Total Anticlimax

Bijoy Gupta

After yesterday’s double-double celebration (see post), today turned out to be a total anti-climax. There was no trace of Yusuf Rassiwala. Harbans Kaur left for Pune. Monthi Serrao forgot her way to the Garden. There was no news of Ram Shankar Shukla either. Srichand Arora also abandoned…
But Bijoy Gupta was there. At first Jagmohan Papneja mistook him for Pele till his pencil line moustache gave him away. Otherwise, the sun-burnt ruggedness, athletic gait and new hairstyle closely resembled that of the Brazilian football legend. The many weeks of staying awake in front of the TV for the FIFA World Cup has apparently rubbed off on him (ref post of June 16) a little. And today, having finally made up for sleep deprivation, he showed up at the Garden, fresh and fine.
The rains also created some confusion. When we started out, it was bright and sunny. But twice, in the course of exercising, the heavens broke loose and it poured like hell.

Dodging the rains

And then again, it was bright and sunny.
Dilip Babani likened it to a ‘donkey’s wedding’. But according to Shekhawat, this was just the weather to take off for the hills and enjoy the monsoon – Lonavala still playing on his mind. Early morning, he entered the Garden marveling at the clear, blue skies and nip in the air only to insist that we do not waste this opportunity and set out for a picnic. When he was told that all roads leading out of Mumbai had turned treacherous in the monsoon and were clogged with traffic, he became all the more determined: “But who wants to be in any hurry? Let it take all day on the roads. We are going for a night stay.”
Shekhawat’s only concern is whether there would be enough people to fill a bus. “Even if five couples agree, we shall go,” he declared confidently. “I shall manage the rest,” he added, clearly counting on the return of some members currently away on their annual Ramzaan break.