Versova Picnic

Ho-Ho Ha-Ha by the beach

Dilip Babani was damn right before taking us to Versova Beach for an early morning picnic today: “Once we reach there, you will forget all other beaches!”
Indeed, the moment we reached there at 7:30 in the morning, we forgot all other beaches. To our intense horror, confronting us along the coastline was a row of exposed bums of different shapes and sizes, defecating merrily in the open. None of us could summon the courage to take another step forward.
Even more awkward was the bewildered look among bystanders who had gathered around. "You people have travelled all the way from Lokhandwala to witness this?" they seemed to ask.
The trip should ideally have been called off because of inclement weather (see yesterday’s post), but it was at Mallika Kagzi’s insistence that we set out from the Garden on schedule. The idea was to do our

Soaking in the sand and surf

exercises by the seafront – as we had done at Juhu Beach two years ago (ref post of September 20, 2014) – and thereafter rejoice over tea and snacks.

Back from a walk

Whoever expected a spectacle of erupting bums by the beach?
But all was not lost. We were headed homeward before a helpful local directed us to a more “hospitable stretch on the beach where people do jogging” located about 15 minutes away by the main road. Sure enough, tucked away amid a maze of high rises, was another gateway to Versova Beach – relatively clean, serene and well-maintained. Mercifully, there was no bum show here.
In all this, we were already behind time for the exercises. Being a working day, many were in a hurry to return home before 9:00a.m.

Fooling around... as always

Still, we managed to go through some basic laughter exercises before the ladies came up with some innovative games like Chaar Annah-Aath Annah on the run. Mallika, Zarina Khan, Mumtaz Jahan and Nahid Khan practiced a walking race between themselves while Rukhsana Khan and a few others went for a long walk down the beach. Somebody even suggested that we compete with a frisky dog nearby playing fetch-ball with its owner.
Meanwhile, Dilip and Kiran Prakash took off to organize the eats. And over a sumptuous spread of bhujiya, vada pao, samosa, pakodas, cupcake, biscuits and chocolate bars – washed down with hot, flavoured tea prepared by Mallika from home – we had a blast. The weather was also kind to us for the time we were there. Everybody got so caught up by the madness of the moment that we did not realize that we had overshot our deadline by more than an hour.

Time for Mallika's tea

Surveying the beach

Ever helpful Dilip Babani

Like all good things, this too had to end. Apart from Mallika, Banoo Apa and Kiran Prakash who are known for their cooperative and caring nature, Dilip Babani deserves a special word of thanks for eventually making this picnic a success. Were it not for him, things would have fallen flat – even before that spectacular show of exploding backsides by the beach.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
At times it feels good to be surprised. Nobody thought of seeing the bums on the beach. Everyone thought that area was free of faeces. But then, they were proved wrong. Some picnics are remembered because of odd things seen. So this is how we shall remember Versova Beach. Good eats and a happy ending!