Going Gung Ho

Discussions in the Darjeeling-Gangtok group

Having survived the houries of Rajasthan – sundry saalis and notorious chudails included – Hari Singh Shekhawat today returned to the Garden with an extra spring in his step. Dressed in a smart yellow t-shirt and denim shorts, he declared giddily, “Ek ke peechchey unniss!” thus boasting of being the only male among 19 females on the trip to Darjeeling-Gangtok, scheduled next year for March 28 - April 2.
Already Monthi Serrao and Bhaswati Bose have done the groundwork for him by drawing up a list of the tour members, collecting an advance from each for hotel bookings and arranging for local travel and logistics at Darjeeling and Gangtok.

Razia Khan

In effect, they have eliminated the "dol-dols” – a peculiar term coined by Shekhawat to describe persons in two minds over joining a trip.
So today, when Bijoy Gupta innocently asked what the trip was about, Shekhawat nearly lost his temper: “After narrating the full Ramayan, you want to know who was Sita?” Fact is, like Gupta, there are many who are disappointed about not making it to the final list of 20 and are now complaining of being kept in the dark. For their benefit, Monthi and Bhaswati are now contemplating a second trip, the only problem being that the tourism season in those parts is restricted to two months only -- April and May. (After that, monsoon sets in, followed by bone-chilling winter.) So the second trip, if at all, has to be planned right away, or else, hotel bookings would dry up. Incidentally, more than a dozen people have already enlisted for it.
Meanwhile, Razia Khan (who cannot join this trip because of her grandchildren’s exams) is leaving for Pune and has taken leave of absence from the Garden till mid-November. It is one of those coincidences we have got used to in the Club: one person comes back, another person leaves…
Jagmohan Papneja:
Before the trip, Shekhawat-ji -- Paancho ungali ghee mein, sar kadai mein.
On or after the trip, Shekhawat-ji -- Chaaro khane chit!