'Baatuni Babies'

As winter loses its bite, the Garden is filling up again. The woolies are coming off and more people are punctual these days. Significantly, the noisy chatterboxes, who were rather subdued till recently, are back in their elements and regaling everybody with their nonsensical banter and delightful pranks.
The Club has come to recognize this select group of happy-go-lucky ladies as baatuni babies – the allusion deriving from what Yusuf-bhai had coined for Kajal Babani, the youngest and most talkative of them all. He called her “Baatuni Baby”. Today also, he singled her out during the exercises, glowering menacingly while she kept on giggling with other motormouths – Bhaswati Bose and Monthi Serrao. It made no difference to any of them. Within seconds, they were back to their antics. Together, they get along like the garden on fire!

It would however, be unfair to pick on the ladies, because the men too have what may be called 'baatuni babas' – just that they are prone to mood swings. Ironically, Yusuf-bhai is their leader and on his day, he can give Sunita Jajodia nightmares in daytime. And on a bad day, he may simply clam up – much like Srichand Arora, Bapu Rane and Sitaram Hivarkar. Even Tara Chand Seth (left) can be quite a talkative man and his absence for the past four days was therefore noticed with growing concern and alarm. Lest anybody imagine anything untoward, he has sent word that he is busy with his niece’s wedding and that there’s nothing really to worry about.
Adding to the spirit of bonhomie, Prakash Motwani (lead pic) celebrated his 65th birthday with a box of pedas soon after the exercises. Apart from the customary extra laugh, everyone clapped and sang, wishing him a long, healthy and happy life ahead.
Harish Wadhwa:
Monthi-ji has a nice expression of awe and admiration for the sweets being distributed... or is it for Razia-ji who is likely to sneak one away without notice?

This and That

Picnic plans for Suraj Water Park (January 28 post) have also hit a roadblock. The costs would be prohibitive, according to Shekhawat. He offered to refund the money of all those who had paid for the trip when Jagmohan Papneja (right), who happened to drop by for the exercises today, came up with the idea of Manori – a beach resort run by the government, located about 20 minutes away from Madh Island (by boat).
Harish Wadhwa remembers having been to the place not very long back and had found it “good”. He would bring the contact numbers and other details of the resort for Shekhawat to take forward and work out the logistics.
The other important development today was a brief talk by Pradeep Gupta (below) on “structuring” the Club. He explained that in order to monetize this blog, we would have to open a bank account. For that we would have to constitute a registered body. And for that we would have to draw up a charter/ memorandum of association, monitor membership, maintain minutes of meetings, get accounts audited, etc.
Gupta said that he had already identified a professional who would get the paperwork done. On our part, he suggested that all members put a nominal Rs50 per head as one-time payment to the Club and in return, they would be given an ID card individually. If anything, this should infuse a “sense of belonging” and better still, ensure greater involvement of members in all activities of the Club.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
"Meetings, meetings, meetings... never-ending discussions and no end in sight!"
Harish Wadhwa:
With the Goa trip just a fortnight away, who will be interested in yet another picnic to Manori?

Day 545

Pic of the Week

Is he the Pratap Bhatt you are looking for?

"Election Time: Posters are being put up. The favourite is Mr Bhatt!" --Renu Babani

"PT Teacher Bhatt ka poster kyon lagaya hai? School se bhaag gaya kya? Arora-ji ke darr se..."--Dilip Babani

"Bhatt-sa'ab is too simple a man for politics, ideal as a friend and a down-to-earth human being. He is on a Bharat-bhraman, i.e. travelling far and wide. This is his welcome billboard on one of his videsh trips."-- Harish Wadhwa

Under a Cloud

While Goa is on firm footing, the picnic for February 11 has suddenly come under a cloud. Some members, who had visited Nirmal Resort (in Karjat) with a group from the adjacent Garden No 2, now insist that it is a “horrible place” to go. And this after the two Haris, Shekhawat and Naraiyani, have almost finalized the arrangements, including hiring of the bus. Some like Nazma Sayyad have even paid their share for the trip.
The issue was thus thrown open for discussion (pic left) this morning, soon after the exercises. One suggestion that came up was Tikuji-ni-wadi, a popular theme park in the Manpada Chitralsar hills of Thane. According to Shekhawat, a trip there would cost us around Rs900 per head – which many felt was on a higher side, considering the poor quality of food and limited facilities available.
Another option thrown up was Suraj Water Park, also located in Thane. Now this appears to be virgin territory for our members as nobody has any clue what it offers – but for the fact that it is touted as “Asia’s largest water park”. Shekhawat offered to make enquiries and check on the admission rates, etc. before proceeding any further with the idea. In principle though, most members seem inclined towards exploring this option.
Till Shekhawat reverts, we are back to waiting and watching.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* "Oh God, please help me on how to deal with these ladies... I give up!"
* "Badmaash Company rules. Two additions to the group."
Harish Wadhwa:
Renu-ji, if only he knew how to deal with the lady at home, I am sure he would not have come to the Garden every morning and evening religiously.

