AGM 2016

Annual General Meeting in progress

Last day of the month. Last date for convening the Annual General Meeting (AGM), a boring statutory ritual we’ve invited upon ourselves

Bihari Milwani reads Audit Report

after registering Big Laaf with the government two years back.
That it also happened to be a day for paying homage to dead ancestors (Sarva Pitru Amavasya) deprived us of full attendance for the meeting. In the absence of quorum at the start, a 15-minute break was declared before Yusuf Rassiwala, chairman (emeritus) re-convened the meeting with a strength of 23 in attendance.
As Club auditor, Bihari Milwani read out the Audit Report for 2015-16 and handed over certified copies of the statements of accounts and balance sheet for our record.

President Mallika Kagzi makes a point

He has also, very graciously, consented to be re-appointed auditor for the current financial year.
Banoo Apa created a mild uproar when she requested to be relieved from her post of Club secretary owing to pressing health/ domestic compulsions.

Post-meeting refreshments

She assured us though, that she would continue to be part of the Managing Committee and after much debate, her resignation was accepted (“with a heavy heart”, as Siba Prasad Maitra put it). Kiran Prakash’s name was proposed as the new secretary by president Mallika Kagzi, which was promptly endorsed by a show of hands.
“I had actually approached Bijoy Gupta earlier to take charge as secretary, but he declined twice,” revealed Mallika. “So yesterday, we convened a meeting of the Managing Committee and it was then that Kiran Prakash emerged as the unanimous choice for the secretary’s post. I am glad he has given his consent to undertake this responsibility.”
Furthermore, the AGM formally ratified the expelling of Srichand Arora and Jagmohan Papneja, former president and secretary respectively, for carrying out anti-Club activities with impunity. More on this, later.

Monsoon Exits

Why are they pointing fingers?

After playing havoc for three months, the monsoon appears to be finally exiting Mumbai. It hasn’t rained at all since the beginning of this week. In fact, today was the third day in a row we could exercise out in the open without having to look up at the sky. And with the grass in the Garden neatly cropped, this was no small pleasure.
Funnily, the weather seems to have a direct bearing on our mood during the exercises. Those who hadn’t noticed it now realize that for the time we were confined to the China Hut

Fehmida Khan

(because of the dark, ominous clouds hanging overhead or an unending downpour) the mood inside used to be uniformly claustrophobic, dull and unusually somber. No sooner the sun peeps out than faces automatically light up, lethargy disappears and everybody would be brimming with energy and mischief.
The same sense of being liberated pervaded today’s hour-long session. Punctuated by wanton banter – cut short by sharp orders to 'shut up' – and provocative one-liners, the exercises were wrapped up in what seemed to be less than half an hour. Time flies when the mood is upbeat.
Siba Prasad Maitra was there, as usual adding cheer. Swati Punjabi was also there, as usual getting into everybody’s way. Even Fehmida Khan was there, making an appearance after almost three months. (Sadly, her husband has not been keeping well.) Mumtaz Jahan raised a ruckus on “undue restrictions” to her freedom of speech and had to consoled by Arun Patil on the one hand and provoked by Mallika Kagzi on the other…
And thus did we celebrate the departure of this year's monsoon.

Blue Eyed Boys

Rakhi Bansi celebrates turning grandmom

In any human gathering, association or club, there would always be one or two individuals who’d stand apart from the rest, being more popular than the others. In Big Laaf, we have Kiran Prakash and Siba Prasad Maitra who rank high in the popularity stakes. Both coincidentally, hail from the pharmaceutical industry and had joined the Club around the same time (though not together) which would seem like the other day. Yet, in these two years, they have emerged as the most admired and endearing blue-eyed boys – age and seniority be damned.
What other reason can there be for Swati Panjabi to abandon everything the moment she catches sight of Maitra and give him a good body drubbing and head massage before attending to anybody else? Or for the Babanis and Boses, not to mention Yusuf Rassiwala, Banoo Apa, Mallika Kagzi etc.

