Bangkok Bound

Bihari Milwani says 'hi' and 'bye' 

After months of meticulous planning, the Bangkok Tour is ready to take off. By night-time today, the 20-member group should be checking into the Sahar International Airport for an early morning flight to the Thai capital and onward, by road to Pattaya tomorrow. On November 4, they would take the road back to Bangkok for a three day stay, before catching the return flight to Mumbai on the night of November 6.
Today being their last morning at the the Garden (before leaving), everyone expected the group to show up for the exercises in full strength. But barring Kajal Babani and Bihari Milwani, none of them made an appearance. Yesterday though, there were some like Nahid Siddiqui, Bhaswati Bose, Laxmi Hadimani and Pushpa Gupta who had turned up to say their good-byes. Clearly, the ladies are having much more pressing engagements such as parlour visits, shopping for clothes and of course, last-minute packing to attend.
If there is anyone in the Club who regrets not being in that plane tonight, it is Shekhawat. He makes no secret of how envious he is of Milwani (and Mohammad Gulzar) being the only males in

Zarina Khan distributes sweets on her return from Lucknow

the contingent and has been telling people repeatedly why he deserves to be with the predominantly all-female gang. There is Kiran Prakash too, but considering that he is currently on the last leg of a hectic Egypt tour (ref post of October 23), it would be a miracle if he can join the Bangkok tour tonight. He is a likely drop-out.
The tour assumes significance because this is the first time we would be crossing the country’s borders as a group and it shall serve as a test case for organising overseas trips from the Club in future. Moreover, this is the first time many members -- particularly ladies -- would be stepping on to foreign soil. Most of them were holding virgin passports till the other day. Now they have all got a “sikka” on it – as Laxmi calls her much-coveted visa stamp. After all, where there’s a will, Big Laaf shows the way.
We wish the group a safe, joyous and memorable journey.

Screwball Comedy

Yusuf Rassiwala

Today Yusuf Rassiwala declared that he’d be joining the Club's ‘winter exodus’ (ref post of October 28) on November 4. Like the others, he is all set to leave town. He plans to return after a week.
Nothing alarming about this, but for the fact that we would be missing Yusuf R for the period of his absence.
What has however, stirred a hornets’ nest was his suggestion that we all gang up and go for the latest box-office hit in town, Golmaal Again. He had watched it with his family and was all praise for the screwball comedy featuring Ajay Devgn, Parineeti Chopra, Arshad Warsi, Tushaar Kapoor, Tabu, etc.
A movie outing is always welcome in the Club and has unfailingly evoked enthusiastic response since the time

Gupta and Shekhawat are determined to go for the movie

Yusuf R introduced the practice four years back. Accordingly Santosh Tyagi, Nahid Khan, Rukhsana Khan and a few others jumped at the Golmaal idea, but piped down upon realizing that with many members away, there would be no fun going on this outing. Besides, who would do the organising bit?
Shekhawat and Bijoy Gupta however, did not give up easily. Shekhawat, in particular, kept chirping like a child, “Golmaal dekhni hai” (Got to see Golmaal) and with Gupta, equally insistent and demanding “Leh chalo” (Take me also), things boiled down to these ‘arch rivals’ being the only ones left for the movie.
Nahid warned never to send the two together as “they would end up fighting with each other in the hall” throughout the movie. But both were still adamant. Somehow, Gupta holds on to the belief that with no female accompanying them, Shekhawat would behave himself. And Shekhawat is assured that Gupta would inevitably snore through the film. “The moment he finds his seat in the hall, he will doze off,” Shekhawat predicted confidently.
How this 'real life' screwball comedy plays out remains to be seen.

DAY 2391

Pic of the Week

THE ICONIC 'EGYPT PHOTO'
FRAMED AGAINST THE PYRAMID AND GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA

Congrats Mrs and Mr Kiran Prakash for being in Egypt. Good photo. --Angad Singh

Winter Exodus

Geeta Latte explains her itinerary for the North East

After lying low for a week, Geeta Latte today surfaced in the Garden mainly to say ‘ta-ta bye-bye’. She is leaving for Guwahati this afternoon and then, onward to Meghalaya and Nagaland in what should be an exhaustive tour of the North East. She is expected back on November 12.
By then, the group on the Bangkok Tour (October 31 to November 7) would have returned to Mumbai.