Sweet Revenge

It was Bhaswati Bose’s turn today to give us a treat – with rasagullas. After the fiasco last time (refer post of October 16, 2010), she decided with a vengeance to smuggle the sweets in while returning from her maike in Dibrugarh (Assam), yesterday. It was a clandestine operation, meticulously planned and executed, involving changing planes at Kolkata, ‘purchasing’ the cooperation of airlines officials and dodging airport security at all strategic points on Republic Day when vigilance is on high alert.
But it was well worth the effort. The nolein goorer rasagulla is a special confection (made from the season’s freshly-extracted molasses) not available elsewhere in the country or at any other time of the year. Unlike the ubiquitous ‘rubbery’ (to quote Sandhya Narang) rasagullas of Mumbai soaked in sugar syrup, these were slightly large and brownish, not-too-spongy and most importantly, melt within moments in the mouth, leaving a lingering aftertaste. It was a pity that in an otherwise full house, certain key members like Srichand Arora, Santosh Tyagi and Geeta Sardhana chose to be absent today.
Earlier in the morning, Shekhawat announced that preparations for the Goa trip in March are on in full swing with Kishor Babani having already booked the air tickets online for as many as 17 members. Many more are expected to join. Planning for the February 11 picnic at Nirmal Resort is also on, on parallel lines. With several such activities on the anvil, looks like we have a busy calendar ahead.
Harish Wadhwa:
Roshogolla bheeshon mishti... Great! Bhaswati-ji, thank you for the lovely, special mishti from Dibrugarh. Yummy. When are you going again?
Srichand Arora:
Yeh hamesha hi mere saath kyon hota hai? Almost all celebrations in the Garden are only when I am not present! Why so? Bhaswati-ji, this time I will have to demand my share of roshogolla... Sorry Mrs Bose, just kidding. Welcome back home. Aapke aane se dekhte hain Derek ka chehra kal!

R-Day 2012

Cloudy, dew-soaked morning. Nafisa Sayed wanted to skip the exercises today because of the cold and instead, huddle around a bonfire in celebration of Republic Day. “Chalo, let’s collect sticks (lakdi) and light a fire,” she urged.
Srichand Arora, who was about to start the exercises, heard “ladki” (girl) and looked around, puzzled and amused. He ran up to Nafisa for clarification, only to have all his hopes dashed. “Forget it, Arora-ji,” she chided. “Ladki aayegi toh haalat kharaab ho jayegi!”
The flow of jokes was however, kept on check (so much so, that the second Laughter Round was called off today) in view of the bereavement in Shekhawat’s family (see yesterday’s post). He was present today and narrated how his brother-in-law, who was barely 57 years, suffered a massive cardiac arrest when he went to relieve himself in the office toilet. He remained locked inside till his colleagues noticed his absence and had to break open the toilet door to retrieve his lifeless body.
“I was at the police station till 3:30 in the morning, but they refused to hand over the body to anyone other than his wife or blood relation,” Shekhawat continued. “So now they are all coming by train from Rajasthan and would reach here by 11.00 a.m. today. Meanwhile, the body has been sent for autopsy to Cooper Hospital. After that it will be taken to his village where the last rites will be performed.”
A two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the departed soul. Sitaram Hivarkar recited the gayatri mantra with everybody joining, in chorus. The national anthem was also sung, soon afterwards – today being R-day. And before winding up, Renu and Kishor Babani, who have just returned from their two-day pilgrimage of Shirdi, distributed prasad (right pic) from the holy shrine of Sai Baba.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* Okay, let's go: One, two, three... times for the exercise so everyone pays attention!
* Have you seen the new chai-wallah? Hard to believe what the Badmaash Company have up their sleeves all the time!
* See, I am the generous one -- so happily distributing prasad... What did you expect?
Harish Wadhwa:
The chai fever has caught on. Maybe, I'll get a job as a chai-wallah when I retire. See the number of glasses we gulp in a morning! It's time you get started too.

