Kahwah What?

Mumtaz Jahan ceremoniously pours the kahwah

Till this morning, many of us had no clue what kahwah was about, till Mumtaz Jahan graciously treated everyone to a glassful – thus adding to our repertoire of sampling some of the most exotic gastronomical delights from the unlikeliest places on earth.
“This is a Kashmiri celebratory drink,” Mumtaz informed, while pouring out the hot colourless potion from a thermos flask – typically green tea enriched with shredded almonds, cardamom, ginger, ground cinnamon, cloves and white rose petals.

Cap doesn't fit Mallika's head 

“This is like hot sherbet!” everyone concluded.
Mumtaz’s cause for celebration was her birthday on February 14. She kept her word about joining hands with Zareena Khan – just that the treat came a day late. Zareena had distributed chocolates yesterday to mark her birthday.

Laxmi Naidu joins Big Laaf

Today, both ladies jointly hosted the celebration with food packets and yes, kahwaaah... Waah, kahwah!
While the celebration was on, Shekhawat introduced a new Club member, Laxmi Naidu. Since she has been a part of the yoga group, she gets automatically co-opted into Big Laaf.

Monthi Serrao

But we know her mainly from the many outstation trips she has accompanied us on – particularly Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.
Adding to the merriment and good cheer was Mallika Kagzi, who was at her entertaining best. Suddenly this morning, she discovered that her Club cap was “growing small” on its own. She accosted Srichand Arora straightaway, refusing to believe that her head had “grown big”. Arora advised her to suitably crop her head and transfer some of the excess hair to his bald pate. But Mallika was still not convinced. She offered to sport a “boy cut” if the Club were to guarantee her that the cap will stop shrinking. She firmly believes that her cap has a life of its own and is conspiring to make her existence in the Club difficult.
In all this madness, there was a bit of a dampener. Monthi Serrao has had to suddenly leave for Mangalore, where her father-in-law was ailing for some time. Last night he breathed his last. The funeral is tomorrow and Monthi will have to stay put at Mangalore till March 15 or so. Our condolences go to the bereaved.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Double the fun with one celebration. Wow! It was Mrs Mumtaz's and Mrs Zarina's joint venture. You both are so very special and so are your birthdays. Happy Belated Birthdays.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Way back in the 1980s, when I was posted in J&K, I used to relish kahwah almost every day. It used to be very nice, especially in winter. Today, after a long time -- due to the kind courtesy of Mumtaz-ji -- I could enjoy this wonderful drink once again. We welcome Mrs Laxmi Naidu in the Club. Hope she enjoys our daily sessions. We wish the father-in-law of Monthi-ji rests in peace on the feet of the Almighty.
Bihari Milwani:
Where is the 'Loot Girl'?