Mosquito Scare

Yash Chopra’s death after a prolonged battle with dengue has created a mosquito scare in the Garden. Far from expressing grief at the passing of the grand old patriarch of Hindi cinema, members appeared paranoid at the possibility of being next in line. “If tiger mosquitoes could attack him, what would happen to ordinary folks like us?” was the common refrain.
Nahid Khan was particularly agitated about being “besieged by swarms of mosquitoes” who have robbed her of all sleep. A lady advised her to use "Ram Lakshman”. Then she corrected herself to “Lakshman Rekha” – only to realize that the insect repellent works only for cockroaches and not mosquitoes.
Ram Shankar Shukla suggested stringing mosquito nets because nothing else worked in Bombay. The mosquitoes, he said, have become immune to even Tortoise Coils and Good Night. But Srichand Arora and Harish Wadhwa felt that pulling down window nets before dusk should suffice. Kishor Babani argued that keeping one’s surroundings clean and ensuring that no water is allowed to stagnate would be the safest option. Those living alongside open drains would have to be extra careful, he added.
Automatically attention shifted to the open drain running parallel to the Garden which is a potential breeding ground for those killer mosquitoes. A cricket pitch is coming up alongside (lead pic) with arrangements for net practice. Funnily, the nets open to the side of the drain, prompting Arora to speculate if fielders would be stationed there to stop wayward balls. Nobody could provide any other logical explanation.
Meanwhile, Harish Wadhwa scored a bragging point over how he was informed of Yash Chopra’s demise. Unlike the aam janta (“mango public”?) who got the news from television or newspapers, he was informed by Biswajeet – yes, the yesteryear movie star. Harish happened to bump into him last evening and waxed eloquent on meeting such a legendary figure (pic above left) when Biswajeet quietly told him that the “real legend” was no more. Yash Chopra had breathed his last barely an hour earlier.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* "What is the commotion about... Yeh machchar neend haram kardiya"!
* "Pleasure meeting you... though wish it were in better circumstances."
Harish Wadhwa:
* Special thanks to Monthi-ji for the sweets. She had kept some exclusively for me, since I was out of town when she had distributed them. Goes to show that people care about the messages in the blog. The sweets were yummy.
* Yes, it was pleasure meeting Biswajeet, thanks to Bose-babu who could recognise him. It is amazing how a chocolate-hero boy looked in his golden days (above right) and what age can do. Must say he was kind and generous to talk to and I wish him a great life in show business.
Bhaswati Bose:
Biswajeet should be a member of our Club. He's a right candidate for Pehchaan Kaun!
Big Laaf: Well, here's another pic (left) of Bishu-da, as he is known today.