Free-for-all

Hari Singh Shekhawat (below) did not come today. He’s had a harrowing night as his brother-in-law, who’s been ailing for some time, has passed away. Around 10:00 p.m. yesterday, he had to rush to Andheri (East) to register the death in a police station and after other formalities, take delivery of the body from Holy Spirit Hospital. All this must have made him so exhausted that he needed a break this morning.
The other key absentee was Srichand Arora. The Club was, in effect, rendered headless with members left to their own devices. Barring Sitaram Hivarkar and Ved Prakash Grover, everyone had a ball getting at one another, joking and fooling about non-stop. There was not a moment of respite without someone or the other pulling off a prank – all on the pretext of exercising. Every time things got out of hand, Razia Khan, in mock seriousness, would ask Sitaram to scold the members. But after a point, he too had given up on everybody.
Amid the chaos, Nazma Sayyad showed up (above) to mark her attendance after more than three months. She has just about recovered from a bad fall which had kept her bed-ridden all this while. Her daughter-in-law, Deepali Sayyad (a movie star) dropped by to check how she was coping with the exercises. Happily, Nazma was doing fine, except for her inability to raise her left arm – which would require the attention of a physio-therapist.
Close to 8:00 a.m., when there were still no signs of the exercises concluding, Nahid Khan walked away. Sunita Jajodia, who was holding herself back because of Yusuf Rassiwala’s presence, took the cue and also ambled away. Dilip Babani hailed her back, only to be rebuffed with “kaam hai”. Dilip kept wondering, “Kya kaam ho sakta hai, jab ghar mein bahu hai?” when Tara Chand volunteered an answer: “Pehle chabi toh de!” The moment everyone burst out laughing, he turned serious: “Chabi dena bahut mushkil hota hai.”
Meanwhile, here's Bhaswati Bose (left) sharing her holiday pic from Dibrugarh, Assam. She is posing against what used to be the 'mighty Brahmaputra' -- the only male river, known for its robustness and volume (as against all other Indian rivers, named after female deities). Here you see the Brahmaputra, dribbling by like a canal -- a sad example of ecological depredation.
Srichand Arora:
Shekhawat-ji, my heartfelt condolences upon learning about your brother-in-law. May God give you all the strength to bear this loss.
Harish Wadhwa:
* By the way, someone from our team is mesmerised by the pretty Marathi film actress (Top Secret)! Just a request to Deepali-ji: She should visit us more often! She has many secret admirers/fans now in the Garden (respectfully).
* Deepest condolences to Shekhawat-ji and the bereaved family on the passing away of his brother-in-law. Our prayers go out to him and as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

‘Good Evening!’

Today, at the instance of Srichand Arora, the Club resolved to greet every late-comer with a ‘Good Evening’! No 'Good Mornings', no 'Namastes', no 'Jai Srikrishnas'. The idea was to make the laggards a little self-conscious; not to embarrass them. So Bapu Rane, Razia Khan, Sandhya Narang, Sitaram Hivarkar, Monthi Serrao … were welcomed by turn with a chorus of Good Evenings – much to the amusement of all present.
By the time Harish Wadhwa’s turn came, the Good Evenings had become Good Night. And then Kiran Sajjan (left) walked in – as usual the last to show up – putting everyone in a quandry. Tara Chand Seth suggested greeting her with ‘Good Bye’. The lady, visibly groggy from last night’s sleep, turned all the more dazed and lost. Even when Monthi comforted her with a polite ‘Good Morning’, she did not respond. Arora’s timely intervention and an apology for taking liberties finally helped Kiran get a clear perspective of things.
However, it must be said that the nature of our day-to-day interaction, if anything, has strengthened the bonding between members over time. As Harish observed today, all the leg pulling, subtle innuendoes and mischievous jibes exchanged during the exercises – which, till recently, used to be frowned upon – is now par for the course. The veneer of formality has lifted and we have become free-spirited individuals. Hari Naraiyani pointed out how Razia has started hitting the high-fives with male members, something unimaginable earlier. Arora added how the ladies hugged him on his birthday (last Saturday), without a sense of restraint or shyness.
Of course, this has a lot to do with a change in attitude – more collectively than individually. For instance, when in the past have we played host to members of another laughter club? Never. We did it last Sunday. Now, there is talk of the laughter club of Garden No 2 paying us a visit on February 4 (Saturday), courtesy Hem Chand Jain (left). By reaching out and welcoming everyone with open arms, we are only enriching ourselves.
On the excursion front, Shekhawat had two announcements to make (middle pic). One, he has so far enlisted 14 members for the Goa trip. And two, Nirmal Resort at Karjat is offering a fabulous deal that works out to Rs300 per head (three meals included) provided we are a group of 30 minimum. With an added Rs200 for the bus, charges should not exceed Rs 500 all-told. The date decided for the trip is February 11. Saturday.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Kiran Sajjan-ji is one of the most soft-spoken ladies and least talkative. She joins us for the sheer pleasure of our company. No problems, even if she gets late due to her personal commitments. She always carries a big smile.
* For a moment, I was surprised when greeted with 'Goodnight', but soon understood the leg-pulling. Well, it was Jain-saab's turn to join the Badmaash Company chai today. Little did we know that he is full of fun and a guru at jokes -- streets ahead of Kishor-da and Hari Naraiyani-ji. You have to hear him to believe it. Chhupe Rustam hain janab!
(No Chhupe Rustam -- Jain-saab is a terrific raconteur of repute with a devastating sense of humour. He deserves to be crowned 'Badshah of Badmaash Company!' --Big Laaf)
Kishor Babani:
DEAR BLOGMONSTER, WHERE IS MY GURU GYAN TODAY?
(Guruji, it is very much there, published as usual early morning. --Big Laaf)

