Farewell 2014

PHOTO FINISH: 'Tourists' at the famous Lokhandwala Garden No 4 where history
was made and unmade by BIG LAAF every morning... all through 2014!

As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time once again to do our annual stocktaking. True, there’s a lot to be happy about – be it the round-the-year morning treats, the celebrations of Republic Day, Independence Day, Holi, Eid and Diwali, the trips to Lonavala, Juhu Beach, Chhota Kashmir and the mother of them all, Kerala… or the blog crossing the 300,000-hits' mark, instituting the Woman of the Year award, and the Pehchaan Kaun guessing games.

Last walk-back from the exercises of 2014

More importantly, we have all been hale and hearty and our flock remains intact.
Unlike earlier years, there were no alarm bells on the health front.
However, on the flip side we are observing a gradual ‘fade out’ of certain key members – Sandhya Narang, Qadeer Bano Khan, Najma Saiyad, Hari Narayani, Nafeesa Sayyad and Hem Chand Jain. Prakash Motwani, Ramila Mistry and Mumtaz Jahan have showed up once in a while, but not as often as we would wish.
And then there are the positives – Bihari Milwani, Angad Singh, Mallika Kagzi, Bijoy Gupta, Shiela Mirani and of course, Kiran Prakash.

Teja Singh Bhambra

They are the bright new faces of 2014 who have brought with them fresh zing and vibrancy to the Club. Let us also not forget the dozen-odd members from the yoga group who were formally inducted en-bloc into Big Laaf this year.
So how are we to remember 2014? Would it be for the comings and goings of members? Or for the picnics that did not happen? Or for Shekhawat’s non-stop antics, Yusuf Rassiwala’s Eid bash, Sitaram Hivarkar’s platinum jubilee felicitation, Mallika’s never-ending rounds of tea, Santosh Tyagi’s spirited jokes… Amid them all, the single most defining event of the year was when Srichand Arora held aloft the registration certificate of Big Laaf on November 18. History was made at that moment. Cent-percent cap compliance and Wednesday being observed as ‘Green Day’ followed as natural corollaries.
In all this, our good old friend and most venerable Teja Singh Bhambra sends his greetings from Faridabad. He enquired about everyone by name and said that despite the bone-chilling cold there he must stay put because of certain personal obligations and weddings in the family. He plans to be in Mumbai in January-end or early-February. Meanwhile, should anybody like to wish him, please call his number – 98109 66256. It will make him happy.
And here’s wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Kiran Prakash:
Come what may, people will join and leave us. But BIG LAAF must go on, uninterrupted, with the same zeal and enthusiasm as it had started on March 14, 2003. Not only does it take care of our physical and mental health, we indirectly also address a social responsibility of reminding hundreds of people who pass by to take care of their health. I wish every member of BIG LAAF a very HEALTHY, HAPPY and PROSPEROUS 2015.
Renu Babani:
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, blessed with peace, harmony and love. Let us welcome 2015 with a positive attitude that lasts forever.

Spreading Wings

Shekhawat briefs members on his overseas travel plans

Hari Singh Shekhawat today realized that he has so far conducted seven out-of-city excursions from the Club, covering the east, west, north and south of the country. The eastern extremity of course, remains unexplored; but after the Darjeeling-Gangtok trip, scheduled in March-April 2015, he says there would be “nothing more of interest left for us to see in India”. So from now itself, he has got into mobilizing members for an overseas tour.
Significantly, Shekhawat isn’t talking about Bangkok-Pattaya as he used to earlier. “I have been to quite a few other foreign countries when I used to sail for the Navy,” he informed a group of wide-eyed ladies. “I have been to Jakarta, Sumatra, Muscat, Bahrain… I have seen a lot of those places in my time.”
The sudden inspiration to spread his wings beyond the nation’s borders could have possibly come from Bihari Milwani’s daughter, Karishma who is here from the U.S. on her winter vacation (she is doing her Masters in Cyber Security there) and had paid us a courtesy visit at the Garden.

Ruksana bids Khatoon Baig bon voyage

Karishma Milwani flanked by papa and Arora Uncle

Furthermore, Khatoon Baig was saying her goodbyes this morning as she embarks on yet another foreign trip, this time to perform Umrah in Makkah-Madina (Saudi Arabia). Without a fuss, she sought everyone’s wishes for her safe return on January 14, 2015.
Shekhawat’s suggestion for an overseas excursion was more in the nature of testing the waters as he has not even zeroed in on a place on the world map as yet. He asked the ladies to get their passports in order and if necessary, apply for renewal or for fresh travel documents. Somehow, this made a lot of sense to many – particularly Nahid Khan and Ruksana who seemed to be more worried that the 10-year validity of their passports would expire without being put to use even once.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Shekhawat-ji has achieved great success in organizing excursions. His efforts have paid off and he deserves every bit of credit. My best wishes for his plans of an overseas tour. May God always take care of him.

