Winter Chill

Dilip Babani (in red shirt) is at the receiving end

Winter is finally closing in. Yesterday’s papers reported that it was the coldest day of the season (14.3 degrees Celsius). Today, it felt even colder. Small wonder Bijoy Gupta, Yusuf Rassiwala, Santosh Tyagi and other regulars did not show up at the Garden – obviously choosing to sleep the morning out in the comfort of their homes.
Moreover, among those who turned up today, people like Tara Chand Seth, Karuna Waghmare and Manisha Kolhe were seen wrapped up in warm pullovers and shawls. They are known to be averse to sporting woolens, however cold it might be.
Karuna took a dig at Mallika Kagzi for taking a cold shower every morning and what seemed more alarming, was not having a stitch of warm clothing on her.

A small gift for Tara Chand Seth:
his photo with the New Years' cap--

“Look, she does not even dry her hair in this freezing weather!” Karuna exclaimed. “She comes to the Garden early morning dripping wet!”
“Of course, she dries her hair,” Dilip Babani intervened on Mallika’s behalf. “Don’t you know she uses a drycleaner?”
What he meant was a blowdryer, but was not getting the word.

Yusuf Rassiwala (r) greets Om Puri (file photo)

And the more he insisted on saying dry- cleaner, everybody began to tease Mallika on how she could fit herself into such a laundry machine every morning. Dilip being Dilip, clarified that she did not need to get into a machine but took off the hair from her head and dried it in the drycleaner. “That is not real hair, it is a wig,” he said, concocting a story.
Amid this forced merriment on a cold morning comes the chilling news of the death of Om Puri. This superstar of India’s parallel cinema movement has been frequenting the Garden for the past five years and had also posed for keepsake pics with members of the Club. But by and large he kept to himself and in deference to his stature and privacy, we too kept our distance while he took his rounds on the walking track. Now of course, everybody in the Garden wants to appropriate Om Puri.
According to news reports, he succumbed to a massive heart attack last night in his Lokhandwala home. He was 66. May he find peace now.

Om Puri (c) with members of Big Laaf on July 21, 2011 (file photo)

Bihari Milwani:
By now Karuna Waghmare must have discovered the secret of Mallika's beauty: early morning bath in cold water and coming to the laughing club. Karuna should also try this regimen to look more beautiful and challenge Mallika in a beauty contest on the forthcoming Women's Day.
Geeta Latte:
Kisine kya khub kaha hai, "Nind aadhi maut hai aur maut mukammal nind hai..." Aadhi maut toh hum sabko roz milti hai!
Dilip Babani:
Om Puri was best actor. We will remember him always. He was a genius in acting and his voice was solid strong. Above all, he was a nice man.