Suspended Animation

The Club’s ‘think tank’ (in pic) gathered after the exercises to weigh the pros and cons of going to Goa (post of January 21) on March 23. Shekhawat had asked Kishor Babani to bring his laptop to the Garden and book air tickets online for all those who had paid the requisite Rs12,000 towards the trip. As it turned out, payments from Khatoon Baig, Mrs and Mr Yusuf Rassiwala, Naseem Bano and Santosh Tyagi and her friend have been received so far.
The question up for discussion was whether to proceed with the bookings of what now amounts to barely 16 per cent of the Club strength. An alternative suggested was not to place an imposition on air travel and leave members to decide whether to take the road or rail route, so long as they reach the venue by a specified time and date.
Srichand Arora pointed out that a two-day Goa trip for Rs 12,000 was “too costly” – more so, when tour operators were advertising five-day trips to Thailand (three days Bangkok + two days Phuket) for Rs 12,999 with airfare, visa charges, three-star hotel and meals, sightseeing and all taxes included. Yusuf-bhai conceded that a trip to Kashmir would also come within Rs12,000. Bose argued that even for Goa, Rs12,000 would be tolerable provided the Club was adequately represented with the usual jing-bang of antakshari, housie and jokes sessions thrown in. Otherwise it will be foolish to invest time and money on the trip.
In the end, it was decided to keep things in suspended animation till Kishor, who is leaving for Shirdi on a personal trip, returns on Thursday. Meanwhile, there’s a proposal to set out on a one-day picnic to a resort in Karjat on February 12. But that’s an altogether different kettle of fish.
Harish Wadhwa:
Well, I am not going to comment on picnic issues, as it is per se an individual's decision. But yes, it has become a topic of big discussion these days, as expected. Let's just have fun at the Garden and enjoy BC with chai or phafda-jalebi parties, which are anytime welcome.

Day 538

Pics of the Week

Today was SRICHAND ARORA’s 71st birthday.
By a happy coincidence, today was also
the day when we had guests from
the Juhu Laughter Club, courtesy Monthi Serrao.
More than 50 spirited ladies and gentlemen
walked in cheerfully and joined
the 30 of us (yes, it was more than a full house!)
for the exercises and
partake in Arora's sumptuous birthday treat of
phapda-jalebi, gulab-jamun, samosa,
potato chops... and hot adrakh-tea.
In the end, Arora was left with nothing for himself!
Here are snapshots of this rare and memorable
Sunday morning.



............................................................"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADU" - Vidhi and Vishesh

If this is not unity, then what is? If only everyone realised it! --Renu Babani

Hi, all of you -- You have made my day, my year and my full life. Special thanks to dear Monthi-ji for 'presenting' me with such a big group of friends. Thanks, once again! -- Srichand Arora

* Has a "Madanlal Khurana" lookalike won the election from Lokhandwala (Garden No 4) constituency? Happy Birthday our dear Arora-ji. May the Almighty give you an ever-smiling and a very long life. --Harish Wadhwa

* Monthi-ji, how about we all making a visit to their laughing group some Sunday in the near future, as a reciprocal gesture -- just for fun and pleasant exchange? We can carry some sweets to build commraderie and also show them our blog live. --Harish Wadhwa

Happy Birthday, Arora-ji. God bless you.--Dilip Babani

Bombay to Goa

The trip to Goa has become the 'big buzz' of the Club. Shekhawat has fixed its date for the Gudi Padwa week-end of March 23-25, 2012 and Kishor Babani has pegged the damages at Rs12,000 per head. According to Shekhawat, nobody finds this figure steep and as many as 13 members are eager to join the trip -- as of now.
Nobody has paid up though. And thereby hangs a tale.
The trip involves to-and-fro air travel (which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the cost), a two-night stay in a beach resort and local sight-seeing. Food is part of the deal, but not booze. Shopping and other personal expenses are also excluded. All told, the burden per participant for the trip should be in the region of Rs15,000– something that does not make any sense, particularly when a return ticket to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dubai… or even Kuala Lumpur can come for a comparable amount.
This is where opinions differ. Obviously, the devil in the deal is the airfare. Many are even asking if it is imperative to go by air – when it is just an overnight journey to Goa by rail or road. The counter-argument is that we save time and in any case, train tickets are not available. Kishor says that the bus is an option that may be considered if we are to slash costs by 50 per cent and turn the trip into a truly 'Club affair' with healthy participation of members. Shekhawat argues that buses don’t have toilets and so it is worth spending extra on air. Thus the debate continues.
Meanwhile, Khatoon Baig (left) has committed to be the first to put in her Rs12,000 on Monday. The rest would rather wait and watch.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* "What on earth is he trying to explain? I don't want to ask the others and sound ignorant."
* "I am a teacher and what I say goes!"
Harish Babani:
I find the raag alaapna or pratah swar pose by Kishor-da more amusing than the Goa visit details! Goa will now be a good topic for people to talk, fight and shout about for some time now.
Harish Wadhwa:
Blog Monster, who is this Harish Babani? LOL