March of Time

Sitaram Hivarkar today

Sitaram on 23/12/2010

Time is taking its toll on us. Much as we pretend to be a young, happy-go-lucky lot in the Garden, there can be no escaping the fact that behind all the revelry, imbecility, mirth and madness, AGE is slowly and inexorably catching up on us. Once in a while we are struck by this grim reminder and then it takes a braveheart like Shekhawat to break into a folksy song, “Thaado Buddhapa Aayo Re…” and laugh it off.
Today, for the first time during the morning prayers, Sitaram Hivarkar committed a faux pas, stumbling and stuttering over the words. Ordinarily, this is no big deal as it can and does happen with all of us. But with Sitaram it is different. There has not been a single day since the inception of the Club when he has been present and not conducted the morning prayers. He knows the prayer backwards, even in his sleep. For him to goof up now, at age 75-plus, betrays a serious lapse somewhere.

Jagmohan Papneja distributes Shirdi Sai Baba's prasad

And that is no laughing matter.
Fact is, in all these years, we have got so taken up by the joyous abandon and merriment in the Club that nobody has kept track of time. So an incident like Sitaram's comes as a rude shock. Most of us were in our late fifties or early sixties when the Club was formed. Today, we are in our seventies – some of us even nudging eighty. And that can make a huge, huge difference, insofar as ageing is concerned. A cursory glance at the photographs taken in 2010 (when this blog was launched) would establish the difference just four years can bring about. The only comfort we can draw for all our complaints of ill-health, memory lapse and bodily pangs is that things could have got worse. Thanks to exercising every morning, religiously, we might have slowed the ageing process.
At times like this, we wonder whether members would like to be reminded of how time has overtaken them. Whether it is worth continuing with this blog? Wouldn’t we be happier simply living by the day, rather than having to look back?
Kiran Prakash:
You have stated a fact of life. It has to happen with everybody -- you, me and all. It is all the more important that we keep on coming to Garden every morning which can, as you rightly said, slow the ageing process. We must continue to do good too, to others which will keep us happy and peaceful. We can not fight with nature. Let us embrace it peacefully.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Age seems to creep up on us without warning. This may be inevitable but the rate of aging is not. There are many ways to improve your memory and avoid dementia. Diet and exercise are important. Laughter can also help to slow down the process of ageing. The continued absence of Sitaram-ji from the laughter exercises has resulted in the deterioration of his health. This is a lesson for others to attend the morning session regularly.

Day 1510

Pic of the Week

Is this any way to hold up traffic? And what is that wet patch on the ground?

Are they serious about contributing to the Swachh Bharat Mission? Looking at the surroundings, it will be appropriate for them to seek the help of Big Laaf and make the mission a success. --Jagmohan Papneja

Harish dear, what have you done? Just look below, at your feet!!! --Srichand Arora

Bhai apni pant to sookhi hai... Par bahut mast photu hai. Ise bolte hai 'Live Life King Size'. Niyam-shiyam gaye tel lene! --Harish Wadhwa

Instant Results

Quick, where are the suspenders?!?

Dilip Babani has never been one to believe in the efficacy of early morning exercises. In his opinion, those who leave the cozy comfort of their beds to do ‘Ho-Ho Ha-Ha’ at an unearthly hour of 7:00 in the morning need to have their heads examined. He has not said it, but for him, we live in the delusion of being in the pink of health because of exercising at day break. In his book, 7:45 a.m. is a good time to visit the Garden, just as we would be winding up.
So this morning, when Dilip showed up before 7:00, it was like meeting a ghost. What brought him there so early, we shall never know.

Banoo Apa regales with Urdu couplets

But what we did appreciate was when he agreed to not only take part in the exercises but more importantly, conduct the laughter round for the first time. “You will have to prompt me, once in a while,” he requested his friends in the circle.
Dilip started on a song, rapidly wrapping up one drill after another. Sunita Jajodia, Tara Chand Seth, Razia Khan and others enthusiastically kept pace with him, egging him on… till calamity struck. On the fourth laughter number, Dilip’s trousers started slipping down. On the count of six, Dilip was desperately clutching the waist band, unable to throw his arms in the air. Before he could finish, the trousers had become so loose that it refused to hold at his waist. Nobody, not even Dilip, could have imagined that the exercises would have such an instant slimming effect – losing at least four inches in the waist!
Needless to say, everyone was in splits -- the ladies particularly went red in the face, buckling at the knees and laughing their guts out. Dilip’s embarrassment had become the cause of boundless joy with some like Razia and Mallika Kagzi insisting that he stay on in the middle and continue the exercises. But Dilip thought better of it and beat a hasty retreat, pleading haplessly that his “izzat” was at stake. That itself triggered another round of uproarious laughter, this time Shekhawat holding his stomach, tears streaming down his face, laafing like mad.
Every morning we laugh and our laughter is mostly forced. It is faked. But today, Dilip Babani, quite effortlessly, got the real thing out from us. That shows the caliber of a true master.
Kiran Prakash:
Cheers to Dilip Babani for conducting the laughter round the first time with full enthusiasm.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Those of us who know Mr Dilip were not surprised by his 'classical style' that makes him a jovial person. He played up to his new role as Ring Master with humor and insidious smile. Keep it up!

