Champion ‘Chair’ Man

Yusuf R is the only man among five women and four chairs

Yusuf Rassiwala must be having a karmic connection with musical chair competitions. How else does one explain his winning every single musical chair event he has participated in from the Club so far? The last one was on August 22, 2015 at the Royal Hills’ Resort (see post). Today's victory was no different.
It so happened that we ended up with more chairs in the lawn than we needed and after the exercises, on a whim everyone decided to put them to use by having a round of musical chairs.
There was recorded music from Arun Patil’s speaker box and there were more than a dozen women and men eager to take part – if only for a lark.
Yusuf R was however, a reluctant participant. He stood around with the self-assured grin of a winner – almost as though he already knew the result of the competition before it started. Still, at the insistence of Banoo Apa, Nahid Khan and others, he joined sportingly

Rehearsal in progress: Saathi haath badhana

and as the men eliminated themselves one by one and the women stumbled and squabbled among themselves, he coasted comfortably to victory.
In the final round, he was pitted against Qadir Bano Khan. He didn't even try to occupy the last chair as the latter had already conceded defeat and walked out. A jealous Mallika Kagzi rewarded Yusuf R with the epithet -- ‘Chair’ Man.
The chairs were later put to better use in the rehearsal for the Annual Day function with all our singers, actors and dancers turning up in full strength. This is a good opportunity for bonding among members and performing together as a team.
However, as chief organizer, Kiran Prakash has a tough task on his hands. All his ‘artistes’ need to be put through a rigorous grind if they are to come up with a face-saving performance on January 16. They are sorely short of practice, but high in confidence and enthusiasm. And that, as anybody with any experience on stage knows, is the surest short-cut to disaster.
Kiran Prakash:
Please allow me to correct you. I am NOT the chief organiser. The programme is jointly organised by all the members, except a few. I am simply a facilitator. Tomorrow morning I will surely communicate your concern to the artistes.