Easter Bourbons

'Happy Easter!' Monthi Serrao

Tara Chand surrounded by his admirers

We know of the traditional Easter goodies – the cake, pastry, Easter eggs, Easter chocolates, Easter candies… But whoever heard of ‘Easter luddoos’? Monthi Serrao almost made history by offering to celebrate The Resurrection with luddoos, till better sense prevailed and she treated us today to bourbon (sandwich) biscuits instead.
Belated as it was, Monthi cannot be entirely blamed (or credited) for this confusion. She had been in a fix over treating us to cakes, which inevitably contain eggs as an ingredient -- much to the dislike of some vegetarians who keep demanding only eggless cake preparations.
Rather than enter into a dispute, Monthi had wisely considered skipping the Easter celebration this year when Tara Chand Seth did something out of character yesterday. He sidled up to her after the exercises and in a conspiratorial tone said, “Aap kuchh laney wali thi?” clearly, taking an empty-handed Monthi (and others) by surprise.
Visibly embarrassed by what he had done, he made up for it today by wishing her “Happy Easter” profusely (actually, he was the only one to do so) and was suitably rewarded by the first packet of bourbon. But then, it must be said that Tara Chand has turned increasingly voluble of late – besides of course, looking and behaving younger than his years. He even uses expressions like “beautiful girl” (in English), quite oblivious to the response this tends to generate.
The latest is the ‘solution’ he has found for all the talking-shawking that goes on during the exercises. “The talkative types should be allotted a special period in between the free-hand and laughter sessions,” he has advised. “And only after they are done, must we resume exercising.” This way, he says, everybody would get to vent their repressed feelings.