Idle Time Pass

Shooting the breeze on a pleasant morning

A casual call from Kerala triggered a massive dispute in the Garden with Arun Patil eventually walking away in a huff. It was just that some members on the tour (ref post of October 13) like Bhaswati Bose, Dilip Babani and Kiran Prakash wanted to update us on their trip and likewise, check things out in the Club. Apparently, they had reached Munnar last evening and were having a good time.
The call had got over when someone suggested that they should be told to get us some herbal ‘massage oil’ on their way back. Arun promptly struck down the idea, saying no airlines will permit such liquid in an aircraft. Geeta Latte explained that the oil usually comes in fancy bottles, “sealed and gift-wrapped”, which can easily be brought with the check-in baggage.
Furthermore, Chanda Khadaria argued that Arun is

Swati pacifies Arun Patil

unaware of airlines’ rules and that she has been regularly carrying a particular brand of massage oil from Mumbai for her aged father in Jaipur as part of her check-in baggage. “I don’t even have to declare it to the airlines,” she said. “So what is Arun talking about?”
Yusuf Rassiwala intervened pointing out that there is a precedent to this discussion and since the issue had already been settled, there was no point raking up a dispute now. “We are merely making a mountain out of a molehill and it is not leading anybody anywhere,” he observed.
But Chanda was adamant and as Swati Panjabi and Arati Bhatt joined her with their knowledge of airlines rules, Arun stood up abruptly and walked out. The general impression was that he does not like being contradicted on whatever he says. Fact is, in the absence of anything substantive, everybody needed just about an excuse to hang around and shoot the breeze on what was otherwise a very pleasant Saturday morning.
Ultimately it took Swati's good sense to run and bring Arun back from the gate and pacify him with some pep talk.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
This again proves that there must be something to be discussed - howsoever relevant or irrelevant. Anybody interested in getting things by air will find some means to get them. Rules are meant to be bent.