Fresh Fervour

Heated discussions on yesterday's Housie

The success of the inaugural Housie session yesterday has injected fresh enthusiasm in the Club. Many are insisting that we should have more such sessions rather than restrict it to a one-off event every month. “Why can’t we have it once a week?” asked Dilip Babani, a winner of the full-house yesterday. “The more frequently we have Housie, the more people will get to know and there will be more public participation.”
He has a point. But Jagmohan Papneja and Monthi Serrao are of the view that increased frequency will rob the event of its novelty and the fatigue factor would kick in fast.

Tara Chand Seth

According to them, holding it once in a month – perhaps on the last Saturday – is a good idea, though Bihari Milwani felt that the next Housie should be organized on January 26, 2015. But many had reservations on this because of the food and other attractions in nearby gardens on Republic Day which could draw away the crowds.
Yusuf Rassiwala felt that instead of debating over dates, we ought to focus on changing the format of the game to suit our needs. “Yesterday’s game went on for far too long,” he opined. “Let us devise a format with fewer but bigger prizes and a short rolling time, so that we may have many more rounds, resulting in bigger turnover for the Club.”

Belated Christmas treat from Hem Chand Jain

Monthi and Papneja came up with several new options, including a Musical Housie.
On the sidelines, Tara Chand Seth put forth a proposal to reverse the format of our morning exercises, inasmuch as to shorten the first laughter round and extend the latter one. “This will benefit the late comers who miss out on the full-fledged laughter session in the beginning,” he explained. “Let us keep this for the end and have an abridged version in the beginning.”
Meanwhile, Hem Chand Jain sprang a pleasant surprise by treating us to fresh biscuits from his bakery (in Malad), rounded off with tea. He said he wanted to treat us for Christmas, but since yesterday was his “dialysis day”, he got delayed by a day. At age 85, this gentleman is surviving on both failed kidneys for the past 18 months and needs to undergo dialysis twice a week. Our feelings and wishes are with him at all times.
Jagmohan Papneja:
I wish to salute Shri Hem Chand Jain, an extraordinary person, who, in a quite determined way, has become a role model for many of us. He is an inspiration on how to live a happy and long life.

Christmas 2014

'Mother' Monthi in a nativity play
staged by Good Shepherd Church  

Call it an impromptu Christmas party or a celebration to mark the first Housie session (ref yesterday’s post) of the Club, Monthi Serrao ushered in the yuletide spirit this morning with happy tidings for all in the Garden. She had brought the customary cake (even an egg-less one separately for the vegetarians) and went on to inaugurate a game of Housie, thus making many richer at the end of it.

Banoo Appa receives Yusuf Rassiwala

In between, hot home-made tea flowed from the flask of Mallika Kagzi and what’s more, Banoo Appa had very thoughtfully brought orange drink to go along with lukewarm rawa halwa she had prepared early morning. This was not her festival… but that’s what Christmas is all about – an occasion to give and share life’s simple joys and pleasures, laughter and smiles. What we probably lacked were the candy canes, ivy and holly… and the mistletoe!

Hot tea courtesy Mallika Kagzi

But Razia Khan had come prepared with the Housie board and tiles and with a little help from Srichand Arora and Jagmohan Papneja, she got the ‘mistress of ceremonies’, Monthi Serrao cracking.

Monthi Serrao conducts the first Housie session

Not only those of the Club who had taken part in the exercises, but many late-comers such as Bihari Milwani, Yusuf Rassiwala and Harish Wadhwa converged at the China Hut at the last moment to celebrate the event. On a rough count, there were 30 of us having put Rs600-odd in the kitty. And the winners were Ved Prakash Grover, Kiran Prakash and Dilip Babani among others.
Who won how much cash was irrelevant because in the end, we were all winners. Never before in Club history did we have such a glorious opportunity to sit together over a game of chance, enjoy good food and rejoice in one another’s happiness – all that and more, on an auspicious day. What else can anybody ask for on a Christmas morning?
Kiran Prakash:
This morning was very special. Thanks to Arora-ji for initiating the idea, Shekhawat-ji for announcing it, Jagmohan-ji for drawing a detailed plan and successful execution by Monthi-ji and Razia-ji. The delicious halwa, soft drinks and tea by Banoo-ji and Mallika-ji were indeed icing on the cake. It was fun like never before in the Garden.
Jagmohan Papneja:
As we rejoice and celebrate this wonderful day with Hozzie,let us first convey our very warm Merry Christmas greetings to MOC Monthi Serrao. She had not only entertained us with the game but also provided nice refreshments on this auspicious occasion. A Merry Christmas once again.

Morning Housie

Shekhawat (in muffler) announces tomorrow's housie

On Christmas Day tomorrow, the first game of housie will be played at the Garden under the aegis of Big Laaf. This would be followed by regular once-a-month sessions open to all, the idea being to generate revenue for the Club. The inaugural session shall be conducted by Monthi Serrao whose brainchild this is.
Making the announcement today, Shekhawat said that a decision to this effect was taken at the last general body meeting in Chhota Kashmir on December 13. “Tomorrow being a holiday, we will all assemble at the China Hut after the exercises for the first housie session,” he informed.

