Yeshhhh… HE is Papneja!

FROM A SMALL BOY...

TO A YOUNG MAN...

TO JAGMOHAN PAPNEJA

The identity of the mysterious kid in the 10th edition of Pehchaan Kaun was finally revealed with Jagmohan Papneja today admitting that the photograph was indeed his (ref posts of August 24 and September 4).

Jagmohan Papneja throws the 'spot question'

Eleven participants got it right. Sadly, Bihari Milwani and Kajal Babani had to be dropped on a matter of detail and out of the remaining nine, Hari Singh Shekhawat was eventually declared winner.
It was a keenly fought contest, even as the level of participation was unusually low this time. Quite clearly, nobody wanted to be caught making a mistake and those who were even slightly unsure refrained from taking part. So it came as no surprise that of the total number of entries received, an unprecedented 78 per cent got it spot on.

Toss of a coin!

Only Arun Patil, Dilip Babani and Papneja himself (but his was in the nature of a red herring) were found incorrect. Were it not for these three, we would have had 100 per cent all-correct entries.
Selecting the winner (in all fairness) from these claimants was left to Papneja.

Monthi distributes cranberries

Picking the first all-correct entry or deciding by a draw of lots had attracted some criticism in the past. In a rare sporting gesture Srichand Arora, followed by Santosh Tyagi withdrew from the contest, declaring that as past winners they would rather give others a chance. That was to leave six in the reckoning – Geeta Sardana, Yusuf Rassiwala, Nahid Khan, Monthi Serrao, Razia Khan and Shekhawat. Harish Wadhwa was the sole absentee.
This was when Papneja came up with a novel idea.

Shekhawat is WINNER!

He asked a ‘spot question’ to the six present, wanting to know at what age the boy’s photograph had been taken. The correct answer (or the one closest to it) would be declared winner. Nobody got it right. The closest anybody got there were Yusuf and Shekhawat. So here we had a tie. And the only way to break it was by a toss of a coin. Sadly, the others had to withdraw from the scene.
But then Monthi Serrao was soon to cheer them up with a tray of succulent dry cranberries, while all others also piled on. (Where she gets such delicacies from, she alone knows!) They all took fistfuls of the cranberry and within minutes the tray was wiped clean. Everyone returned home happy and Pehchaan Kaun-10 was forgotten.
The winner’s trophy will be presented to Shekhawat on September 13 – next Saturday – same time, same place.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Thanks to everyone who entered our Pehchaan Kaun-10 contest. You have left your evaluator impressed by the keenly fought contest. Since the prize is to be given only to one person, the decision was taken in a transparent manner. It is my proud privilege to announce Shekhawat-ji as the lucky winner. My congratulations to him on winning the Crystal Trophy. Have a great time!
Harish Wadhwa:
* Woh kya dikhte the, woh kya ban gaye... I mean aur acchhe aur samajdar ban gaye!
* Papneja-ji was a perfect Chhupa Rustam never giving any clue of his picture or identity. He even misled many of us by naming Arun Patil. Wah wah kya baat hai!