Kiran Prakash (l) and Siba Prasad Maitra (r) in the foreground

making a beeline towards him, just to catch his witticisms or a narration of some funny anecdote?
Now, Maitra is a man always in a hurry and not very regular for the exercises because of work compulsions. Today also he tried to wriggle out soon after the exercises,

Mallika's turn for Swati's massage

but by the time he could actually extricate himself from his fawning admirers, he was half-hour behind. It is nothing but his company that everyone in the Club cherishes.
Kiran Prakash is also having to pay a price for his popularity. He leaves for Dubai (ref last post) on a holiday tomorrow and instead of wishing him well or being given a warm send-off, he was gheraoed by his fans making crazy demands for anything from spices and dates to gold ornaments and ingots. Yusuf R intervened saying that at this rate ‘Chhutkan’ (as he calls Kiran Prakash lovingly) would return empty-handed while Swati advised him to better pick up some faux gold trinkets from the pavement outside Andheri station. But nobody was listening. Even Karuna Waghmare tried to punch above her height when offered one gram of gold as gift. “What shall I do with one gram?” she squealed. “I need at least one tola gold. Just pick up a ring for me on your way back!”
Who else would anybody be taking such outrageous liberties with?
Kiran Prakash:
I am indeed fortunate to be a member of BIG LAAF. In this era when people have no time or inclination to even talk unless something can be extracted, getting so much affection from members touches my heart. I am treated more like a family member than a fellow club member. In this life I will never be able to pay back. Dear members, I hold you all in very high esteem and love you too.

Autumn Exodus

Kiran Prakash

Hari Singh Shekhawat

With Dussehra and Diwali closing in, the annual festival exodus has begun. Shekhawat has already left for Rajasthan via Bihar. He shall celebrate Navaratri in his native village (ref post of September 24) before embarking on a pilgrimage with friends and relatives. He is expected to return to Mumbai in time for the Diwali festival on October 30.
Come September 29, Kiran Prakash will be off on a five-day vacation, to Dubai. On October 13, he would join the Club on a trip to Kerala that would cover Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Vembanad and Allepey. (Shekhawat had last led a 40-member group to these very places on February 2014.) The current trip has taken three months in organising.
While others are also drawing up their holiday plans, Karuna Waghmare returned today from a brief sojourn only to discover that president Mallika Kagzi had turned into a strict disciplinarian.

Karuna Waghmare (standing) protests against imposition of discipline

Karuna simply could not believe that she would have to hold her tongue while exercising and went around asking in loud whispers if Mallika had lost her mind completely.
“Then why is she acting so bossy?” asked the lady who Bijoy Gupta has christened ‘Char-ana Aath-ana’ (after her role in the Annual Function play).
Predictably, she confronted Mallika once the exercises got over and gave her a mouthful. “What is all this?” she exclaimed. “At home we cannot laugh and joke because of our children. This is the only time in the day when we get to express ourselves freely. Now if you impose restrictions here on even talking, you are being grossly unfair.”
Karuna was merely voicing the sentiments of members, particularly ladies, for whom the Club is the only place where they get to ventilate their true feelings. Mallika understands that perfectly, but can do nothing about it: “I am damned if I impose discipline, I am damned if I am lenient. What shall I do?”
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
It is the happiness, hilarious laughing and healthy exercises which attract all the members. When you have people like Kiran Prakash and Siba Maitra who make a small joke big by way of accent or otherwise, one feels doubly happy. It is a bonus to also enjoy the exercises which are the spice and tonic of life.

DAY 2032

Pic of the Week

WHEN A LIFE WAS SNUFFED OUT.  ALMOST.
Identify the 'killer' from his wrist watch!