Shekhawat thanks Maitra (r) for
curing him of his skin ailment

Should Kiran Prakash – currently on a Nile Cruise in Egypt – be able to touch base in time, he would leave for Bangkok with the group on October 31. And then, there is Arun Patil who has a trip lined up for Goa from November 1, presumably on a film shoot.
They are not the only ones to be taking off in the near future. From Siba Prasad Maitra to Bose Babu to Santosh Tyagi, suddenly a large number of members are having travel plans for this winter. Others like Lt Col Angad Singh (retd), Manisha Kolhe, Ram Shankar Shukla and Tara Chand Seth are already away from Mumbai since long. All this put together, will inevitably lead to a drop in regular attendance at the Garden in weeks to come.
The winter exodus this year is rather unusual because much of the goings-‘n’-comings occurs during the festive season – between Dussehra and Diwali. This time around, surprisingly, only Shekhawat had taken off on Dussehra. All the other regulars reported for the daily exercises, in spite of school/ colleges remaining shut and the unusually hostile weather conditions.
Should this be a cause for worry... in view of the Annual function on December 16? Not really. But then, how it all pans out would be clear by the second week of November.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Surprisingly these tours have come all of a sudden and attendance in the morning sessions has dropped. But this is a temporary affair. Soon the Club will be humming again with its usual activities. Such drops also serve a purpose.

Derailment Threat

Shekhawat and Gupta get into a scuffle

At a time when rail mishaps have become commonplace, Bijoy Gupta issued a veiled threat to derail Shekhawat’s joy train forever. “Let’s see how you get to run your train,” he challenged. “Else, you will have to give us a treat this Saturday.”
Shekhawat dismissed the threat as the ranting of a mad man. But Gupta was persistent. As soon as the exercises were over this morning, Gupta made the announcement: “Shekhawat is giving party tomorrow for the success of his rail yatra. All are invited.”
This time Shekhawat became alert.

From Egypt with love: Daddy Long Legs?

He tried to wriggle his way out when Yusuf Rassiwala – a silent observer till then – instigated Gupta to “make him angry” and stop him from leaving somehow. Gupta went on to provoke Shekhawat, saying that even if he were to bring his “rusted gun” to the Garden, the train will not be allowed to run henceforth.
This tussle between Gupta and Shekhawat has been going on ever since the latter began leading a line-up of members around the exercise circle to mark the end of the free-hand round. Gupta has never joined the line-up for reasons that are entirely silly but entertaining. To Shekhawat though, this is a huge prestige issue, thereby leading to a clash of school-boyish egos.
Meanwhile, there’s good news from Kiran Prakash who is currently holidaying in Egypt. Much like Shekhawat, who gets possessed by chudails whenever he goes to Rajasthan, Kiran Prakash has been smitten by some bewitching houris of the desert and his legs have begun to grow mysteriously. He can make no sense of this and sends us the accompanying picture in newly tailored jeans made from pure Egyptian cotton.
Legend has it that Amitabh Bachchan had met with a similar fate before entering films. He was around his father’s height – about as tall as Rajesh Khanna or maybe, Jaya Bhaduri. Destiny took him to the same spot (in pic) near Alexandria and his legs began to lengthen for no reason. Terrified, he returned to India in a hurry and the rest is history. For all we know, when Kiran Prakash returns, we will appear as pygmies in front of him.

