Year of Parties

Keema-pao party... courtesy Mallika Kagzi (2nd from left)

If a review of the past 12 months were to be done, 2016 shall go down as the Year of Eating and Eating. Never before has the Club been treated to so many parties, big and small, right through the year.
In fact, we seem to have done little else during 2016 than eat, eat… and eat.
Today also, we had a party – a “surprise” from Mallika Kagzi. She brought dhoklas and our favorite keema-pao that we used to regularly gorge on till about a year back. For some strange reason, she had since forgotten to treat us to the latter. And we did not remind her out of politeness.

Arun Patil's style of enforcing discipline

So this morning, the warm and spicy keema-pao not only fired our taste buds once again, it also revived old memories. It made our day.
The reason these parties have assumed significance is that they are being held in rather, adverse conditions. Eatables and beverages are banned in the Garden. Till about a year back when there was no such rule – obviously because factors like hygiene and cleanliness did not occur then – we used to celebrate like everybody else inside the Garden.
Nowadays, perforce we are setting up camp by the roadside, usually outside a shop or juice stall, to have our spot of fun and stuff ourselves silly. It is almost like going for the ‘forbidden fruit’ with a vengeance, which, in a way, explains the surfeit of parties during the past 12 months.
There is of course, the contra view that such over-indulgence does little to our health and fitness. In fact, the very purpose of reporting for the exercises early in the morning is defeated by putting on those extra calories – more than what we burn by exercising. But then, the very people who mouth such homilies are invariably the first ones to queue up for their share of the eats. Nobody refuses a good party!
Dilip Babani:
Mallika-ji's home-made keema pav and dhoklas were superb. The surprise party was very nice. The tea was sone pe suhaga! Wah, Wah, Mallika-ji!!! May God bless you.
Bihari Milwani from San Francisco:
There is one more reason for more parties this year. Generally we have 365 days in a year. This being a leap year, we have 366 days. It automatically calls for more parties!