Laughing Club

Bose marked his return to the Garden with Ganguram’s sandesh – typically a Bengali sweet. He had taken a break to attend his niece’s wedding in Calcutta. Sunita Jajodia (below, left) was however, left wondering how he could survive the city’s giant mosquitoes, famously compared to helicopters. “Baap-re-baap,” she blurted out. “Wahaan peh machchar toh mosquito jitne badey hotey hain!” Whatever that meant, she made her point.
Sunita’s bigger concern though was upon sighting Yusuf Rassiwala (below, right) for whom she has another quaint analogy: “Gayi bhains pani mein!” She dreads the thought of him conducting the exercises because it only delays her return home. The last time she asked him to hurry (rather that “waste time on frivolous talk”), he snapped at her, “If you are in such a great hurry, you might as well go right away.” She did not take any chances today and went away before the exercises were to begin.
Sunita needn't have got so paranoid because Yusuf-bhai did not conduct the exercises today. Srichand Arora and Razia Khan did. But that was not to stop Yusuf from playing the fool till Razia had to walk up to him and deliver a reprimand. “What is this ma’m?” was his simple defence. “We come here only to laugh and you are stopping us. This is Laughing Club.”
Soon it was Razia’s turn to be pulled up by Arora for interrupting the exercises with her smart one-liners and cheeky asides. “Talk if you have to,” he advised her. “But only between one exercise and the next, not in the middle of one.” Before long, it was his turn to be admonished, this time by Sitaram Hivarkar – again, for talking too much. “Baatein baad mein,” he hollered at Arora and suddenly, everyone fell silent. The man had spoken!
Harish Wadhwa:
Bose Babooooo... Good Morning! Nice to see you back. I am not going to leave you without my share of sandesh. So you better keep one piece for me. The mood in the pics of Sunita-ji and Yusuf-bhai is an apt depiction of what must have happened.

Sorry!

Due to unavoidable reasons, the blog has been suspended for a couple of days. We'll be back on Friday. Don't go away!

Sunday Delegation

Dilip Babani (left) met his match in Monthi Serrao (right) today. As one who enjoys pulling others’ legs (with no offence meant, though), he was on a roll since early morning, taking digs at every late-comer – all because he was on time for a change. So when it came to Monthi’s turn, he hailed her with a loud “Jai Mata-di!”
Little did he (or anyone else for that matter) expect this mild-mannered lady to abruptly give him back in the same coin. Bending her head and with hands folded in respect, she graciously reciprocated his greeting: “Jai Pita-ji!”
Dilip was stumped.
Today was actually Monthi’s day. Turning up in an elegant black-on-black ensemble with printed scarf to match, she initially escaped the recognition of many – including Bapu Rane, whose prerogative it has always been to hurl a full-toss ‘namattey’ at her every morning. Later, after the exercises, she informed that a delegation of 20-odd members from Juhu Laughter Club would be visiting us at the Garden on January 22 and that we are expected to be present in full-strength to receive them, Sunday notwithstanding. Refreshments will be served.
Now, January 22 happens to be Srichand Arora’s birthday. Unlike others, he is a stickler for celebrating on the same day, rather than settling for joint-parties at the convenience of those whose birthdays fall in the same month. This year though, he has been in a slight fix as the turnout on Sundays is known to be abysmally low. With Monthi organizing the delegation from Juhu, he can now be assured of celebrating his birthday with at least 50 people in attendance. Naturally, he would like to foot the bill. But will Monthi agree?
The morning ended with members observing a two-minute silence (above right) in the memory of Ram Shankar Shukla’s elder brother (yesterday’s post) who passed away recently. May his soul rest in peace.

Busy Monday

An unusually busy morning for a Monday. The weather has mellowed a little, taking the attendance to a happy 20-plus during the exercises. Santosh Tyagi was there, as was Mrs Harbans Singh and Geeta Sardhana. Also Pratap Bhatt. And Yusuf Rassiwala. All those who were erratic in their attendance and had kept low owing to the harsh winter conditions last week, have begun to surface.
Bapu Rane was back from his village in Sindhudurg with til luddoo and malwani khanja (right pic) – sweets just right for the Makar Sankranti season. Ram Shankar Shukla (below) was also back, but with bad news. He has lost his elder brother (due to age-related problems) and had to rush to Kanpur to attend the last rites. Santosh Tyagi was away for more than a fortnight. She’s been busy with shifting residence.
Meanwhile, there’s some talk of a ‘picnic’ to Goa on the March 23 - 25 weekend. Hari Singh Shekhawat is quite gung-ho about going and has already lined up three members and their families for the trip. The logistics however, need to be worked out. A formal announcement would be made once this basic spadework is done.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Today, we had a good turnout of 23 people at the Garden. The mood was upbeat and for once (never occurred before) Bose-babu came late -- after me! Maybe the rajaai last night was a little too cosy!
* Badmaash Company had another new member today. Grover-saab's son is a jolly good man and great company. I hope he joins us more often for the special jokes from our over-creative and brainy members who believe in sharing 'out of the box' jokes -- some, which are beyond the thinking brilliance of normal beings like us.
* Rane-saab enjoyed giving Makar Sankranti goodies to someone special. He welcomes Monthi-ji with his signature "namatte" everyday. Do you see Rane-saab blushing while giving some extra to the ladies? And how pleased they are with the gesture from this humble person? 'Til-Gud Dya, God God Bola'. Give and eat til and gud and speak good of everyone.
* My deepest condolences to Ram Shankar Shukla-ji, as he lost his dear elder brother recently. May the good God give him the strength and courage to bear the loss.

