Cut to Size

Srichand Arora

Santosh Tyagi came in today and Sunita Jajodia went to Delhi. Ved Prakash Grover also wanted to take a break, but by mistake he did the gentlemanly thing of putting in his ‘leave application’ this morning. Instantly, Arora jumped up and started grilling him: Why this leave? Where was he going? What would he be doing during those days? Can’t the leave be curtailed… Grover was at pains to explain that his family had to go to Delhi today and in their absence, he would be required to hold fort. He must necessarily remain home-bound and cannot even stir out in the morning.
Arora understood. Grudgingly he granted Grover leave till May 27.

Ved Prakash Grover

If Arora thought that he could throw his weight around randomly, Ramila Mistry was to cut him to size by addressing him as “Mota Bhai” – something he detests. In Gujarati, this is an honorific for “elder brother”, but in Arora’s dictionary, it means “fatso”. And without exaggeration, anybody would affirm he is on the heavier side, just that he does not admit or like hearing about it. “If I were to be thin and spindly, would you still call me mota bhai?” he charged.

Vandana Kankanwar

Before Ramila could reply, Nahid Khan mischievously pointed at some large potholes in the ground and explained: “See, wherever you stand, you are leaving those big khaddey!”
Arora turned a deaf ear (or maybe, he actually hadn’t heard her) because from the laughter around, he had gauged that he would be outnumbered should he protest. But his silence gave Nafisa Sayyad the cue to start needling him with gibberish and gesticulating in sign language till Arora was left completely foxed and forced to admit that he was hard of hearing. “Why are you doing this to me?" he pleaded "Could you not find any other murga today?”
With no offence meant, everyone had fun-filled morning – appropriately wrapped up with an extra laugh to mark Vandana Kankanwar’s birthday. She was not present though. Still, we wish her many happy returns of the day – a long and joyous life ahead.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Happy Birthday, Vandana-ji. May all your dreams and wishes come true.
Harish Wadhwa:
Happy Birthday, Vandana-ji.