Quest for Perfection

Arun Patil (r) holds centre-stage, instructing Razia Khan (extreme left)  

What makes for a perfect exercise regimen? Who decides? How important is it for us to follow instructions to the t in order to remain healthy and fit? Whose instructions…
These questions have been simmering in the Club for some time and today, hit a flashpoint when Razia Khan threatened to stage a walk out. She said she was sick and tired of being pulled up no end by Arun Patil on the manner she conducts the exercises.
“At least show some respect for my seniority,” she pleaded. “I have been coming here for the past ten years and conducting the exercises peacefully. Nobody has had any problem with whatever I do. Today, no matter how best I try to conduct the exercises, Arun-bhai will find fault.”
Razia’s cardinal mistake today, according to Arun, was to be too much in a hurry such that, “on counting from one to ten, she would rush up from six onwards”, thereby disturbing the “rhythm” of the exercises.

Bijoy Gupta cannot believe Karuna Waghmare is the same lady he "met" yesterday 

Also, she does not allow enough time between one exercise and the next.
The allegations, personal as they might seem, was expected. Arun has indeed been picking on Razia (to the exclusion of Nahid Khan, the other instructor) on the ground that “if you are not serious about exercising, stay at home”.
Today though, he also picked on Khatoon Baig for taking too long to organize her dupatta and cap “as though she is preparing to make a public speech”. And when he tried ticking off Nahid for fidgeting too much and distracting everybody, she retorted with a “Jo hokum” and continued to amble about while exercising.
However, it must be said that there is now a growing need to infuse some seriousness (if not strictness) towards the exercises. In spite of Arun, most of the members have turned too casual for comfort and the reason for some of them showing up (invariably dead late) is open to question. They are also known for the annoying habit of disturbing others who are serious about the exercises.
In this respect, Arun has an unpleasant, if thankless task on hand.

Major Milestone

Nasir Putani Shah presents the birthday calendar

Karuna Waghmare reached a major milestone in life today. She turned 70. Decked in a grand silk sari, she was completely unrecognizable to most of us when she showed up this morning to usher in her birthday at the Garden.
Like many in the exercise circle, Khatoon Baig took a while to identify the spectacled lady in pink-‘n’-purple seated quietly at a distance on a bench. “Aww Karuna pretty-pretty!?!” she exclaimed.

Karuna Waghmare 

“Honestly, I could not recognize her…”
Karuna has many fans in the Club. And all of them had, till the other day, visualized her to be “dressed as a little doll” on her birthday. To find her today dressed in regal silk (and minus the walking stick) did create awkward moments, at least initially.
But Bijoy Gupta, as always lightened the mood by pretending to be hard of hearing and wanted a clarification on “whether Karuna had turned 70 or 17”.

Party time: Hostess of the mostest

The more she said she was 70, the more he kept insisting it had to be 17 and then went on to warble a cheesy ditty, “Tere husn ki kya tareef karoon, kuchh kehte huay bhi darta hoon…”
That set the tone for the merrymaking all morning -- though punctuated by a formal presentation of the Club calendar by Naseer Putani Shah, a chorus of the birthday song and in true Big Laaf tradition, raising a fourth laugh after the exercises. Karun Sharma had even penned a beautiful poem for Karuna to mark the landmark event.
As always, the celebration was wrapped up with a lavish treat with the birthday girl playing a loving and generous host. Here’s wishing her many happy returns of the day, once again.

Bijoy Gupta sings a song

Peering into the birthday calendar

Karun Sharma recites a poem

Dilip Babani:
Happy Birthday, Karuna-ji!

On Hold

Shekhawat (in green) is in his elements

After lingering for an extra fortnight or so, the monsoon seems to have finally made its exit from Mumbai. The mornings are quite clear and pleasant as the Garden is bathed in mellow sunshine with a mild breeze blowing across. Winter seems round the corner.
But then, this has hardly made any difference to the attendance for our daily exercises. Except for the days when a party is scheduled, many of our members are choosing to stay away. Santosh Tyagi, Qadeer Bano, Manisha Kolhe and a few others are rarely, if ever to be seen. Some have left town or are preparing to leave. Many claim to be having guests at home.

