Flag Must Fly High!

Animated discussions on Republic Day celebration 

Shekhawat found himself isolated today. It would be Republic Day the day-after tomorrow and with an intervening Sunday, the responsibility of organizing the celebration in the Garden fell upon his slender shoulders this morning. All the other Club biggies, including Srichand Arora, Monthi Serrao and Yusuf Rassiwala were conspicuous by their absence. Jagmohan Papneja came, but left early.
To make matters worse, a group of ladies suggested that we cut short the exercises on Monday so as to enable members to migrate to the neighboring Garden No 2/ Celebration Club where R-Day is celebrated on a very grand scale. Some even mentioned that the food and refreshments offered there were much more sumptuous than the spartan fare we dished out last year.
This sounded blasphemous, particularly to newer members like Kiran Prakash, Angad Singh and Mallika Kagzi. Shekhawat also realized that what was being indirectly suggested was that we stop our R-Day celebrations – all because we cannot afford to match the resources of Celebration Club. “So what exactly do you want?” he asked. “Why don’t you be more specific?”
During the discussion that followed, fortunately a majority of members felt that we should keep our tradition alive and stick to our means regardless of how other clubs celebrated.

Santosh Tyagi

Tara Chand Seth

“Big or small, we must celebrate here in the Garden,” Nahid Khan opined. “After that we can go to the other Garden or anywhere else.”
Razia Khan pointed out that from the Club, we have been celebrating both the national days -- Republic Day and Independence Day – without fail every year and this must not stop. Still, those who want to go elsewhere, they should not be stopped. That being the general consensus, Shekhawat assigned Arun Patil to arrange for refreshments on Monday while Harish Wadhwa was sounded to bring along his music system and collection of patriotic songs. Arora would be requested to come with the national tricolor.
In all this, many did not notice that Tara Chand Seth and Santosh Tyagi were back for the exercises after a long hiatus. Both have not been keeping well, Tara Chand having undergone a hernia operation recently. But he is “absolutely fine” now, as he says. Santosh was down with viral fever for a fortnight and strangely, nobody got to know among us. She hasn’t recovered yet, but came to the Garden because she was “getting bored” at home.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
It is a healthy sign that our old colleagues are back after sickness. The credit goes to the Club and its members. The club has a magnetic charm to keep the flock together. The members are certainly right to suggest that we should celebrate national events in a fitting manner.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Big Laaf resembles India in many ways - a mix of cultures, languages and religions. As usual, we all will be celebrating Republic day on 26th of January at Garden No 4. Immediately after the laughter session, a flag raising ceremony will be held. This will be followed by patriotic songs. There will be a small parade around the Garden by not only Big Laaf members but also daily visitors to the Garden. Then would come the moment to exchange greetings and distribution of refreshments. After that, those interested may proceed to Garden No 2/ Celebration Club to participate in big events.