Mass Boycott

"Umm... I woke up late... was watching cricket late night."

Sweltering heat today almost forced a total boycott of the exercises. There were barely six members present in the Garden to start the morning proceedings. For the first time Santosh Tyagi excused herself and left, complaining of “uneasiness” due to the extreme heat. Obviously, those who stayed on did not matter because the first remark Jagmohan Papneja made upon arriving was, “Kya, koi nahin?”
Clearly, the heat does strange things to the human brain, even impairing hearing abilities. Sample this conversation:

Santosh Tyagi

A: “Is that a boy walking there, or is she a girl?”
B: “No, it is the stink of cow dung coming from the open drain.”
C: “Actually because of the heat, Arora is absconding today”.
A: “But is that a boy or a girl going there?”
C: “No problem, you can take your cap off!”
The good news is that Jagmohan has been appointed to a sub-committee that would take care of the amenities in the Garden.

Jagmohan Papneja

That makes him our go-to man for any requirement. He revealed that the China Hut will be demolished very soon and a new structure, much more spacious (“with a capacity for 40 people”) would be erected in its place. He intends to get it done ahead of the monsoon so that we would have ample space to exercise when it starts to rain from mid-June.
A far more pressing problem, as Dilip Babani pointed out, is the absence of any provision for drinking water in these sultry times. The taps in the Garden have long since run dry. Dilip suggests reviving the water connection and investing in a proper water cooler (with purifier) on a priority basis. The cooler may be placed conveniently near the Garden gate under the watchful eye of the security staff to prevent any misuse and wastage of water. After all, without potable water, we all run the risk of dehydration and consequent medical complications.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Elderly people are prone to heat stress. To prevent heat-related problems, one has to drink plenty of water. Don't wait till you are thirsty to drink. Try to remain in the shade. The BMC has discontinued water supply to Gardens in order to save potable water. They are advising the digging of borewells and ringwells as alternate water sources. So drinking water has to be arranged by individuals.