Gupta tries to capture Nahid Khan's interest

And then there is the band of Bangkok-bound travel buffs (see previous post) for whom the Garden has almost ceased to exist.
All this has brought about a lull in our activities, in spite of the blissful weather. Dilip Babani came up with the idea of a picnic at Lonavala, but held himself back upon realising that he will not be able to get the numbers.
Even rehearsals for the Club’s Annual Function have come to a grinding halt. Till the other day, everybody was gung-ho during the post-exercise sessions, but now the general feeling is to keep things on hold till the Bangkok group returns.
Still, Bijoy Gupta made an attempt to infuse some interest in the play he is writing by narrating to Nahid Khan her role as an underworld don, but soon gave up. “Let the Bangkok Tour be over and then we’ll take it up,” he concluded.
If there was anybody totally unaffected by this milieu of listlessness, it was Shekhawat. Having apparently recovered from the painful skin rash (ref post of October 17) of last week, he was back to his usual pranks, getting reprimanded time and again, and still getting into everybody’s way. The odd part is that he did not consult any doctor for his skin ailment but got cured by an ointment Siba Prasad Maitra had suggested. Seeing its effect, Gupta warned Maitra never again to help Shekhawat.
“Your medicine has not only brought back his youth, he is now completely out of control,” Gupta observed.

Karun Sharma:
Shekhawat-ji was energetic to a level one could not have imagined two days back. This is a miracle and we must be grateful to God for the 'New Shekhawat'. Gupta-ji has an inborn talent to not only write scripts but also to narrate so effectively. He is the rare 'culture gem' for Big Laaf.

Bangkok Countdown

Exchanging notes in the run up to the Bangkok Tour

Razia Khan (r) wishes Kiran Prakash bon voyage on his Cairo trip

The countdown has already started for the Bangkok Tour (November 1 to 7, 2017). With less than 10 days to go, excitement is mounting as Bihari Milwani, Bhaswati Bose, Nahid Siddiqui, Kajal Babani, Pushpa Gupta and others in the 20-member group go through the ritual of last-minute shopping (for clothes, naturally) and tying up personal loose ends for the trip.
The essential formalities are long over and done with. Right from flight bookings and hotel reservation to obtaining visas, travel insurance, foreign exchange and finalizing itinerary and local transport, everything has gone off smoothly. As Bijoy Gupta remarked, all that remains now is that “they pack their bags and board the flight”.
Significantly, Gupta is not going on the trip, but his wife is. In fact, barring the Milwanis, no other couple from the Club is going on the trip. The men are mostly staying back to look after home and hearth while their wives would be away, thereby creating an amusing role-reversal of sorts. After all, Bangkok and Pattaya are known to be happy playgrounds for men who are single -- or pretend to be.
In all this, Kiran Prakash dropped a bombshell this morning by announcing that he would have to be in Egypt tomorrow. He too is booked for the Bangkok trip. But now, he will have to fly to Cairo tonight with his wife for a Nile Cruise his son (in the U.S.) has arranged for them. For purely sentimental reasons, he cannot disappoint the latter and would now have to rush to catch the cruise liner and also be back in time to join the Bangkok Tour.
As things stand, his return ticket would get him home late evening on October 31. Clearly, that would be cutting it too fine because by then, the Bangkok group would be ready to check in at the Mumbai international airport. Kiran Prakash says that he would try his best to join them, but a lot would depend on his health/ fatigue factor and the timely arrival of his flight from Cairo.
Let’s hope for the best.

Bihari Milwani:
Kiran Prakash is going to Egypt to explore the possibility of taking next trip of Big Laaf to that country. I am sure he will be an excellent guide to all of us. Since he is going with this spouse, I am sure more couples would join that trip as against only one couple for the Bangkok trip.