He is Chhupa Rustom! --Bihari Milwani

God save me from such 'friends'! -Lt Col Angad Singh

Unfinished Business

Tiny Farhad receives his gift box and blessings from Zarina Khan

Four-year-old Fahad Kagzi had to attend to an unfinished business today. About a fortnight back he performed a little jig with some little ladies at the Annual Day function (ref post of September 10) of Big Laaf. And like any chivalrous male, he allowed his co-dancers to first collect their gift boxes at the end of the performance and thereafter, patiently awaited his turn.
The wait has been long but worth the while. This morning he accompanied his grandmom, Mallika Kagzi to the Garden and there was Zarina Khan to present him his long overdue box of chocolates. Zarina is just back from performing Hajj and nothing could have been more auspicious for Fahad than receiving her blessings and of course, the gift box from her hands.
Zarina had brought dry dates and holy water for us along with lots of stories on her pilgrimage. It had been a grueling experience, more so, as daytime temperatures in Mecca were hitting 50 degrees when she was there. “It was unbearably hot in the open,” narrated Zarina.

Arun Patil enjoys Mallika's tea

Swati feeds Dilip Babani mithi puri

“But the arrangements by the Saudi authorities were so good that we had really nothing to complain about. Most important, there were no accidents this year.”
Supplementing Zarina’s Arab dates was Swati Panjabi’s unusual mithi puri treat, washed down by Mallika’s refreshing hot tea. Pity Shekhawat could not join us for these as he had to excuse himself midway through the exercises. He said he had a flight to catch to Patna and after that, he would take the road to Gaya. Turns out, Shekhawat is on a major expedition that would keep him away from the Garden till October 22.

Shekhawat leaves mid-way through the exercises

On September 30, he would leave Bihar and head towards his village in Rajasthan, in time for the Navratri festivities. Thereafter, he would escort a contingent of village elders to the many pilgrimage spots of Rajasthan. The trip – partly by air, partly by road – is his personal treat to near and dear ones he had spent his formative years with.
“They are all around my age now (mid-seventies), some even older,” Shekhawat said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “The best part is that they have never travelled out of the village in their lifetime. For them, air travel is unimaginable. The experience of stepping into an aeroplane and being transported across the skies would be almost like a dream come true. For all you know, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them.”
He elaborated that even stepping into an elevator is a big deal for those simple village folk. “That is why I have booked them in hotels that have lift facilities. I have deliberately taken rooms in the upper floors. I cannot wait to see how they behave when they get into a lift… or in the aeroplane.”
We wish Shekhawat an eventful, safe and enjoyable excursion.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
Going on pilgrimage is a good sign. It has its own blessings and memories to be cherished.

Relentless Rains

Waiting for the rains to subside

It has been raining relentlessly night and day for a week. Usually monsoons in Mumbai recede by the end of the Ganesh festivities on Anant Chaturdashi day. But this time around, the rains had struck with renewed vigour on the very same day (last Thursday), throwing our lives out of gear.
At the Garden, attendance dropped drastically during the exercises. Today, it was in single digit as thunder and lightning streaked across the skies early morning. The fear of slipping and falling into potholes and wading through swirling slush on the roads is proving a major deterrent. One has to be either utterly foolish or else, raving mad to be risking life and limb in these conditions for the sake of a few laughs. Or so it would seem to any observer.
Nahid Khan had a different take though. “Those of us who report for the exercises in this foul weather have only one thing to prove. We are unwanted in our homes. Why else should any sane person leave the comfort of a warm, cosy bed early morning

'Bosswoman' Mallika Kagzi (l) flexes her muscle

only to get drenched and brave all odds to reach the Garden?”
However, if truth be told, it is nothing but addiction that draws us to the Garden, whatever the circumstances. Like junkies who need their daily fix, we get our high from all the crackpot jokes, clowning and fooling about in the morning.