Prakash Motwani

“You are all invited to take part.”
A special request was made to Mallika Kagzi to organize tea for the participants. Monthi, who could not attend the exercises today (due to an eye infection), would be requested to officiate as the ‘chief guest’ for the inaugural session. Srichand Arora added that for the future, depending upon public response, the ‘morning housie’ shall be held on a regular basis -- preferably on the last Saturday of every month.
Separately, Razia Khan has been requested to bring the necessary booklet, tiles and board for tomorrow’s game. She has also agreed to assume charge of this important recreational activity, ensure its smooth conduct, maintain accounts and ensure that in the long run, this develops into an important profit centre for the Club. A separate profit centre is being developed on the excursion front under another senior member, with a similar set of responsibilities and duties.
Meanwhile, news comes in on the winter chill having taken a toll on the health of Prakash Motwani. He has turned a virtual recluse, refusing to leave home in the fear of aggravating his sinus and bronchial problems. According to his wife, this could be partly psychological because medical tests have failed to detect any ailment so far. Naturally, the family is worried. We can only urge him to gather the courage to visit us in the Garden and get his life back in gear.
Jagmohan Papneja:
We keep moving forward, opening new avenues and doing things for the betterment of Big Laaf. Tomorrow, a new beginning is being made with the playing of Hozzie. Do participate in it, not only for enjoyment but also for the benefit of the Club.

Post Mortem

Bihari Milwani celebrates his birthday with choco-bars

Shekhawat and others admire the memorable gift

Analysts of yesterday’s fracas in the China Hut (see post) today arrived at two nervous conclusions: one, Mallika Kagzi is quite a gentle, even docile person so long as she is left to herself – mess with her and you’d be inviting the wrath of heaven and hell combined; and two, no one in the Club, man or woman, is any longer unsafe. So should we perchance ever face a threat from anybody, simply put Mallika in the forefront. Better still, unleash her and watch the fun!
Mallika though, was still in the apologetic mode this morning. She said it was not in her nature to be so aggressive, but was provoked beyond control. “I waited for four days hoping things to subside,” she explained to everyone who congratulated her for being such a firebrand. “When I found my silence was taken for acceptance of all the foul talk, I decided to give that lady a mouthful. My only regret is that I will now have to think twice before getting anything to the Garden. If it was not for yesterday’s incident, I would have got tea today.”
While Jagmohan Papneja and other friends advised her not to let anybody/ anything deter her from being her normal self, the absence of tea on a wintry morning was surely felt. Moreover, it was Bihari Milwani’s birthday. He had brought chocolate bars for all of us, but had a bigger treat reserved for Shekhawat – a lovely laminated triptych marking his journey of 54 years and 277 days since his marriage on March 14, 1960. Translated, this works out to a grand 20,000 days (as on December 16, 2014). And to illustrate the event (just that Milwani was a week behind time), there were cute little photographs of Mr and Mrs Shekhwat travelling in a vintage buggy… just too good for words!
Trust a number cruncher like Bihari Milwani coming up with such a wonderful memento.
Bhaswati Bose:
Mr Milwani, it is only fair that you gift such lovely mementos to the rest of the seniors starting with Arora-ji, Yusuf Bhai, Sitaram-ji, Mrs Singh and followed by Jagmohan-ji, Dilip Bhai, Angad Singh, Mr Bose, Mr Harish Wadhwa, Mrs Sunita Jajodia, Mrs Mallika Kagzi... So start calculating!
Jagmohan Papneja:
Wow! What an incredible gift presented to Shekhawat-ji on completing 20,000 days of his wedding. A friend like Milwani-ji is wise, kind and thoughtful. Happy Birthday to this wonderful person in our group.
Kiran Prakash:
Happy Birthday, Bihari-ji. I pray to God that He showers His choicest blessings and you continue to grow in your personal and professional life. Your imagination and creativity have no match.

War and Peace

Banoo Khan celebrates becoming grand-ma

We have seen the gentle and benevolent side of Mallika Kagzi. Today we got a terrifying glimpse of her fiery side. Like the legendary stormy petrel, she went full blast, all guns blazing at a lady of the yoga group and almost brought the roof of the China Hut down!
Mallika had prepared us for this spectacle when Banoo Appa distributed chocolate bars earlier -- in celebration of her daughter being blessed with a baby girl. But nobody paid attention to her then. Apparently her relative (daughter-in-law’s mother) had visited the Garden last week and she overheard the lady in question badmouthing Mallika in the China Hut. Word reached her and she confronted this lady head on before the yoga session.
From the way she started to rebuke her, it was clear that there would be no yoga today. The other ladies quickly scrambled to restrain Mallika from getting physical. Some like Swati Punjabi tried to broker peace seeking the intervention of the men.