DAY 2384

Pic of the Week

October 22: Happy Birthday, Rukhsana Khan

Many,  many, many happy returns of the day 💐🎂💐--Geeta Latte

Tere husn kii kya taarif karoon, kuchh kehte hua bhi dar lagta hai, Kahin tu yeh na samajh baithe, main tujh se ... --Bihari Milwani

Two-in-One

Rukhsana Khan is at the centre (in pink) flanked by friends and well-wishers

Preparing for the party

Our annual Diwali bash was held on a grand scale this morning, courtesy Rukhsana Khan. She was the one to foot the bill, as it coincided with her birthday celebration. In an unusual turn of events, she had combined both occasions and we could partake in one party instead of two.
Actually, Rukhsana’s birthday is tomorrow. Since it happens to be a Sunday, she had planned to celebrate on Monday (“after I’d be born”, she said), thereby leaving today clear for the club’s Diwali party.
But then, it was felt that having two parties so close would be in excess – not to mention, incur

Rukhsana receives her birthday calendar

expenditure that is avoidable. Thus, at the

Guests spill out on the road

instance of Yusuf Rassiwala Rukhsana agreed to advance her birthday celebration and we ended up having a two-in-one party today.
Rukhsana had come to the Garden resplendent in a gorgeous salmon pink ensemble with dainty tone-on-tone embroidery, looking many years younger for her years. She playfully posed for photographs and at her behest, got Arun Patil to present her with the birthday calendar on behalf of the Club. All morning she was surrounded by friends and admirers, including personal invitees like Mallika Kagzi, Bunty and Vasudev Batheja.
Thanks to her, we could have a full house at the Garden this morning – something rather unusual these days.
Dilip Babani:
Happy Birthday, Rukhsana-ji.

Diwali Party 2, 3, 4…

Festive air prevails in the Garden

Today looked more like Diwali. Unlike yesterday, we had the numbers, members were in the mood to celebrate and most important, there was a lot to go by – from oven fresh cake slices and barfis to biscuits, pedas, even toffees… all to be washed down by glasses of cool-cool Rooh Afza, courtesy Banoo Apa.
From Shekhawat and Kiran Prakash, it

Banoo Apa with Rooh Afza

was actually a double treat. On October 17 (see post), the former had come with pedas from Rajasthan (apparently, his favorite) and today, he had toffees and biscuits to supplement another round of pedas.

Kiran Prakash giving rawa cake

Shekhawat handing over toffees

Likewise, Kiran Prakash had treated us to kaju katlis on October 18 (see post) and today he had not only kaju katlis (apparently, his favorite), but the most appetizing rawa cake available in this part of town. In a striking display of modesty, he described this as a “treat from the Club” given by him -- whatever that might mean.
But then, who really cares for such semantics – especially on celebrating Diwali in the Garden? Everyone had a good time. The festive air that pervaded through the morning is evident from the accompanying pictures.
Geeta Latte:
Happy Diwali to all members of the Big Laaf family🍰🍫🍩!

Diwali 2017

Fahmida Khan enters the Garden to exchange Diwali greetings

In keeping with the mood of the nation, we had a subdued Diwali this morning. The decibel levels were low, even during our laughter rounds. Also, not many had turned up today.
Those expecting fireworks between Arun Patil and Razia Khan (ref yesterday’s post) were sorely disappointed as neither was in any mood to take on the other. Arun had his way, as usual, in enforcing ‘discipline’ and we got through the hour-long exercises without much noise or rancor.
In many ways this was boring. But Mallika Kagzi, a former member (and president of the Club)

Shekhawat

lit up the proceedings by paying us a surprise visit and wishing everyone a ‘Happy Diwali’. This was very nice of her. A fourth laugh went up at the end of the exercises and in the spirit of camaraderie and bonhomie, we exchanged festive greetings to mark the occasion.
Another bright spark of the morning was a perceptible improvement in Shekhawat’s health condition (ref post of October 17). Till yesterday morning he was in a miserable shape, unable to bear the pain of the blisters on his back. He was literally in tears as he kept repeating that he had “not suffered so much in life”.
Today he looked rather composed, but said the “burning sensation” on his back still persists. He “feels” that the blisters are drying up now. The unfortunate part about all this is that he is yet to take the advice of a proper dermatologist.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
It was nice that Mallika Kagzi visited the club on Diwali day. Hope she becomes regular visitor. Diwali is a festival of festivities and we should forget our past and start fresh. I am sure Shekhawat is on the road to recovery and will be fit soon. Wishing every one a very happy and prosperous Diwali.

