Eternal Mysteries

Nutty treat from Monthi Serrao

Choco treat from Mumtaz Jahan

Two belated but well-timed treats. One, Monthi Serrao came with packets of dry coconut, chikki balls and salted cashew to mark her return from Mangalore on Februrary 25. And two, Mumtaz Jahan distributed Dubai’s famous bumble chocolates to celebrate her birthday that escaped us on February 14. She was in Kerala at that time.
So, for the few of us who turned up in the morning, it was a windfall of sorts, two times over. In fact, we were just about half-and-dozen for the best part of the exercises today.

Arun Patil conducts exercises in double-quick time

And with Arun Patil in the middle, everything was wrapped up in double-quick time.Only thereafter, did the late-comers start appearing one by one. But all the biggies and the regulars, including Srichand Arora, Nahid Khan, Santosh Tyagi, Shekhawat, Jagmohan Papneja, Razia Khan… were absent.
This raises one of the eternal mysteries of the Club. How do some people decide whether or not to come to the Garden every morning? Strangely, when they come, they ALL come, thus taking the head count to 25-plus. It would seem a deluge.

Jagmohan Papneja

And on a lean day, when attendance is in single digit, all key members would be found missing. Do they enter into a joint conspiracy from home, early morning, to boycott the exercises? Or is it some kind of ESP at work that brings them in droves one day and makes them all scarce the next? Nobody has an answer to this.
Yet another abiding mystery (on a lighter vein) is Jagmohan Papneja’s movements. He is among the earliest to arrive at the Garden every morning, does his brisk walk, paranayam, etc. and then all of a sudden, he disappears – literally into thin air. There would be no trace of him even as the laughter session begins. And then, like Hamlet’s ghost, he’d show up at the Gate and make his way slowly to the exercise circle with a bag in hand. It would seem as though this is another Jagmohan Papneja showing up for the morning. But then where did the earlier Papneja go? And if there are no two Papnejas, why does he show up so late after being in the Garden already? This happens every day without fail. Where does he vamoose in the interim? Nobody has a clue till date.
Get well soon, Jagmohan-ji!
Jagmohan Papneja:
Life at any time can become difficult. Life at any time can become easy. Good or bad, these are seasons on life. All depends on how you take life and adjust to its seasons.