Warm Welcome

Shekhawat holds forth on his return from a trip to Bihar and Rajasthan

Hari Singh Shekhawat was accorded a warm welcome this morning, befitting his position as a club chairman. This was the first time in ten-odd years that he was away from the Club for such a long time – almost a month.

Bijoy Gupta (l) greets Shekhawat

And it was very much a pleasure to find him back fully refreshed, radiating energy and mischief in equal measure.
Bijoy Gupta was among the first to greet him with a hug and handshake, but apparently not so much for the joy of having his old friend back, hale and hearty (ref previous post). He pretended to be unduly concerned, wondering whether Shekhawat was treated well in prison. “When did they release you?” he asked cheekily.
Shekhwat was stumped for words but recovered soon after when Gupta explained that he was collecting Rs500 from everyone towards furnishing his bail bond.

Happy Birthday, Rukhsana Khan!

“You may require a bail bond, I don’t,” Shekhawat retorted. “I am a fauji, an ex-serviceman. Nobody can dare arrest me. You better watch out for yourself!”
Before long, Shekhawat went on to recount details of his trip from the time he left Mumbai last month for Patna and onward to Gaya to attend a religious congregation meant for propitiating the spirits of ancestors. “It is a huge mela, held once in ten years,” he narrated. “I was lucky to find a priest of my (Shekhawati) community who could fish out records from my great-great grandfather’s time.”

Mallika Kagzi: Get Well Soon!

Back home in Rajasthan in time for the Navratrati festivities, Shekhawat went on a pilgrimage of some holy sites,

Chocolates from Vasudev Batheja

including Nathdwara, Pushkar and the Sanwariya Seth Temple of Rajsamand. “We were a group of 12, mostly ladies,” he said. “I wanted to treat them to air travel this time, something they have not experienced. But one of the ladies had misplaced her Aadhar Card and it wouldn’t have looked good had we left her behind. So we traveled by road, in hired cars.”
While Shekhawat held forth on what was obviously an eventful trip, Rukhsana Khan celebrated her birthday with a round of Swiss rolls. Pity, the snacks’ boxes she had ordered did not arrive in time; but then, there was Vasudev Bhateja quickly making up with fistfuls of chocolates he had picked from a recent trip to London.
In all this revelry, there was a spot of disturbing news: Mallika Kagzi is down with dengue. She had been suffering from body ache and fever for three weeks, little realizing that her platelet count had crashed drastically. She is now in intensive care at Arogya Nidhi Hospital, Juhu. Further details are awaited.