Welcome Diversions

Kiran Prakash ushers in Diwali today

Kiran Prakash today kick-started our Diwali celebrations in the Garden with a box of barfis. It was Dhanteras yesterday and today, it is Narak Chaturdashi. Tomorrow it will be Diwali proper and a day later, it shall be Bhatri Dwitiya or Bhai Dooj.
Effectively, Diwali has come to be celebrated as a five-day festival and going by our past record in Big Laaf, it would take another five days, if not more, for the after-effects of the festivities to wear off.
A major Diwali bash from the Club is also being scheduled.
Meanwhile, in celebrating the absence of Arun Patil from the Garden this morning, Razia Khan defiantly discarded her cap while conducting the exercises. It was an act of declaring independence (‘azadi’, as she put it) from the supposedly authoritarian ways of Arun and with Rukhsana Khan and Khatoon Baig extending their support, it was a fun-filled morning for all.

Karun Sharma (in black) keeps a hawk's eye on Razia Khan |(r)

The ladies even coined a new name for our group -- Azad Company!
But they had obviously spoken too soon. No, Arun did not turn up later. Unknown to the ladies, he had left behind his alter ego, separated by a single ‘K’. Karun Sharma took on the mantle of Arun with effortless ease – riddling Razia constantly through the exercises, picking faults needlessly, correcting her at every step, telling her to keep count properly, to speak louder, not to fidget too much, to bend more… and so on.
The mindless prodding had its desired effect and everybody laughed their heads off. Exasperated, Razia could not help remarking that Karun was possessed by Arun’s ghost!
Be that as it may, this is how we exercise every morning. We require some reason to break the monotony of our daily regimen and we find it, unerringly at the Garden. Call this collective waywardness, creative license or plain mischief, so long as nobody gets hurt and everybody has fun, a diversion from the routine is always welcome. Else, life in Big Laaf would become a big bore.

Bihari Milwani:
It seems Razia has many admirers.

In Distress

Arati Bhatt (in pink) picks up a peda from Shekhawat

Shekhawat today returned from Rajasthan with a box of sweets, but did not look too happy. All through the exercises he remained seated on a bench, as though sulking. At times he appeared to doze off. Even the surprise visit of Arati Bhatt, a much adored former member with her friend, failed to cheer him up. Siba Prasad Maitra greeted him with a beautiful jasmine-‘n’-marigold garland. But still he sat aloof, grimacing in pain.
“He must have done something terribly wrong in Rajasthan and now he is regretting,” surmised Bijoy Gupta, Shekhawat’s bum chum in the Garden.

Maitra checks the rashes on Shekhawat's back

“Or else why should he look so sad? The only other explanation for his misery is that he had gone to a wrong place.”
Jokes apart, Shekhawat was in distress. He had specifically called Maitra from home to help him out on the rash that was fast spreading on his back. He believed he had contracted it from an insect bite back in his village.

Fahmida Khan (r) tries to cheer Shekhawat up

Last evening he saw a doctor and had picked up some tablets and ointment. But obviously he trusts Maitra more than any doctor.
One look at the dark granular formations on Shekhawat’s back and Maitra began to doubt if any insect could be its cause. That the rash was excruciatingly painful (rather than itchy) and spreading fast made him wonder if this was not a viral infection. It called for specialist care, Maitra opined, and in any case would entail complete rest for a fortnight at least.
Shekhawat tried to argue that the rash was not very serious as it was "a common occurrence in the village with four out of five people having got it at some stage in life”. They even have a name for it, he said. Maitra heard him through and explained that it still did not prove that some insect could be the cause or for that matter, it wasn’t a viral infection.
Sensing the gravity of the situation Gupta wisely kept his counsel and did not open his mouth.