Tara Chand Seth

And then there are the occasional but hilarious surprises – the latest being Mallika Kagzi asserting her authority as president of the Club while getting to ‘tame’ Shekhawat and enforcing order during the exercises.
Meanwhile, news comes in from Tara Chand Seth in Delhi where the weather is not so wet. Still, he is having a rough time, following a major attack of pneumonia and certain age-related issues which have left him with a sudden weight loss of 8 kilos.
Tara Chand is in his mid-80s. He says that much as he has “recovered and feels better now”, there is the occasional bout of weakness he must contend with. Nevertheless, he believes he will be able to gather the strength to travel to Mumbai and visit us some time before Diwali.
We wish him speedy recovery and the best of everything.
Bhaswati Bose:
Get well soon, Tara Chand-ji. We are missing you.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
As one grows in age, so does the immune system of the body decline. A super-senior citizen has to be careful about the weather. It may be summer or winter, precautions are very essential and must not to be ignored. I wish Tara Chand Seth speedy recovery and good health.

DAY 2029

Pic of the Week

UNGUARDED MOMENT: Any guesses why she is so amused?

Her amusement is amusing! --Lt Col Angad Singh

Jab bhi aankhe bund karti hoon, tumhe hi dekhti hoon! --Kiran Prakash

She's the SMILING BUDDHA of Big Laaf! --Bhaswati Bose

In deep meditation. --Dilip Babani

Undeserved Largesse

It was too much of a good thing. From somewhere, a lovely bouquet of chrysanthemum and tuberose showed up, courtesy our president Mallika Kagzi.

Birthday cake... from Dhruv (rt, in black)

Before long, another bouquet, this time of gladioli and red roses materialized, thanks to Banoo Apa.
In between, our young friend, Dhruv Khadaria (Chanda’s son) conjured a huge chocolate cake with a beautiful card tagged on. Swati Punjabi came up with not one, but two lovely gift-wrapped presents… And so it went on.
But more than these material goodies, there was the intangible warmth and love on display, right from raising the fourth laughter and everyone singing the birthday song

Blog monster with wife

to Geeta Latte creating a unique photo collage and video on her mobile phone and above all, Bihari Milwani gifting a brilliant keepsake card, designed (and worded) in his inimitable style.

Celebration spills over outside the gate

And the undeserving recipient of all this largesse was your blog monster.
The bonhomie spilled outside the garden gate over countless rounds of Mallika’s tea and generous slices of rawa (semolina) cake, if only to prove that there can be so much of heart and feeling in birthday celebrations rather than reducing it all to a yearly robotic ritual. As Yusuf Rassiwala put it, “This happens only when you become so close as to share complete understanding with one another.”
“We have indeed become too close, more than a family,” added Mallika, rolling her eyes.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
Happy birthday, Blog Monster. Nice to see everybody engrossed in the celebration very happily. God bless you all.
Bihari Milwani:
Heavens' choicest blessings were showered later in the day by the Almighty (in the form of rain) on the Diamond Jubilee birthday of Blog Monster. Many, many happy returns of the day.
Siba Prasad Maitra:
Dear Mr Bose, many many happy returns of the day. I wish all your desires get fulfilled in this year and and also pray to God to give you good health and long life. With your total involvement and untiring efforts, you have kept Big Laaf united like a family with emotional bonding. May God bless you.
Kiran Prakash:
Happy Birthday, Blog Monster. 15th September was Judgment Day. The verdict was loud and clear: The most loved person in BIG LAAF is our Blog Monster. Love was pouring from all sides in the form of gifts and gifts, bouquets and bouquets, cakes and cakes, steaming hot tea and lots of good wishes and blessings -- a dream for anybody on his birthday. Tum jiyo hazaaro saal, hum rahe tumhaare saath...
Dilip Babani:
Happy Birthday, Bose-bhai!

New Members

Rafaqat Ayub

Now that the Eid ul-Adha, Onam and Ganapati festivities are getting over, we are picking up the pieces for restoring normalcy in the Club. Attendance has already caught up. The exercises are once again being held from start-to-finish (with no short-cuts in between). The post-exercise jokes’ sessions have also been revived…
Some disruptions in our regular schedule were unavoidable. For instance, the tai-chi round had to be temporarily disbanded in order to make time for the rehearsals in the run-up to the Annual Day function last week-end (ref post of September 10).
But there has also been a positive fallout. Many outsiders /non-members associated with fine-tuning the preparations had expressed the desire to join Big Laaf as regular members.