Day 532

Pic of the Week

This photograph was clicked on a cold, full-moon night above the Chinese Hut – just when the clock struck 12!

Renu Babani: "I am a werewolf and come out at midnite. Don't I look dashing? "

Bhaswati Bose: "I can dance, I can jive, I'm having the time of my life... I am the DANCING KING!!!" (with apologies to ABBA)

Anonymous: "...see my hands, watch that feet, I am the BONE DANCE KING!"

Dilip Babani: "This haadi ka pinra bahut khushi se dance karta hai! Lagta hai khoon chahiye peene ke liye... kyunki biwi ne sara khoon pee liya!!!"

Harish Wadhwa: "Hey where is my better half, who made me like this?"

Big Laaf: Hope you don't mean the Blog Monster?!?

Indore-Outdoor

‘Reliving their childhood’ is a much-flogged cliché; but it bears repetition when it concerns two individuals – Srichand Arora (in striped T-shirt) and Hari Naraiyani (in brown safari suit). Many tend to be intimidated by them, partly out of deference to their age and mainly due to their unpredictable ways. But left to themselves, both are simply adorable kids capable of pulling off bizarre pranks that would make any school boy blush.
During the laughter round today, Arora fished a white mobile out of his pocket and tuned on some music. Noticing that Hari-bhai (standing next to him) had an eye on the gadget, he promptly put it into Hari-bhai's safari suit pocket. The mobile was three-fourths jutting out and Hari-bhai kept glowering at it, utterly confused, as though it had a life of its own. Then, after great hesitation, he gingerly plucked it out and transferred it into his right pocket – only to muffle the volume.
This got him all the more perplexed and having long stopped his exercises, he silently kept staring at the vibrating mobile, obviously expecting it to take flight. But more than his look of confusion, Arora’s amused expression at putting Hari-bhai in a spot was a sight to behold – more so, with Nafisa Sayed egging him from the other side to take back the mobile before it stopped playing. Soon Shekhawat also raised an alarm that Hari-bhai would ruin the mobile and Arora had to take it back.
But Hari-bhai wasn’t letting go Arora easily. From the moment he took charge of the free-hand exercises, Hari-bhai kept needling him for going too slow and wasting time on “useless talk”, as a result of which, he would miss his breakfast. Arora was actually in the mood of exchanging notes on Indore with Razia Khan (above, left). Both grew up in the same city and had much to talk about, thereby interrupting the exercises. And then came Harish Wadhwa, another product of Indore and the conversation became more intense, making Hari-bhai (and Sunita Jajodia) now worry about missing lunch also – even as Yusuf Rassiwala urged everybody to be patient with “people from Indore” because “we are from outdoor”! Ultimately, the Indore talk had to be extended to the tea session after the exercises – outside the Garden.
Renu Babani:
Oh my God! How on earth did the Badmaash Company get Sunita-ji to join them for tea? This is a first and definitely a feather in the cap for you guys!
Harish Wadhwa:
* She (Sunita-ji) admitted that all of us had a genuinely hearty laugh at Chai than at the Garden.
* Everyone, no matter who we talk about, has a badmaash side to his/her personality. It is different that no one admits it. After all, we are all decent beings at heart!

Happy Lohri!

Today’s Lohri, the bonfire festival that marks the end of winter and sets off a battery of harvest/ fertility festivals – variously celebrated as Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan, Hadaga, Pongal, Magh Bihu, Poki, Mariamman… The fun and gaiety associated with these festivities was amply reflected in the joyous atmosphere at the Garden as Kishor Babani returned (right pic) from Goa this morning, bringing added cheer with his collection of music and jokes. He was on vacation, with family, for three days.
So contagious has our presence in the Garden become that passersby are increasingly straying in from the walking track for the joy of being part of our group – even if it were for a brief while. There are also some who want to join as ‘regular members’ and Srichand Arora becomes hard-pressed having to explain that membership has been frozen lately. A lady today asked him if she could just join for the exercises and when he gallantly welcomed her with open arms, she said she’d need to ask her husband! Significantly, such odd balls also add to our morning merriment.
In the evening today, a Lohri bonfire will be lit at the Garden – just after sunset. All are invited.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Twanu sab nu, Lohri di bahut-bahut vadhaiyaan. Twadi zindagi te saal, bahut chungey hovein. Til, rewdiyan, gajak ne mungfaliyan Lohri wichh pao, te tussi bhi bharpoor maza lo!
* Blog Monster, Congrats! Our blog today hit another landmark number, 70,000 -- soon to run into a six digit hit figure!! Great going and reporting!!!

