Bitter Aftertaste

Jagmohan Papneja whacks the neem tree mercilessly

Every other morning, we are treated to something sweet – chocolates, luddoos, pedas… even jalebis on occasion. But today, for a change, we were left with a bitter aftertaste from the exercises, thanks to one lady.
Monthi Serrao had never known the taste of neem leaves. Or so she claimed. She kept leaping in her bid to reach up to a branch of the neem tree overhanging the spot where we exercise. Seeing her fail repeatedly at plucking a single leaf, Geeta Sardana chided her, “The grapes are sour!”
That too was news to Monthi. “Is that so?” she asked, apparently confused.
Now, this was getting too much for us. Was Geeta seeing grapes on a neem tree? Or maybe, Monthi was pulling Geeta’s leg. Or, who knows, neither of them had ever tasted grapes before.
A forever obliging Jagmohan Papneja procured a long stick from somewhere in order to put all confusion to rest. By then, a small crowd had gathered around. In his infinite wisdom, Jagmohan had taken upon himself to give Monthi a taste of neem. Sunita Jajodia too joined in, insisting she too wanted to taste neem. Only Teja Singh Bhambra was prudent enough to have nothing to do with this drama and discreetly made his way out.
Jagmohan gave one whack at the branch and a few twigs fell. He gave another whack and some dried leaves fluttered by. The third whack produced a shower of green leaves sending everyone scrambling to the ground. Jagmohan himself started to munch on a fistful of green leaves in a manner that would have done a horse proud – except that these tasted woaaaack! How did we know?
Monthi did the gracious deed of distributing the green leaves around. They were worse than neem.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Neem has attracted world attention for its medicinal properties. If you make it a habit to take neem leaves daily (bitter taste), it should control sugar and BP. But clinical studies do not confirm its efficacy and safety. Consult a doctor before taking neem leaves.
Harish Wadhwa:
What an amusing incident! I am sure people watching the trio, must have been in splits seeing a man whacking the poor and speechless neem tree to impress women, who finally woaaacked tasting its fruits. All of them must appear for the TV show Entertainment Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega!