Diwali Delight

Chanda and Dhruv Khadaria (holding white bag) usher in Diwali

Diwali arrived early for us as Chanda Khadaria celebrated in grand style at the Garden today. She was accompanied by her son, Dhruv who is as close to the Club as any other member. And if their treat was not enough, there was Tara Chand Seth also, celebrating with crispy crackers and marking his return (earlier in the week) from Delhi.
Chanda had sounded us in advance that she would like to “throw a Diwali party” on Friday morning. But nobody had expected it to be on such a lavish scale as to actually make us feel guilty. What began with beautiful boxes of home-made chocolates, moved on to crunchy biscuits and cookies outside the Garden gate,

Tara Chand (c) unpacks the biscuits

followed by freshly fried samosas, pakoras and bhujiyas (sourced by Dilip Babani) and finally, topped by steaming hot tea (lovingly brewed by Banoo Apa).
What more could anybody have asked for? It was far too much to be consumed on the spot (and much too tempting to refuse at any point),

Mallika Kagzi (file photo)

thereby leaving us with no option but to carry home sizeable portions in what looked like little ‘bounty bags’. If anything, this should suggest a bountiful Diwali and a prosperous year ahead. Thank you, Chanda and Dhruv!
The other major talking point of the morning centred on Mallika Kagzi showing signs of recovery from the dengue attack (ref post of October 25). Yesterday, she was discharged from hospital and her daughter-in-law, Heena had thoughtfully sent us the following text message: “By the grace of the Almighty and countless prayers of all friends and well-wishers, mom is now back home. Her platelets have risen to 70k. (There’s) still a long way to go but she is on the road to recovery. A big thank you for your continued support and concern. Please keep her in your prayers.”
Najma Sayyed’s sister, Nadira also had some good news for us. Najma is out of danger and has been shifted out of ICCU to her room. The doctors are “trying to make her stand” on her feet and once she finds the strength to do so, she too would be discharged from hospital.
Let us hope for the best.
Bihari Milwani:
Every morning are you people coming to exercise or have parties and put on calories?
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
It is nice that Mallika Kagzi is out of hospital. She must take care of the platelets and continue taking medicines till she is back to normal. There is also need to be careful about dengue mosquitoes. These fly up to knee level. Apply coconut oil on your legs up to the knees. Also it is better that socks are worn along with shoes.