CEASEFIRE: Mallika forgives by offering a sip of water

Instead, Shekhawat hurriedly ran out fearing the ladies would grab each other’s hair any moment. There, Mallika was relentless. She was repeatedly separated from the melee, but was back the next moment going hammer and tongs – challenging the lady, point by point, to deny what she had allegedly said.
By then a large crowd had gathered outside the China Hut. Banoo started with the Gayatri Mantra invocation to divert everyone’s attention but before she could finish, Mallika was back again with her fangs bared. Now it was Ved Prakash Grover's turn to hastily quit the scene. Everybody requested the other lady to apologise in Allah’s name, but she refused. Word went around that she has a history of spreading canards and now she had met her match in Mallika.
Before things got any worse, Srichand Arora stormed in solo and like Shotgun Sinha, with one hand raised, hollered “Khaamosh!” A pin drop silence fell. Suddenly the other lady burst into tears, sobbing loudly. Arora stood his ground, but confused. Mallika was also stumped. But it goes to her infinite credit that she promptly forgave the lady and hugged her to her chest. She even gave her water to drink and chided her gently never again to say what she had said. That shows Mallika’s magnanimity – her strength of character. Later she went around with folded hands, apologizing for having created a scene.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Today was not just another day. It was an extraordinary day of warring ladies.
Kiran Prakash:
Unfortunately I missed this great 'War and Peace' episode.

Day 1503

Pic of the Week

Why is he trying so hard to explain?

Shekhawat-ji is moral-policing -- Kiran Prakash

Unsolicited advice is like someone singing out of tune.The ladies are not interested to reciprocate. --Jagmohan Papneja

Lost and Found

GALA CELEBRATION THIS MORNING UPON BIG LAAF NOTCHING 1,500-PLUS POSTS 

Arun Patil finally found the music box he lost yesterday (ref post). It was flicked by a lady gang of four, the ‘queenpin’ being none other than Santosh Tyagi.

'Gang of Four' flanked by their bodyguards (in dark glasses) 

The members of Alibaba’s new age descendants were Bhaswati Bose, Monthi Serrao and a very unlikely Kajal Babani. Together they had hatched a conspiracy of sending Arun on a wild goose chase, only that the cat was out of the bag before the plans could be put to action.
But first things first: Today was the day of celebrating 1,500 blog posts (ref December 18 post) and the Club hosted a gala treat for all members after the exercises.

Happy Wedding Anniversary, Shiela!

It was also the 38th wedding anniversary of our new member-in-waiting, Shiela Mirani. She had brought biscuit packets and together with the dhoklas, samosas, kaju-katli and hot tea on the house, breakfast was well taken care of. Pity Kiran Prakash had to excuse himself, although he was witness to the zany drama that unfolded upon Arun recovering his lost music system.
Jagmohan Papneja was contemplating putting up a ‘missing notice’ on the Notice Board of the garden and even upbraided the watchman for dereliction of duty when Santosh owned up to being the culprit.

At the auction, Arun pleads fervently for his music box

But the box was still in the custody of her accomplice, Bhaswati who hadn’t turned up yet. The odd part was Santosh kept triumphantly punching the air for successfully pulling off the ‘heist’ while everyone else looked blank in the face. Arun was away with Srichand Arora, organizing the eats and tea.
When Bhaswati turned up, she became equally confused whether to let out their secret. It seems yesterday, Santosh was the one to pick up the music box after Arun had carelessly left it behind and together with Bhaswati, Monthi and Kajal, the ladies entered into a pact of silence just to harass Arun.
Now that Santosh had spilled the beans, Bhaswati did the next best thing to harass Arun. (He was there by then.) She announced an auction of the box, starting with a reserve price of Rs5. As the bids kept mounting (Kiran Prakash even staked his wristwatch) Arun stood watching helplessly, pleading “De-de, please de-de” till finally, Razia Khan bagged the box with the highest bid of Rs21! In a flash Arun snatched the box and returned home, a happy man.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Mr Arun Patil lost his music box due to his own carelessness. The security and safe custody of all valuables including mobile, money, camera, etc. is the sole responsibility of members themselves. To say that the music box was "flicked by a gang of four ladies" is doing injustice to them. In fact, it was because of alertness of these pious four ladies that the loss could be avoided. We should express appreciation for the extra care taken by them to keep the music box in safe custody. They let off Arun cheaply and made him smile. The four ladies deserve a special pat on their backs.
Today was the celebration day of Big Laaf and of course, a Big Day for Mr Arun Patil as well.
Kiran Prakash:
The cool and relaxed demeanor of Arun Patil before the exercises began was indicative of his awareness about the safe custody of his BABY... Guess work.
Bhaswati Bose:
Only Jagmohan-ji has understood how pious we ladies are. Mr Arun Patil should give us a treat for returning his 'baaja' in one piece.
Kiran Prakash:
Are you listening (reading) Mr Arun Patil?
Jagmohan Papneja:
Bhaswati-ji will not be able to get any treat from Mr Arun Patil as she did not strike while the iron was hot. But no harm in trying. All the best.

Knocked Out

Jagmohan Papneja

Jagmohan Papneja is blessed with a wicked, if understated, sense of humour that can deliver a knockout punch at times. This morning he produced a gem when a monkey paid us a visit at the Garden. Yes, a long-tailed monkey. It took position up on the high cricket fence and then walked across nonchalantly against a swarm of agitated crows. At the end of the stretch, it slid down a pole and disappeared into the bushes.
“It has gone to wear its clothes,” remarked Papneja.
No one realized the import of that comment till a few minutes later one of our members (name withheld) joined us from the walking track for the laughter round.

