Congratulations… and Celebration

The event had all the makings of a school Annual Day function. At least four ladies came in neatly decked for the occasion. Members of Badmaash Company were in regulation black and white.

Many congratulations, Mr Arora

Hearty felicitations, Mr Grover

Ram Shankar Shukla came wearing a Muslim skull cap which was soon to hop between the heads of Srichand Arora and Hari Singh Shekhawat. Arora actually was to take the cake (and the Pehchaan Kaun-8 winner’s award too) when he turned up in a snazzy salwar-kameez suit – if only to relive his childhood days in pre-partition India.
But it was fun all the way. The place was buzzing with activity, even before the trophies

Monthi felicitates Arun Patil

And now, from the shortest to the tallest

(see post of August 8) were given out, thanks mainly to Shekhawat who had rattled the telephone lines beforehand to ensure a full house. Mumtaz Jahan, Khatoon Baig and several others who were away for Ramzaan, responded to his call. So in a sense, it was a joyous Eid celebration too. And adding to the festive air, Yusuf Rassiwala brought along a big box of chocolates to go with the mounds of phapda-jalebi and of course, endless rounds of tea on offer.
Arora received his crystal trophy from Harbans Kaur, the winner of the last Pehchaan Kaun contest. Shekhawat, in his capacity as chairman of the Club, presented Ved Prakash Grover with another trophy on his Platinum Jubilee year while Monthi Serrao, a senior founder member, felicitated Arun Patil on his Diamond Jubilee year.

WINNERS ALL (l to r): Shukla, Grover, Arora and Arun Patil

The biggest applause was however, reserved for the last when Shukla, the tallest member of the Club was presented his trophy (as a token of appreciation for lending his picture for the contest) by the shortest member of the Club – Bhaswati Bose.
In the end, if there is to be one lasting image of today’s event, it would be Arora prancing about in salwar-kameez. Nobody had ever seen him like this and naturally, all the mischievous minds went on an overdrive at putting a name to him. Geeta Sardhana christened him “Baby Pathaan” while Jagmohan Papneja politely alternated between “Haji Mastan” and “Karim Lala”. Yusuf came up with “Mehboob Khan”… and so on. Finally everybody settled for “Taiyyab Ali” with a necessary addendum, “Pyar Ka Dushman”! Wait for tomorrow’s Pic of the Week to get an idea.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Anniversary gift ideas and celebrations reflect the spirit of oneness and togetherness in Big Laaf.