Unsettled

Savouring the goodies from Spain and Turkey

By July every year, the monsoon would be upon us, hammering down in all its demented fury. But this time around, none of it has happened. The rains continue to play truant and strangely enough, this leaves us in an unsettled state for the exercises every morning. One day, it could be wet and windy, forcing us to be closeted in the China Hut. And the very next day, it could be dry and sultry and we would be out in the open, sweating it out in bright sunshine.
Today, we were both in and out during the exercises. The laughter round was conducted in the China Hut since it had begun to drizzle the moment we got started. No sooner were we done than the drizzle stopped and we trooped outside for the free-hand exercises.

Bihari's greeting being read out

In all this tentativeness and given that almost all our Muslim friends are on fast because of the holy Ramzan, the biggest casualty had to be the attendance. We were no more than 15 this morning – mostly late-comers.
The good part about low attendance is that there would always be more than enough to go around should any one be throwing a treat. So today, with the Boses returning from their annual vacation, the dozen-odd present could gorge on multiple helpings of what was on offer -- bukhlawas from Istanbul (otherwise known as ‘Turkish Delight’), sponge cakes from Barcelona and typical Spanish cheese from Madrid. Someone even announced that he might as well be done with his breakfast in the Garden and promptly went for yet another helping of the eats.
The best part though, was reserved for the last. Bihari Milwani had brought along a large pictorial greeting, beautifully laminated, waxing lyrical on the wedding anniversary of the Boses gone by. It was a well-thought gesture, wittily worded, instantly evoking all-round applause and was read and re-read by all present. He gifted it to the Bose couple.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Welcome home, the Bose couple! Looks like you both had an amazing time. All those treats were yummy. Oh, that was an incredible assortment of items -- sponge cake, Spanish cheese, Turkish delight and what not. Thanks for the delicious sweets.