Mallika Kagzi with her sister, Azeeza

For a change today, he was dressed in full-pants, instead of shorts. All along he had been watching us exercising, but refused to join us. So when he took his position fully dressed, Papneja asked innocently, “Neechey kab utrey?” When did you get down?
That is Jagmohan Papneja – a man of many parts, from whom we can learn a lot. Where Arora had failed (he almost chucked a stone at that recalcitrant member today) and Shekhawat has had to haul him physically into the exercise circle, Papneja used plain wit to shame the man. He got the message, but played deaf.
Another highlight of the morning was the visit of Mallika Kagzi’s younger sister, Azeeza. She was introduced as a friendly neighbor, but there was no mistaking their relationship from her behavior and body language.

Swati Punjabi feeds Monthi the first luddoo

She had come ostensibly to watch us exercise, but from the amused look on her face all through, it was clear she was more interested in our antics.

Arun Patil

Besides, Swati Punjabi was celebrating her daughter’s wedding with home-made luddoos, maththi and tea. So Azeeza, like the rest of us, had no reason to be disappointed.
If anyone had to be disappointed, it was Arun Patil. In his eagerness to serve tea and amid all the rejoicing and disorder, he has lost his tiny white music system. He does not know how. It is an expensive piece. More importantly, the collection of songs on the USB is priceless. Maybe it got misplaced and he cannot remember… or perhaps, it got knocked off by some thief. Through this blog, we appeal to the conscience of every right-thinking person to help find the damn thing and return it to its rightful owner.
Kiran Prakash:
I wish and pray that Mr Arun Patil gets back his music system. It has worked as a catalyst during our exercises.
Jagmohan Papneja:
The moment I read the above post, the first thing I did was to thoroughly check my bag in the hope that somebody might have hidden the music system there for fun. But unfortunately nothing was found inside the bag. I hope Arun-ji is able to recover this valuable item. If not, it will be a matter of great concern for all of us.

1,500… and counting

Today, we cross another milestone – 1,500 blog posts. Very few blogs, you would notice, have reached this figure. In fact, 90 per cent of all blogs fold up within the first 100 posts. Of the remaining that survive, most are erratic and subjective (in the nature of personal musings) and with hardly any readership or page hits. We already have notched 350,000-plus page hits.
This blog was launched on June 19, 2010 (ref first post: Merry Men of Lokhandwala) on a whim and with absolutely no expectation. At best, we had hoped to provide a daily update on the happenings in the Garden and by default, establish some kind of connect between members and their extended families, many of whom are settled abroad. Little did we anticipate that this would develop into a platform for everyone to rally around and over time generate a phenomenal readership encompassing almost all nationalities in the world. In the process, many of our 'news grabbers' like Srichand Arora, Nahid Khan, Shekhawat, Santosh Tyagi and Monthi Serrao have become household names – if not international stars.

Tara Chand celebrates with gajak

Mallika Kagzi treats us to breakfast

What’s more, the name of this blog, BIG LAAF has gone on to embody the very identity of our Club.
None of this could have been possible without the active collaboration and involvement of all our members. From Jagmohan Papneja and Arora to Yusuf Rassiwala, Arun Patil and Razia Khan to Sunita Jajodia, Harish Wadhwa, Renu Babani, Bhaswati Bose, Khatoon Baig, Mallika Kagzi and now, Kiran Prakash, everyone has been extremely supportive, even in the face of occasional criticism. For if there is one principle this blog lives by, it is to present information truthfully – without favour, prejudice or fear. Probably, this is another reason why we could reach this far.
Nothing was planned to celebrate the success. By a happy augury, Tara Chand Seth had brought us two boxes of gajak from Delhi. He wanted to distribute them earlier, but by some strange coincidence had saved them for today. Mallika Kagzi also had a surprise for us -- what with veg and non-veg keema, wrapped in fresh pao and served with nice, hot tea. It was the death anniversary of her daughter today.
Jagmohan Papneja:
What a great achievement on the completion of 1500 blog posts! Really you have made us proud with your sincere determination and efforts. Keep this spirit alive. Well done and congratulations on this great achievement.
Kiran Prakash:
Congratulations on achieving the milestone of 1500 blog posts. I am totally in agreement that this is because you present information "truthfully - without favour, prejudice or fear". Let us all together strive for the next milestone of 2000 blog posts. We are proud of our BIG LAAF.

Evergreen!

Kiran Prakash: Evergreen Personified!

The second Green Wednesday wasn’t as sensational as the last (ref post of December 10). Patches of crimson, white and purple sprouted among the women who were unable to wear the parrot green T-shirts the men uniformly sported. The only exceptions were Monthi Serrao and Bhaswati Bose, two ladies at home in western wear.
Of course there was Mallika Kagzi also, resplendent in green from top to bottom – to the extent she even had an elegant green fitted-cardigan for the day.

Happy Birthday, Kajal!

