‘Tom and Jerry’

Frenemies: Gupta and Shekhawat

Geeta Latte today hit the nail on the head when she described Bijoy Gupta and Shekhawat as Tom and Jerry – the ever popular cartoon characters who never miss an opportunity getting at one another’s throat. But then, there are consequences.
The news of Shekhawat taking the Club on a free picnic (ref previous posts) has spread like wild fire leading many in the Garden to wonder whether he could really be serious. After all, this is an expensive proposition and nobody has yet done anything so extravagant.
An eternal optimist, Gupta had tried to convince those doubters that Shekhawat is a man of his word and would never go back on his commitment. “Don’t forget, he is a fauji,” he told Navin Shah, an old friend of the Club.
That was yesterday evening. Today morning, when he narrated the incident, he was shocked to find Shekhawat acting wishy-washy.

Flashpoint: Gupta provokes Shekhawat

Let alone talk of the picnic, he was preventing Gupta from harping on the same topic again and again.“Why don’t you talk about something else?” he said. “Besides, my wife is not well. Until she recovers, there’s no picnic.”
Gupta instantly saw red. In his bid to drive Shekhawat mad, he went about proclaiming that there has been “a great betrayal with the Club” and quoted Navin-bhai

Harbhajan Singh

as having said that “in his entire life as a fauji, Shekhawat has not killed even a dog”. So obviously there is no question of him keeping a soldier’s word of honour.
One thing led to another with the confrontation between the two frenemies reaching flash point in full public view. Ultimately Shekhawat stomped away, threatening to shoot Gupta on the spot with a gun. “Go get your gun from home,” Gupta said defiantly.
In all the tamasha over a silly picnic, there was one welcome development. Our new friend, Harbhajan Singh smiled for the first time today. He has been exercising with us for some weeks, but nobody has ever seen him to (really) laugh or smile. His wife, who accompanies him to the Garden every morning says that he is not grumpy, but a “serious man” by nature.
Turns out, they are from Delhi and he is here for treatment (post a hernia operation) at Kokilaben Hospital. Doctors are yet to diagnose the severe pain that occasionally grips him around his chest and upper back. This keeps him disturbed and in low spirits. But today, something about us had amused him so much as to smile for a while. Full credit to Gupta and Shekhawat!
Geeta Latte:
Thank you so much!
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
For a change, Gupta-ji and Shekhawat-ji should sit together over a drink. Let them relax, feel happy and be merry. It will change their mood and enable them to forget about the free picnic. Let us enjoy the usual paid picnics of the past. Such events have given us more warmth and happiness about which we have been talking a long time.