Kolaveri Di

It’s amazing how, in the course of exercising, conversations take off at one point and end somewhere else. Sample this.
Well, there was this noisy South Indian couple today, obviously new to the Garden, who took a special interest in our group. They stopped abruptly in their tracks and gaped at us open-mouthed, as though they were seeing monkeys from a zoo. Then blabbering between them-selves, they walked away.
Hari Singh Shekhawat overheard them. “Kolaveri,” he muttered under his breath – probably the only Tamil word he knew. Clearly, he did not like being disturbed.
“Kolaveri ho, Kolhapuri ya Sholapuri, kya farak padta hai?” consoled Tara Chand Seth.
“Magar yeh kolaveri hai kya?” interjected Nafisa Sayed.
“Who knows?” replied Razia Khan and went on to expound on how meaningless words make for film lyrics these days and become runaway hits. “Songs with meaning are no longer heard,” agreed Khatoon Baig.
Silence. Exercise continues…
“Magar yeh gana gaya kissne?” persisted Nafisa.
Razia: “Kolaveri? Woh uska daamaad hai!”
Kisska daamaad? Big mystery. Exercise stops as everybody wracks their brains. Singer becomes irrelevant and father-in-law gains importance. Monthi Serrao, Harbans Singh, Nahid Khan… all film aficionados, all blank. And then, somebody says Rajnikanth!
Nafisa makes a face. “I prefer Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand… Rajnikanth has style only in lighting cigarettes!” she says, giving a demonstration. Shekhawat is thrilled. For his benefit, Nafisa does a retake, classic Rajni-style.
Somebody (name withheld) interrupts: “Kolaveri-kolaveri, big deal. Before the Tamilians coined 'kolaveri-di', we’ve been hearing ‘terimaa-di’, ‘teripehn-di’ since childhood.”
End of discussion. End of exercise. Srichand Arora distributes a circular (pic above) on plans to take forward the plan to monetize this blog. Group disperses.
Harish Wadhwa:
* What a rally of weird thoughts, words and senseless discussions we are all capable of. One can read today's blog with a smile and imagine how all this must have unfolded actually in the Garden today. LOL. It was a fun-filled morning as usual.
* Arora-ji was also excited to share some nice badmaash jokes with his badmaash friends!

Return to Garden

Vijay Bhai (right) does not belong to the Club. He is a loner. He shows up unfailingly every morning at the Garden and takes his rounds with slow, measured steps – stopping at times to exchange pleasantries and discuss cricket with anyone and everyone. He knows us all. When someone is absent for some time, he'd enquire if all is well. His concern is genuine. He has that endearing quality about himself only an evolved human being can have.
Then one day, Vijay Bhai stopped coming. We heard he was down with a massive cardiac arrest. He was hospitalized and discharged after an angioplasty. He stays right opposite the Garden but nobody had the heart to call on him. We all knew he would pull through and be back for his walks as earlier. But still…
Today Vijay Bhai was back – a pale shadow of himself. Many did not recognize the hunched figure in heavily padded woolens (instead of his trademark white), obviously trying to hide a frail body. He spoke with an effort, worry lines creasing his once cheerful face. He looked lost. Suddenly the man has aged beyond his years.
For the Club though, the event of the morning was the return of Nafisa Sayed (left). To Shekhawat she personifies ‘entertainment without tax’ and naturally, he became delirious on seeing her huddled in the Chinese Hut, fully mummified in pullover and shawl. Later on, she narrated in graphic detail how intimidated she was by the morning chill – the way she woke up and opened a window religiously to check the weather, only to rush back within moments under the blanket.
While everybody laughed their heads off and brought the exercises to a halt, Tara Chand took a sympathetic view suggesting that being a diabetic, Nafisa better not take chances in the winter as she could be rendered paralyzed for life. Shekhawat did not like this. He began acting out how Rajasthan would be full of paralytics – so severe was the cold there – if what Tara Chand said was true.
But the damage was done. Nafisa now has a better excuse to revive her phunti act!
Harish Wadhwa:
* Blog Monster, first of all my sincere appreciation for the 'new look' of this blog site. Very nice and better looking than the predecessor. The new style is eye catching.
* Nafisa is one of the most witty people in our group. She can come up with impromptu one-liners that can catch anyone’s attention. Nice to see her back.
* My good wishes to good people like Vijay Bhai. May God bless him with a long and healthy life. Good health is the biggest blessing that the Almighty can give anyone.
* By the way Bose-Babu, winter is in full swing and you better take care of yourself by putting on some more cover than imitating Sallu miyan. I am concerned that you stay healthy and avoid a bout of cold due to morning chills.
* Tarachand-ji, looks like you are amidst some people who enjoyed pani-puri and garlic bread last night! Or is it the low tide effect of the nala near the Garden?