Karun Sharma:
*Shekhawat-ji's health has become quite unstable. He must find out what works best for him and do only that much. Even visits to his village could be exerting and affecting his health. It was so thoughtful of Siba Maitra to garland Shekhawat-ji. The garland finally traveled to Fehmida.
* I was seeing Arati Bhatt for the first time. Truly, she is adorable and must visit us more often.

DAY 2378

Pic of the Week

ARRESTING THE MOMENT... FOR POSTERITY

Last Day

Geeta Latte felicitates Suresh Samel (striped T-shirt) with roses 

Today was our good old friend, Suresh Samel’s last day at the Garden. Had not Geeta Latte mentioned it, we would not have known that this sprightly 84-year-old gent would be relocating to another end of town, Girgaum tomorrow. That would have been a crying shame.
We instantly decided that the least we could do was to give him a send-off – at least to remember us by. After all, Samel has been a constant comrade and well-wisher of the Club for the past 10 years, never missing an occasion to participate and give us his blessings.
If only we had known earlier that he would be leaving the Garden for good, some arrangements would have been made for a proper farewell in his honour.

Shanti Singh (file pic)

Still, Geeta managed to salvage the situation by rushing out and picking up a few roses from a flower stall nearby and we got to somehow felicitate Samel. Siba Prasad Maitra pitched in by singing the evergreen Kishore Kumar number, ‘Kabhi alvida na kehna…’ for him.
We do not know if we will be seeing Samel again. He too made no promise about visiting us (“I shall try,” was all he said) and that is understandable. At his age and given the number of surgical implants, it would be too much to expect him to travel to Lokhandwala all the way from Girgaum at 7:00 in the morning to meet us. But go he must, as that is his natal home. It was under ‘redevelopment’ all these years.
Meanwhile, we are told that Shanti Singh is not keeping well. She was admitted to Kokilaben Hospital earlier this week with urinary infection and according to latest reports, her condition has turned from bad to worse. Her neighbor and close confidante, Kajal Babani informed that sores have erupted all over her body, the reasons for which remain a mystery.
This has become a major cause of concern for everyone in the Club.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
It was nice that an impromptu farewell had been arranged for old colleague, Samel. Sure he'll enjoy life at his new location. Wishing Shanti Singh a speedy recovery and good health.

Geeta Latte:
Everything happens for a reason. Just believe👍

Karun Sharma:
* Our Club has become well-rooted in the Garden. This is wonderful as we take responsibility for the things happening around and people who matter. Mr Samel had been an active and energetic man. I am going to miss him. I used to see him regularly.
* Geeta has correctly said that everything happens for a reason. I pray that Shanti Singh recovers early and joins us back.

In Full Steam

Managing Committee deliberates on the budget for Annual Function

Preparations for the club Annual Day Function gathered momentum with Kiran Prakash today calling an impromptu meeting of the managing committee to finalise a budget for the event. He had come equipped with facts and figures from a local ‘decorator’ for putting up a stage in the Garden and with additional inputs from Kajal Babani and Yusuf Rassiwala a ballpark figure was arrived at for staging the show on the evening of December 16, 2017.
The managing committee approved the budget -- to be borne entirely out of Club funds.
Meanwhile, rehearsals for the variety programme are already in full steam, even as details of the items to be staged have not yet been firmed up. Bijoy Gupta is separately working on the script of his play -- a major highlight of this year’s programme (ref post of October 6). There will also be group songs, a short skit, parodies of song-and-dance sequences from yesteryear films, etc.
All this is in the nature of an exploratory exercise, the idea being to identify and tap available talent in the club. The possibility of inducting external talent is also not being ruled out.
The real preparatory work would begin in all earnestness from next month – once the group going on the Bangkok Tour returns on November 7.

DAY 2375

Pic of the Week

GUESS, WHAT MAKES THIS PICTURE SPECIAL?

