Fourth Weekend Treat

SATURDAY FIESTA: Razia Khan (c) is flanked by Tahira and Shekhawat

Christmas arrived a day earlier at the Garden. Santosh Tyagi unpacked a box of crunchy gajak she had picked up from a trip to Delhi.
Banoo Apa celebrated by opening another appetizing box of yellow, stuffed barfis.
But the biggest draw was Razia Khan's oven fresh poha, batata wada, chana masala, slices of a baked sweet… and of course, hot tea.
Razia was accompanied by daughter-in-law Tahira, who made all the difference to this Saturday morning fiesta. A chirpy, young lady known to the Club for years, her presence lent a rare, homely warmth to the event – more so, because most of the items on offer were home-made, distinct from the stuff we have been routinely sourcing from the marketplace. The occasion also gave us the opportunity to catch up with her on the home front – her husband and two talented children,

Maitra (r) gives Santosh a taste of her gajak

also known to us.
But then, this is also the season of silliness. Santosh resumed her jokes’ routine with a cracker of a critique on the current demonetization drive. “Kitne aadmi thhe?” she intoned, mimicking ‘Gabbar Singh’ from the movie, Sholay.

Banoo Apa (r) treats us to barfis

Turned out she was referring to the lengthening queues outside banks with people, starved of cash, waiting their turn.
If that was not funny enough, Siba Prasad Maitra chipped in with a crisp rib-tickler, narrated extempore, soon to be followed by Bhaswati Bose reading out a series of online jokes from a cellphone. In between, Shekhawat continued energetically with his jack-in-the-box antics he had started from the exercises, obviously because Mumtaz Jahan, Fahmida Khan, Rukhsana Khan and Razia were for once, present together. Even Mallika Kagzi got into the mood of the moment and pulled off a startling little jig for the benefit of her gal pals.
In the end, it was good fun all the way. If anything, it proved one happy fact: letting down your hair can be contagious. One person starts playing the fool and before long, everyone else would follow suit!
Karun H.Sharma:
It was my first time attending a BIG Big Laaf party. It was fun, informal with lots of delicious food to celebrate. The ghazak from Santosh-ji was ghazab too!
Razia Khan:
I would like to thank all Big Laaf members for giving their precious time and showering their affection and love. I really appreciate your love and affection from the core of my heart. A very special thanks also for writing such good things about me and my family. Thanks a lot. God bless you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the Big Laaf family.