Chilled Out

As predicted by the met office, the mercury slipped below 11 degrees Celsius (a good five degrees below normal) in the morning, making all of Mumbai shiver. Lokhandwala shivered. The Garden shivered. The trees and shrubs shivered. We shivered. And so when the call for “Hai mera dil” (at the beginning of the exercises) was met by a stony silence, Tara Chand’s cheeky comment was telling: “Thund mein dil sukad gaya!” The heart had shrunk.
Unlike yesterday, everyone was out to humour everyone, making light of the severe cold. Hari Singh Shekhawat, his head wrapped in green muffler, insisted on exchanging “dua-salaam” with Rehana Sheikh, knowing well that the ladies would get on his case. Sure enough, they wanted to know why he cannot wish from a distance and his need to shake hands. But Rehana jumped to Shekhawat’s defence: “Heii! Koi kuchh bolney ka nahin. He is my Shekhu darling!”
Then there was Razia Khan's unusual demand that a fire be kept burning in the middle of the circle so that we could all huddle around. “Toh main jal jaaoongi,” reasoned Nahid Khan, who was conducting the exercises. Later, she consoled Razia that the cold would last till the sun came up: “This is just the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. chill of Mumbai. During the day it should be pretty warm.”
The tea ordered by Dilip Babani at the end of the exercises came as a welcome surprise. Today was his birthday and wife Kajal was there with him to celebrate with “chai-biscuit”. Nothing could have been more godsent. The beautiful couple struck lovey-dovey poses (left pic) while seniors like Sitaram Hivarkar and Srichand Arora dropped by, especially to wish Dilip many happy returns of the day.
Earlier in the morning, Mumtaz Jahan (right pic) showed up with a box of sweets and a bag of walnuts from Srinagar. Brandishing a sheaf of papers, she announced she had joined Sharad Pawar’s National Congress Party (NCP) as president of its Rashtrawadi Granthalaya Sabha, Jammu and Kashmir. She is already chairperson of Mother Women Welfare Organisation, an NGO engaged in providing vocational training to jobless women and has also been actively involved with Tamir-i-Hind and Aman Mela on Indo-Pak amity.
To plebians like us though, what matters most is whether we get a ride in her lal-batti gaadi – the car with a red beacon, promised by her party.
Harish Wadhwa:
* I am convinced that winter has set into Mumbai, now that Bose Babu decided to wear a full pant today, instead of his usual capris.
* Happy Birthday to Dilip-bhai on his 21st birthday (Dil toh jawan hai abhi)! Nice pic of him and Kajal-ji. They indeed make a lovy-dovy pair with nice expressions. Thanks for the chai and biscuits.
* Thank you also Mumtaz-ji, for those nice sweets. May you become the chief minister of J&K some day. You will do much better than the present lot of politicians.
* Missed Kishor-da and his Ganju-Panju jokes.
Bhaswati Bose:
* Many happy returns of the day, Dilip Bhai. Though I missed the chai, I thank you for sending my share of biscuits.
* Nice to have our "Kashmir ki Kali" back with us. Do we have to address her as "Madam" now?
Anonymous:
I consider, that you committed an error. I can defend the position. Merry Christmas:)
Renu Babani:
Having a blast with family in Goa. Weather is beautiful and the beach hut is great. An experience so worth it. Lovely clean beach and so huge. Are you guys familiar with the name Calangute? This trip is the best ever!
Harish Wadhwa:
Renu-ji, Calangute Beach is indeed beautiful and with clean water, unlike Baga and others. I am sure you are all having a great time. By the way, Calangute also offers nice eye tonic to tourists. So keep an eye on Kishor-da!

Cold Wave

An unexpected drop in the temperature, coupled with wind chill, gave us the shivers this morning. Just as we had thought that winter was receding from Mumbai, the effects of unprecedented snowfall in the northern parts of the country hit us with a vengeance. Many were so ill-prepared that they kept on cribbing, all the while rubbing their hands together and cursing their fate for leaving home today. Those with weak bladders took frequent toilet breaks. Tara Chand Seth remarked that all those suffering from heart and BP problems should have stayed back at home as exercising in cold conditions can often prove counter-productive. “My son had warned me against leaving home, but like a fool I have come out,” he said.
Probably this explains why many elderly members like Yusuf Rassiwala, Pratap Bhatt and Harbans Singh did not turn up this morning. Some like Mumtaz Jahan, Ram Shankar Shukla and Ramila Mistry have been missing since the onset of winter. In particular Santosh Tyagi (right) is being missed, though, according to Hari Singh Shekhawat, “domestic compulsions” have kept her home-bound for the past fortnight. But the joke going around is that because she has stopped coming to the Garden, many ladies have stopped coming!
Meanwhile, Kishor Babani (left) informed that he is proceeding to Goa this afternoon with wife and relatives. He promises to be back on Friday morning. Much as we would miss his music and lively Ganju-Panju jokes, this is wishing him and his family a gala time in Goa.
Harish Wadhwa:
Will miss you Kishor-da and your Ganju-Panju jokes. Come back soon and 'behave' in Goa. We have secret eyes watching you. Renu-ji, keep an eye on Kishor-da's roving eye and update us on all the Goa-ki-khabar.
BTW, I found company in many more members wearing woolens and warm tracksuits today.

Day 525

Pic of the Week

HAPPY BIRTHDAY(IN ADVANCE)!

"Hap-py Birthday in advance, dear Dilip-ji. I know you wanted Vidya Balan instead of the girl kissing you in this picture. But never mind, there's always a next time!!!" --Srichand Arora

"What a way to wish Happy Birthday! Kajal, where are you???" --Bhaswati Bose

'Bheegey hoth tere, pyaasa dil mera...'
I seriously didn't ask for mouth-to-mouth! Why is she even trying? --Renu Babani

"10-01-2012 ko aapko yehi photo-wali sapno mein miley aur roj sataaye. Iss asha ke saath Janam Din Mubarak." --Harish Wadhwa