Civic Matters

Yogiraj Dabhadkar (l) interacts with members

It's election time once again. With the municipal polls in Mumbai round the corner, political parties of different hues have begun making a beeline to the Garden. And as always, they are taking keen interest in our Club. Or so it would seem.
Today was the turn of a representative of the local BJP outfit to drop by. A tall, pleasant-looking young man, he introduced himself as Yogiraj Dabhadkar and garlanded Shekhawat with the colors of his party. He also spoke on basic civic issues – from providing 24x7 water supply

Shekhawat in BJP colors

and health care to sanitation, street lighting, garbage disposal, etc. while urging everyone to vote en masse for the lotus symbol on February 21.
On being asked what he could do for the Club, Shekhawat declared he was fed up of dog poop littering the Garden. Before he could also raise the question of ban on food and beverages in the Garden, Geeta Latte took the young politico aside and shared a genuine problem:

Discussions on Kolhapuri mutton

Her passport application has been rejected because the local cops are refusing to clear her papers on ‘residence proof’.
Karuna Waghmare raised the bar still higher. She wants to go on a picnic to Kolhapur (of all the places) where a certain mutton delicacy is available. Arun Patil joined her by elaborating that it is the extra-spicy variety. Ultimately, they managed to extract a commitment to be hosted in a farmhouse (owned by the politico) in Kolhapur free of charge. So much for civic matters…
Meanwhile, Arun announced that he has to leave for Chennai immediately. He would be doing a recce for a film shoot which could take him a week to 10 days. He leaves with his team by an early morning flight tomorrow.
This effectively means that we could be without a proper ‘teacher’ to conduct our free-hand exercises -- at least, till such time Nahid Khan returns from the Rajasthan trip.
Bihari Milwani:
We do not have to sit for some exam. We will do the exercises with a trainee teacher without grumbling.
Anonymous:
Wow! No teachers tomorrow!! We will jump with joy and laugh out loudly!!!