Unstoppable

Arora tries to contain Shekhawat during the exercises

Mumtaz Jahan came and made Hari Singh Shekhawat’s day. She listed the names of prominent Indian politicians (cutting across party lines) who were compulsive drinkers and couldn’t do without their daily tipple every evening. “No politician can claim the high moral ground,” she declared.
Mumtaz should know as she is an ‘active member’ of the NCP and hobnobs with the high and mighty in Delhi. But even if that weren’t so, what she said was supreme music to Shekhawat’s ears. At least he could now count himself in exalted company because of his drinking habits. And when Mumtaz mentioned the name a lady alcoholic (“she even appears bleary eyed and slurs on TV”) he went berserk. “Please, please introduce her to me,” he pleaded with Mumtaz like a lost child.

Ram 'Gurukul' Shukla

Whether or not this was meant to be a joke, it set the mood for the morning. Shekhawat was all over the place, popping like a hyperactive jack-in-the-box, clapping and dancing… and the exercises be damned. With Mumtaz and Razia Khan egging him, he was simply unstoppable. Distracted by the antics, Srichand Arora walked up to calm him down, but to no avail. Nahid Khan divined that at this rate, we would take forever to complete today’s exercises.
The heartbreak moment came at the end when Mumtaz refused to pay her annual subscription of membership because she was irregular in her attendance. “Why should I pay when I do not come very often?” she reasoned. “Strike my name out of the club list if you like!”
“Look Mumtaz-ji, it is always easy to come out but never easy to re-enter,” Shekhawat advised her in all innocence. What he meant was with reference to the Club, but the way it sounded in Hindi made all the ladies turn crimson. Realising the faux pas, Shekhawat instantly bit his tongue, only to double up, laughing his guts out. And that sealed the issue.
If there was one person Shekhawat missed all morning, it was his favourite sparring partner, 'Gurukul'. Also known as Ram Shankar Shukla, he has sent word seeking “one week’s leave” because of viral fever that has rendered him weak and bed-ridden. We trust he is taking good care of himself and recovers soon.