So when she served tea after the exercises (who can stop her?) Monthi wittily advised her: “You should be serving green tea today!”
Santosh Tyagi explained her flowery-printed mauve salawar-kameez to flowers blooming in a garden. “You are all leaves, we are the flowers,” she explained. “Huh, you are all insects and worms in a garden,” someone retorted. “But I am a colorful butterfly,” chirruped Nahid Khan, wearing a beautiful ensemble in colours of the rainbow.
The odd part though, was that for the first time the women could have an eye-full of hairy male navels as many of the T-shirts were either ill-fitting or had shrunk after a wash.

Mallika spared us of non-green tea

So every time the men lifted their arms in the air, the women had to shut their eyes or else be assaulted by the grotesque navel show, much to everyone’s acute embarrassment.
But then, there are ways to divert public attention and what better than a guessing game on our new member, Kiran Prakash’s age? Sunita Jajodia put it at 42, Jagmohan Papneja said 47, Sitaram Hivarkar guessed 50… in fact, all the guesses, without exception, were in the range of 40 to 50 years. When the truth came out, everyone was aghast. Prakash is a grandfather, two times over, both his sons are well-settled… and he is 65 years. If the description of “evergreen” fits anyone, he is our man!
Happily Kajal Babani grew older by a year today and she also didn’t look it – except that, for a change, there was her doting hubby hovering around with a bagful of biscuits. It was only then that we realized it was her birthday today. Truth be told, she is looking younger by the day. Our good wishes and blessings go to this youngest member of the Club.
Many happy returns of the day, Kajal!
Jagmohan Papneja:
* Mr Kiran Prakash, congratulations and best wishes for your good health. I think it has lot to with genetics. What else is the secret of your fitness? Please share it with us so that we all can be benefitted.
* Mrs Kajal Babani, may God give you a long, healthy life ahead. Wishing you a very gleeful and joyous birthday.
Bhaswati Bose:
Jagmohan-ji, the secret of Kiran Prakash's youthful looks is 'Chyawan Prakash' err... I mean Chyawanprash!
Kiran Prakash:
Jagmohan-ji, I thank you very much for your good wishes. Your wishes mean a lot to me. Incidentally, Mrs Bhaswati Bose has already revealed the well-kept secret.
Harish Wadhwa:
Happy Birthday Kajal-ji and for turning 21. Writing 18 might sound old-fashioned. Hope you have wonderful years ahead. When did you say we have to come for dinner?

Cold Wave

Srichand Arora

Yusuf Rassiwala

As papers had predicted, the cold wave persisted this morning – though there was not so much of the wind chill as yesterday. Yet, woolens were out in greater numbers and attendance dropped still further. Apart from Shekhawat and Jagmohan Papneja who are still unwell, many like Ram Shankar Shukla, Rukshana Khan, Bijoy Gupta and Kiran Makharia took the day off. Others like Tara Chand Seth turned up late.
Yusuf Rassiwala had proposed that instead of starting the exercises at 7:00 a.m. sharp, we should now shift the timing by half an hour, to 7:30 a.m. for the winter months. This was for health reasons as overnight pollutants remain suspended in the air during the cold weather and we risk inhaling them early morning. As the ground air warms up with sunshine, the suspended particulate matter tends to dissipate into the atmosphere. How much of pure air would we breathe in with a half-hour delay is however, debatable. Medical experts opine that in Mumbai the air cannot be free of overnight pollutants before 11:00 a.m. and in a construction intensive area like Lokhandwala, it would be safer to set out for exercises/ walks after 4:00 in the evening.
Srichand Arora came up with another argument. He said that starting out late by half-an-hour would mean ending the exercises half-an-hour late.

Prakash is 'capped' by Grover

Sunita Jajodia caps Shiela

This will severely disrupt the routine of the ladies many of who have to prepare breakfast and pack lunch for office-going family members. There are also some male members who must report to work by 10:00 a.m. Any delay shall inconvenience them. Nonetheless, it would be better to seek majority opinion on this issue, he suggested.
Meanwhile, the Club formally inducted Kiran Prakash and Shiela Mirani, who had started exercising with us around the same time. They have been fairly regular and all members have taken to them very cordially. While Ved Prakash Grover ‘crowned’ his namesake with the blue Club cap, Sunita Jajodia did the honors for Shiela.
Harish Wadhwa:
Folks are doing what most Indians have it in their genes: The act of topi pehnana! LOL

Winter Descends

Razia Khan returns from Pune

Mumbai got its first blast of winter chill this morning as the mercury slipped by at least 5 degrees following widespread showers and snowfall in the northern parts of the country. So colorful cardigans and shawls were out in large numbers all over the Garden. Several members did not turn up – some like Shekhawat and Jagmohan Papneja still down with acute flu and fever. Some like Srichand Arora, Santosh Tyagi, Arun Patil and Bhaswati Bose have not yet recovered from body ache after all the boat pedaling at the Chhota Kashmir picnic on Saturday.
Ram Shankar Shukla however, had a big complaint to make.

