Brighter Side

Swati Punjabi

Bijoy Gupta

Ramzaan has already robbed us of the numbers for our exercises. And the weather isn’t making things easier. With no sign of monsoon yet, even Nahid Khan has become irregular these days. She had been the only Muslim lady in Ramzaan to show up religiously every morning at the Garden in spite of her roza. Now, she says, she too cannot take the summer heat for long.
But then, there is also a brighter side to all this drudgery. Bijoy Gupta hasn’t given up on needling Shekhawat, his latest gem being that he has placed a call with a bangarwallah “to pick up Shekhawat’s rusty old train as scrap”. And Shekhawat isn’t sparing Ram Shankar Shukla from his gurukul jibes while insisting that he take up a 1,000 sq feet property on rent at Nalla Sopara for a new tutorial class.
There is also Arun Patil who conducts the exercises (in the absence of Nahid Khan) and never tires of reprimanding the ladies who have formed a “talking zone” among themselves.

Kiran Prakash distributes Karachi Bakery biscuits

And adding spice to the proceedings, there is Santosh Tyagi ready to regale everybody with a round of fresh jokes.
Amid all this, Swati Punjabi today treated us to sabu-dana khichdi – something she had been promising us for long. She is one lady who does not require a reason to lavish her culinary bounties, so proud is she of her cooking skills. And indeed, even boiled potato can taste heavenly once it is out of her kitchen.
If the sabu dana khichdi were not enough, there was Kiran Prakash just back from Hyderabad with a box of tooti-fruity biscuits from the city’s famous Karachi Bakery. He arrived early morning after a tiresome train journey, but could not resist the temptation of checking us out in the Garden – such is the magnetic pull of Big Laaf!
Dilip Babani:
KIRAN PRAKASH-JI, THOSE WERE VERY NICE AND FRESH KARACHI FRUIT BISCUITS. AND SWATI-JI, YOUR SABOO DANA KICHDI WAS ALSO VERY NICE.
Lt Col Angaad Singh (from Mohali):
Ramzaan has begun. The strength of Muslim ladies has decreased. Still you can enjoy the 'woman power' in the club. The men appear to be in a minority. It is worth the effort to be part of the morning exercises and also relish the cookies. Relax, exercise and keep enjoying.