Mrs Harbans Singh today (in pic) complained of having to leave Srinagar “one day in advance” (vis-Ã -vis those returning by air) for the bus journey to Jammu, in time for boarding the train to Mumbai. In effect, she felt shortchanged by a day, whereas all those travelling back by air would enjoy the benefit of full seven days and six nights stay at Srinagar. Nobody had an answer to this.
Every club or association of people has its share of nosey parkers – meddlesome persons who insist on butting into everything, more so where they are not required. They are unavoidable hazards. But mercifully, we have been saved from such over-suspecting busybodies. The Club functions on the basis of mutual trust and respect, not needless interference.
In anticipation of the rains, we started the exercises today in the Chinese Hut. After all, it had been drizzling all through yesterday and there were droplets in the air this morning. Dark clouds hung over the Garden. At 7.00 a.m., it looked as though the heavens would open up any moment.
The clouds had cleared away by then and the sun was out. All signs of a thundershower were gone.
All hopes of relief from the summer heat receded when the sun broke through its cloud cover, bathing the Garden in all its blazing intensity. Humidity was however lower than yesterday and a gentle breeze blew across in brief spells. Still, Renu Babani reported unwell and her husband had to rush her home. Likewise, Hem Chand Jain complained of uneasiness and suddenly broke into profuse sweat. Promptly Arun Patil picked him up and drove him home before things got any worse.
Dark morning. The skies were overcast. One drop fell on Nahid Khan’s cheek. Within moments, Shekhawat also announced that a drop had fallen on his head. After that, nothing – but oppressive heat. All hopes of pre-monsoon showers moving in from Kerala (or wherever) were replaced by the exasperating prospect of dealing with maddening humidity and dehydration. To make matters worse, red ants were out to get us with a vengeance. Since the sun had not come out of the clouds, we shifted back to where we normally exercise – only to discover that there too ant hills had come up. Razia Khan kept moving about restlessly, trying to dodge the swarms of ants and at one point, pleaded that we relocate to the Chinese Hut right away.
Sitaram Hivarkar (in pic) today distributed dinner invites for his granddaughter, Anaya’s first birthday on June 11 (next Monday). The celebration, which coincides with his own birthday, is being organized on a grand scale at the GMS Banquet Hall, Sitaladevi Compound (opposite Indian Oil Nagar), Andheri (West), Mumbai.
The rains may still be some days away. But it has already started raining goodies at the Garden. Two people, on separate visits to Shirdi, have returned with sweets (prasad) from the Sai Baba temple. Another ushered in her birthday early morning. Yet another, a proud grandfather celebrated his grandchild passing with flying colours in the Central Board of Secondary Examinations.
Meanwhile, Santosh Tyagi (right) got busy distributing the prasad she had brought from her trip to Shirdi last week-end. There was Najma Sayeed (below, right) also who
had gone to the same place around the same time and had huge temple laddoos to show for it. The lady, who has been suffering from severe pain in the joints (especially her knees), apologized profusely for not being able to move around enough at Shirdi and find something more appropriate for those who are diabetic.