Ram Shankar Shukla

He had come yesterday at 7:15 a.m. sharp only to be told at the China Hut that everybody had gone for a picnic, leaving him behind. In fact, he was quite surprised to see us this morning because, according to him, it was Sunday today. When we told him that we had gone for the picnic the day-before-yesterday, he became all the more confused. “How could you all have gone on Friday, when Shekhawat had announced the picnic was for Saturday?” he demanded looking completely spaced out.

Milwani will audit our accounts

“You should have almonds,” Arun advised him calmly. “But I take badaam every day religiously,” he argued. “How can I go wrong?”
In all this, Razia Khan arrived looking quite hassled. She informed that she had to rush to Pune as her grandson Zaiyyan (who is studying there close by) was struck by a sudden kidney stone problem. The stone(s) had to be surgically removed and the boy has since returned home. The good news is that he is recuperating fast.
The other good news is that Bihari Milwani has agreed to take charge of auditing the accounts of Big Laaf. Being a full-time C.A., he will not be able to do it himself but “will get it done”. Arora wanted to know what the charges would be like but Bihari graciously dismissed the idea and assured him that it will be done gratis. This takes a big load off our shoulders. Thank you, Bihari Milwani!
Jagmohan Papneja:
Winter has arrived. So let go your worries, put them aside. Laugh out loud and enjoy life. Happy cool-cool sardi.
Harish Wadhwa:
Winter has arrived just for some. There are others who sport knickers exposing their legs to brave the cold... Hee Hee!

Day 1496

Pic of the Week

Some pictures need no caption. This is one such. Interpret it any way you like.

Harish Wadhwa:
* Hum toh chaley pardes, hum pardesi ho gaye... Bye! (Jaan chhoothi lakhon paye)
Whatta lovely pic! The angle of shot is just superb!!!
* This may not the the famous Dal Lake of Kashmir, but the fun, pleasure and 'mazaa' is no less here in Chhota Kashmir of Mumbai.

New Merger

Jagmohan Papneja conducts the SGM at Chhota Kashmir

The ‘yoga group’ of the Garden today stands fully integrated with Big Laaf as one, big family. At the Special General Body Meeting (SGM) of the Club held at Chhota Kashmir, it was resolved that yoga members would henceforth be free to take part in all our meetings and laughter exercises just as Big Laaf members have been participating in the yoga sessions all along. The resolution comes into force with retrospective effect and was passed unanimously.
This merger, which marks a new chapter in Club history, seeks to not only dissolve an artificial barrier that has existed between our two groups but also aims at bolstering the numerical strength and in effect, the subscription base of Big Laaf. No distinction now exists between members in terms of registration, subscription fees, rights and duties, code of conduct and so on.

Angad Singh wins Housie

However, in the course of an earlier discussion, it was decided that henceforth registration fees for new admissions would be hiked to Rs1,000 (from Rs300 at present), though monthly subscriptions shall remain a uniform Rs50 per month payable annually in April.

Nahid Khan had brought her grand-daughter

These figures will be subject to review from time to time by the managing committee.
Furthermore, Monthi Serrao submitted that the spouses of existing members should automatically be co-opted as members of the Club with full rights, subject to their payment of monthly subscriptions. Registration fees would however, be waived off for them as a special case.

Mallika Kagzi serves lunch

The proposal met with instant approval, but could not be passed because Jagmohan Papneja (secretary) had left the meeting by then. He was visibly under the weather and together with Shekhawat (who was also unwell with breathlessness) had left the venue after the customary ‘vote of thanks’.
The meeting was convened mainly to apprise members on the implications of the registration of Big Laaf (ref post of November 15) and to explore various means and measures of taking the Club forward.

The Aroras and Rassiwalas are all at sea!

Two revenue-generating options were discussed and approved: one, conducting Housie sessions regularly and saving a portion of the proceeds like what other Clubs do; and two, organizing periodic out-of-station excursions (in which, Shekhawat has already acquired a level of expertise) with a hugely differential pricing (but less than market rates) for outsiders. The suggestion of hosting hasya-kavi sammelans and such entertainment programmes on a commercial basis however, met with lukewarm response because of impracticality issues.
In between Mallika Kagzi did what we had all feared by providing lunch to all – mutton and chicken keema, meat cutlets, spicy potato curry for the vegans, mounds of bread pao and flavored tea. Srichand and Kiran Arora brought halwa, Banoo Khan provided the soft drinks and besan luddoos and with endless rounds of biscuits and munchies from all corners, what more could we ask for? The ‘lunch money’ Shekhawat had collected became redundant and was returned on the spot. Yes, there were men-vs-women antakshari sessions, two entertaining rounds of Housie, boating at the Aarey Boat Club, more to eat and drink… all in a weather that was absolutely perfect for a picnic. We even had a spell of light drizzle. The pictures speak for themselves.
Harish Wadhwa:
* These pics are enough to make anyone jealous and sorry for missing the opportunity. It appears that this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable and pleasurable local picnics. Have a good time folks. This is what life is all about. I truly missed the opportunity due to my commitments.
* Arora-ji and Yusuf-bhai seem to be really enjoying the boat ride. The question is who was pedaling the boat?
(Answer: The one who didn't turn up the next day for the exercises!)
Wrong. The next day is Sunday! --Big Laaf