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.