Special Day

Srichand Arora takes charge of today's exercises

Photo op at Lokhandwala Durgotsav 2013

Today was a special day as Srichand Arora, in spite of a stiff arm, took to the middle and conducted the free-hand exercises after four months. Given his advanced age and considering the slow recovery from a major road accident last June, this was no mean feat. For such a bold initiative, the courage and will to overcome physical odds and in the end, coming off successfully, he was greeted with a special round of applause from all present.
But then, as it is said, necessity is the mother of desperate measures. None of the seniors who normally conduct our exercises – including Nahid Khan and Razia Khan – turned up today. (Strangely, barring Khatoon Baig, all our Muslim friends were absent en masse this morning.) Realising the situation we were in, Arora volunteered to take charge, but with a rider. “You all know the condition of my left shoulder, so please forgive me for any lapse that might occur,” he said with folded hands. “I will do the best I can but on your part, please try to carry out the exercises correctly.”
There were no lapses. On the contrary, Arora was extra cautious today while stretching and lifting the affected arm, unlike the times when left to himself, he would turn needlessly adventurous, only to recoil in agony. He also looked upbeat while mentioning the name of a reputed physio-therapist who has given him time to check the injured shoulder.
In the end, just before calling it a day, Shekhawat announced that the Durga idol in Garden No 4 has just been installed and all those interested may take a walk across the street for a “devi darshan”. Members however, were more interested in passes for the evening entertainment shows and began questioning one another on their availability. Nevertheless, like every year, a small group from the Club went across and paid obeisance to the idol at what is otherwise known as the Lokhandwala Durgotsav of 2013.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Nice to see our jolly-hearted Arora-sa'ab in action, giving the group some fine rocket-launch lessons!
* The idol of Durga-Ma at Lokhandwala Garden are very similar to that of last year. Hey Ma, forgive the sins and badmashiyan of all the badmaashes who visited you today for darshan. Needless to say, I was one of them!