Health Concerns

Mohammad Gulzar Salmani

Mohammad Gulzar Salmani is not a regular in the Club. He has to leave his little daughter, Gulta Fida to school every morning. Her timing clashes with that of our exercises. Only during weekends (and holidays) is Gulzar able to show up at the Garden. And invariably he is left completely confused.
“What exercises are you people doing?” he asks incredulously. “Every time I come here, I see you guys eating. Someone or the other would be giving a treat. I open the blog and there again, I see pictures of people eating and eating… and if nothing else, having tea. At this rate, you are only putting on weight. What is the point of exercising? Whatever calories you might burn, you more than make up after your exercises!”
Gulzar is not alone in carrying this impression. Most people visiting the Garden seriously believe that we meet only to eat and the exercises are merely an excuse. Our own members are also beginning to resist this ‘over-indulgence’ citing health concerns: “It is not as though we are eating healthy,” is the common refrain.

Chai pe charcha: Mallika Kagzi treats us to tea today also

“We are gorging on fried stuff, sweets, tea… everything that is unhealthy. Why not have fruits, green salads, protein shake, even lassi or chhaas instead of all this garbage?”
However, out of politeness and not wanting to hurt the feelings of those hosting a party, the comments are not voiced aloud. Still, some like Razia Khan are vocal enough to stipulate that luddoos and chocolates are not welcome because many of us are already down with diabetes. Others would pick and choose what suits them and discreetly slink away.
The irony though, is that no one wants to miss a party. And bigger the party, higher is the attendance. (How word gets around is still a mystery.) The funniest part is the guilt pangs members are beginning to betray. Earlier, they used to take away the food, neatly packed, to be shared with family members at home. Nowadays, most of them are seen consuming everything in the Garden itself. Obviously, the family has had enough of all this and is discouraging them also from any further indulgence!
Kiran Prakash:
There should be no guilt feeling. On this page itself, on the top left, it is clearly mentioned: "We are a government-recognised group of fun-loving, health enthusiasts who have been hanging out daily at Mumbai's Lokhandwala Garden No 4 from 7.00am to 8.00am since March 14, 2003 to eat, drink and make merry... AND WE EXERCISE TOO!" Therefore exercise is the secondary objective of our Club. The primary objective is to EAT, DRINK AND MAKE MERRY and that's what we are doing. Cheers!
Bihari Milwani:
Earlier the saying was 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'. Times have since changed and the new slogan is 'A samosa a day keeps hunger away'. Now we can work throughout the day without worrying about hunger!
Bhaswati Bose:
Guys, remember the primary purpose of Big Laaf is to be happy and spread happiness. This is not possible unless we "eat, drink and make merry"!
Siba Prasad Maitra:
I agree with Mr Kiran Prakash. There is no compulsion for members to bring food. This is an expression of happiness and joy. We may have snacks and tea often, but only after completing our exercises. These eatables come mostly on some occasion -- birthday, anniversary, some good news of our members, etc. Let's continue to enjoy. Kuchh toh log kahenge, logo ki kaam hi hai kahena...