Jokes session in China Hut

“I simply love the company of you people,” Nadira Sayyed, a professional film choreographer (who had trained our dancers) said while articulating the sentiments of our new guests.
Today Rafaqat Ayub, another choreographer who had helped us then, turned up for the exercises. She too wants to be a member, even as it would mean having to drive a good five kilometres from SV Road every morning. A visibly energetic lady, she insists that “it is no problem” so long as she gets to spend time with us.
Vishnu Kukreja is another (ref yesterday’s post). Refusing to take no for an answer, he even paid the ‘membership fee’ till March-end today and has promised to join the exercises without fail from tomorrow. “I can see the Garden from my house,” he said. “The moment you start exercising in the morning, I shall set out from home. You can count on my membership for life.”
There are a few others like Arati Bhatt and Chanda Khadaria who are already ‘deemed members’, going by their loyalty and involvement in all activities of the Club. We need to take a call on formalizing the membership of all these freshers at the earliest.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
The desire of people to join the club suggests two things. Firstly, the importance they place on health and exercising. Secondly, the energy generated by the members in organising events is contagious.

Pleasant Lull

In a limbo: Mulling over Saturday's big show

The weather complemented the mood in the Club today. A sharp drizzle minutes before the exercises had brought down the morning temperature in the Garden. But it was far from gloomy. There was a certain stillness in the air, much like the easy languor that settles in after a major event has blown over.
After all the high jinks of the Annual Day function (ref post of September 10), suddenly we found ourselves at a loose end today. There was nothing to look forward now.

Vishnu Kukreja

All the planning and preparation that went on for weeks – the many heated discussions outside the gate over Mallika Kagzi's tea, the late afternoon rehearsals day after day, missing the afternoon nap and memorizing song lyrics and dance moves, the sporadic ego clashes and tiffs, special clothes stitched for the occasion…all that was over.

Banoo Apa's repeat performance this morning

What remained now were memories of a grand event.
Time and again, Santosh Tyagi broke into reciting her lines from the play with others like Nahid Khan and Arun Patil joining in. Some pointed to the goof-ups and slip-ups (nobody else had noticed) while at Khatoon Baig’s request, Banoo Apa repeated the dance number she had performed at the function. “I cannot get over her facial expressions and the sublime grace she invests in her performance,” noted Khatoon.
Many outsiders (read non-members) dropped by to compliment the ‘artistes’ and thank us for putting up “an enjoyable show”. Some wanted to know “the procedure” for obtaining Big Laaf membership. One gentleman, Vishnu Kukreja insisted that we should have four such shows every year and he would foot the bill each time. “If not four, at least have a repeat performance of this one in a proper auditorium and I will sponsor the expenses. I can get you Maheshwari Hall any time you want,” he said.
Obviously, he was getting emotional and this was his way of expressing his appreciation. We understand such sentiments but for the present, well, our response had to be a polite ‘Thank You but No Thank You’.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
The morning showers were blessings from the Almighty on the efforts made by everyone in celebrating the Annual Day in a befitting manner. How well-coordinated and well-presented the events were has been adequately proved by the fact that people are requesting the members to organise more such events in the future. It also shows the latent talent of our members. Good show!

DAY 2025

Pic of the Week

ANNUAL DAY FUNCTION: Saturday, September 10, 2016

The selection of the photos and their sequential display reveals the talent of the blog monster of the Big Laaf club. Hurrah!!! --Lt Col Angad Singh

Super Saturday

An all-ladies choir?

