Foreign Plot

Shekhawat corners Karuna Waghmare early morning, before the exercises

There seems to be some substance in Bihari Milwani’s comments yesterday (see post). Shekhawat is indeed plotting something for a foreign tour from the Club. No sooner had Karuna Waghmare reported for the exercises today than he took her aside in the semi-darkness. “You will have to join us for a picnic abroad,” he said.
Karuna was taken aback, more so as the exercises were about to start.

Happy Birthday, Santosh-ji!
(file photo)

“I don’t mind,” she replied cautiously. “You take me to Dubai and I will go. Other places, I am not interested…”
Being Karuna’s front-door neighbor, Shekhawat is obviously aware that Karuna has been quite a globe-trotter in her time. As she was to recount, there is hardly a place on the planet she has not been to. “My husband loved travelling,” she explained. “America, Australia, England, Africa, Europe… I have been everywhere with him. After he passed away, all my travelling stopped. I just travel to Powai nowadays to meet my daughter.”
Later, after the exercises, when Shekhawat spoke of “organising a foreign programme”, Karuna elaborated that she had also been to Singapore, Malaysia, even Egypt. “What about Bangkok and Pattaya?” Shekhawat probed. “I have been there also,” Karuna replied. "But not to Dubai."
The only impediment Shekhawat foresees is getting visas for all. He realizes that most of our members (especially ladies) do not have an independent source of income, nor do they own property or file income tax returns to back a visa request.
Widows and those with virgin passports are particularly handicapped. Since even an application for tourist visa would require pre-bookings of air travel and hotel stay, the risk of forfeiting those amounts (upon visa rejection) is very real. That could run upwards of Rs50,000. So Shekhawat is a little circumspect and would rather go for an “easy destination” like Sri Lanka, Thailand or Hong Kong – but GO he must around March-April, he said.
Meanwhile, Santosh Tyagi celebrated her birthday near Jaisalmer, around the sand dunes of the Thar Desert. She had been camping there overnight with the Rajasthan group in tents and woke up to a huge surprise when told to cut her birthday cake. The celebration was followed by an exhilarating desert safari in open jeeps, according to information reaching here.
Bihari Milwani:
'Shekhawat the Lion' should know that his front door neighbor, 'Wagh (mare) the Tigress' is keeping close vigil on his movements. He should play safe and better take her to Dubai instead of going to some other place.