Last-minute Hiccups

Shekhawat finalises the jodis -- room partners 

The process of tying up loose ends for the South India trip (November 24 to December 3) began in right earnest today. Drawing up the passenger manifest, the room sharing in hotels, seating arrangements in the tour bus, who picks up whom on the way to the airport, emergency medical kit/ first aid supplies… all these nitty-gritties need to be finalized in the next few days.
The good news is that Shekhawat’s wife, Mohankanwar has finally relented to go on the trip (ref post of November 16). This has come as a huge relief to everyone because her absence, in all likelihood, would have led Shekhawat to also drop out and that could alter the dynamics of the tour. So a 'crack team’ swung into damage-control mode on Monday and over the past two days, have succeeded in persuading Mrs Shekhawat to change her mind. (Had she refused, Arun Patil was being considered as a substitute, particularly as a room partner.) Shekhawat incidentally, has been the group leader of all tours and excursions from the Club so far.
Now for the bad news: Santosh Tyagi has reported sick.

Santosh Tyagi

Khatoon Baig

Her visits to the Garden had become quite erratic of late, largely due to a sprained left foot which remains partly swollen. She had still managed to come limping in for the last two days and did much of the exercises seated on a chair. Today she was not to be seen. According to her close friend Sunita Jajodia, she has been running high fever since last night.
Worse still is Khatoon Baig’s situation. She has been keeping quiet about it for long, but now word is out about her debilitating lung condition. Much as she is taking adequate precautions and is medically well-equipped, her confidence has taken a hit – more so, since the trip involves two days of Ooty where temperatures are expected to dip below 10 degrees. “I do not know whether I’ll be able to make it,” she said this morning. Kiran Prakash and Nahid Siddiqui were heard advising her not to be so unsure of herself and that all would turn out well in the end.

Fehmida Khan celebrates her 42nd wedding anniversary

Moreover, Khatoon has her brother, Ibrahim Qureshi and his family also accompanying her on the trip and there should be no reason for her to be over-anxious, should an emergency arise.
Meanwhile, Fehmida Khan celebrated her wedding anniversary five days in advance. She completes 42 years of 'happy togetherness' on November 23, the eve of her setting out on the South India tour. Anticipating an eleventh-hour rush in preparations, she decided to treat us in leisure this morning to an assortment of mouth-watering salties and crunchies from a popular confectionery in Mahim. If only she could have also brought her husband and grandchildren along (who are known to the Club well), the celebration would have been complete.
Nevertheless, this is wishing Fehmida many more years of marital bliss -- and of course, loads of such goodies for us in future.
Bihari Milwani:
Go on the trip with a positive mind and enjoy. During winter, the climate down south is so good that even sick persons become healthy.