Bleak Times

Tara Chand Seth

Tara Chand Seth said his goodbyes today before leaving for Delhi. For quite some time, he has been keeping indifferent health, mainly because of the incredible summer heat this year.

Banoo Apa (r) with an admirer

He says he has never suffered so much in Mumbai.
“Yesterday morning, I had come right up to the Garden but returned from the gate,” the 86-year-old narrated. “My head started spinning. I am having frequent blackouts also, which has never happened before. I need to see my doctor in Delhi.”
Tara Chand is not the only one to be complaining of the cruel weather conditions. Almost everyone in the Club is struck by some heat-related ailment and is under the active care of a doctor. Many like Laxmi Naidu, Sitaram Hivarkar, Karuna Waghmare and Fahmida Khan have altogether stopped visiting the Garden and would rather keep themselves

Wishing Yusuf Rassiwala 'Ramzaan Mubarak'

updated on the Club by phone.
Next week, hopefully, the monsoon would descend and bring about some relief. Before that, the holy month of Ramzaan would have begun (on Monday/ Tuesday) and many who are now present for the exercises will also stop coming. And should it start to rain cats and dogs (as is being forecast), it would be hard to find a single soul in the Garden. Effectively, we are in for a bleak phase in days to come.
Meanwhile, Banoo Apa is turning out to be the very personification of benevolence. Today, for no reason in particular, she treated everyone to the most mouth-watering dahi-vadas imaginable. Mildly chilled with just about the right dash of sweet and sour, the evenly-textured lentil dumplings simply dissolved in the mouth. For most of us who do not make this delicacy at home and are rather conditioned by the taste of mass-marketed junk, this was like manna from heaven – especially after the exercises.
No amount of thanking Banoo Apa can ever be enough.
Dilip Babani:
TARA CHAND-JI, HAVE A NICE JOURNEY!
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
Tara Chand Seth, our senior-most member, has been active and happily participating in all events of the Club. His presence with us is a matter of huge encouragement to all. We wish him a very happy and healthy long life. Hope he will be back from Delhi soon.