It was verily an excuse to travel back in time. Bijoy Gupta had, in fact come up with a lovely catch-phrase, ‘Celebration of a Second Childhood’. Eventually we settled for CELEBRATING LIFE as the tagline for the banner put up on the Club’s Annual Day function at the China Hut in the evening.
This was in keeping with the theme song, Jeena isi ka naam hai – a chorus number that marked the opening of the function and became a recurring musical motif during the two-and-half hour ‘variety entertainment’ program that followed.
Chairman (Emeritus) Yusuf Rassiwala set the ball rolling at 6:40pm with a brief welcome speech before handing the mike over to the Master of Ceremonies, Kiran Prakash.

Arati and Juhi Babani 

By then the China Hut was packed to the rafters and the crowd had spilled over to cemented compound outside. To our good fortune, it did not rain like yesterday.

Chairman Yusuf Rassiwala

But the performance area for the artistes had shrunk severely and in the absence of a demarcated stage, the dancers particularly were restricted in their mobility. Even for our in-house play, Sone Ki Chain, the players could not cut across the floor (as was originally conceived) and had to hold themselves from trampling on or stumbling over one another. To make matters worse, one of the spotlights conked off midway!
Yet, none of this took anything away from the raw energy and vibrancy required for such a show. So what if some of us fumbled over our lines, sang off-key or just could not dance to save our lives… everybody had a ball.

Emcee Kiran Prakash

The audience clapped lustily from the moment a group of (member’s) kids set the floor on fire, followed by Juhi and Arati, Banoo Apa and Rafaqat, Shekhawat, with Siba Prasad Maitra belting out a hilarious parody, not to mention Mumtaz Jahan, Bijoy Gupta, Harish Wadhwa and most importantly,

A section of the audience... packed to the rafters

Shareen’s energetic dance number and Purohit’s rendering of a couple of vintage film hits.
The loudest applause erupted over Dilip Babani and Gupta gyrating to Bar Bar Dekho... – though choreographer Nadira’s dance performance was no less a surprise. Also, who can forget Bunty, a professional singer and regular in the Garden who treated us to a couple of soulful Kishore Kumar numbers and then there was Yusuf R also, shaking a leg on a Hemant Kumar ditty, evoking a deafening roar from the audience.
One can go on and on, what with the antakshari session, the many impromptu jigs after the function had ended, the mad scramble for the extra biryani boxes, Fruti tetrapacks, the little gifts given away to the kids and choreographers and so on. But to us, our biggest takeaway was the opportunity to join in a collective outburst of joy while individually reliving our childhood in those two-odd hours. It was palpable. It was infectious. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
The Annual Day function proved to be a worthy show enjoyed by all, whether or not a member. This is one event that results in the culmination of activities of the year. The gathering shows that it was liked by everyone present. It speaks superbly of the efforts of the participants and talent of the actors. Very well done!

Annual Function Program

Final rehearsals of the opening group song

With less than 24 hours to go for the Club’s Annual Day function, here’s a quick run-up of the program scheduled for the evening for the benefit of those who were unable to keep track of the action at the Garden in the past few days:
* Group song by members: Jeena Issi ka naam hai
* Welcome address by Chairman Emeritus, Yusuf Rassiwala
* Duet by Banoo Apa and Mumtaz Jahan
* Dance performance by members’ kids
* Juhi Babani and Arati perform to Ladki Beautiful, etc.
* Song by Harish Wadhwa and gang
* Solo number by Mumtaz Jahan
* Solo number by Siba Prasad Maitra
* Sone Ki Chain – a 10-minute skit performed by all members of the Club
* Banoo Apa and Rafaqat perform to Reshmi salwar kurta…
* Dilip Babani and Bijoy Gupta perform to Baar baar dekho…
* Shekhawat dances to Bholi soorat dil ke khote…
* Solo folk song by Bijoy Gupta
* Dance by Shireen and Dhruv
* Solo song by Mr Purohit
* Antakshari
* Housie Session (time permitting)
The two-and-half hour program is scheduled to close by 9:30 pm and biryani boxes will be distributed thereafter. There are some surprises also in store. So watch this space – just in case you fail to make it to our China Hut tomorrow evening.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
A programme not to be missed. Alas, I will be away.