Our in-house palmist is secretly predicting superb times ahead for Bhai Jaan! --Bhaswati Bose

A hakim is examining the pulse of Bhai Jaan before prescribing medicine --Bihari Milwani

Confidence Booster

Nasir Putani Shah conducts laughter exercises

Arun Patil does his "American engineering" on us

Beginning October 9 (Monday), the second round of our laughter exercises would be conducted by a different person every day. Every member of the Club would thus get the opportunity to step in the middle and take charge of the exercises by turn.
Inconsequential as this may seem, it is actually a big deal for all those who are shy and withdrawn by nature. Many of them have never experienced being the centre of attention in a group and even in their autumn years, continue to harbor issues of self-doubt, social anxiety and low self-esteem.
Today, with the express motive of breaking such mental blocks, the most reticent and self-effacing male among us, Nasir Putani Shah was invited to take over the second round of the laughter exercises. His first reaction was one of panic – even pleading to be spared because he just cannot do it. But with some encouragement from all present, he stepped up and redeemed himself rather creditably.
This was however, not the first time such an experiment had been undertaken. Earlier, Khatoon Baig had stepped in on our request, only to appear dreadfully self-conscious and confused. With Santosh Tyagi things turned even worse. So terrified was she by the experience that she threatened to quit the Club if asked to conduct the exercises again!
Meanwhile, Arun Patil is having a ball as the designated ‘permanent teacher’ of the free-hand exercises (ref post of October 4). Nahid Khan and Razia Khan were however unsparing towards him for having lost their position (as teachers) to his domineering attitude. So today, both ladies turned the tables on him with a vengeance, constantly picking faults on the manner he conducted the exercises, much to our amusement. Nahid even called him an “American engineer forcing his engineering" upon us.
Even Arun could not make sense of this. All he could do was call her “Bloody Indian” and walk away gamely, averting eye contact.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The basic idea of coming to the Garden regularly is to be happy and fit. If everyone takes turns to lead the group, everything becomes more enjoyable. There is nothing to feel shy about or confused. Relax, enjoy and keep laughing.

Warm Up

All ears for Bijoy Gupta's play reading

As the date for the Club’s Annual Function (December 16) draws close, Bijoy Gupta’s script-reading sessions have become an unexpected crowd puller. It is a welcome diversion from our regular routine – more so, in the absence of anything better to do after the exercises.
Today it was necessary that Nahid Khan be provided some distraction from the family tragedy (ref previous post) that had been occupying her mind. So Gupta plonked himself beside her and began re-reading

Rukhsana Khan (r) gets us sweets from
a recent trip to Ajmer Sharif

his play for her benefit, mainly to extract a smile.
In the process, many others like Siba Prasad Maitra, Rukhsana Khan and Karun Sharma, who were not present during the first reading of the play (ref post of September 23), also got a hang of what to expect at the Annual Function.
Significantly, Gupta has been investing considerable time and energy in the play (tentatively titled Kalyug ke Kalakar), to the extent he is constantly bolstering the script by inviting inputs from his audience at every reading session. He maintains this is work-in-progress and that changes would continue to be incorporated till the play is mounted on December 16.
Meanwhile, work has also begun on other items of the programme, such as group song, ramp show, dances, etc. The rehearsals will be interrupted by the Bangkok Tour (November 1 to 7) and thereafter, it would take time to pick up the threads. Hence the need for this warm-up exercise two months in advance.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Mr Bijoy Gupta is doing a good job to distract attention from yesterday's gloomy mood. We hope that in course of time, things will change and happy days will dawn.

Karun Sharma:
It was awesome listening to Gupta-ji's script. I could see everyone smiling deliciously at the important moments incorporated by the master story teller and narrator.

Two Tragedies

A minute's silence was observed for the departed souls

A grim reality of life stared us in the face early morning when Banoo Apa announced that Fahmida Khan’s mother is no more. She was 84.
Minutes later, Nahid Khan came with another devastating news: her 30-year-old nephew was run over by a train at Malad the day before yesterday.
A pall of gloom descended on the Garden as we dispensed with noisy rounds of the laughter exercises. And in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion, a minute’s silence was observed for the departed souls.
Fahmida’s mother had been ailing with age-related issues for quite some time (ref post of September 26) and according to Banoo Apa, her demise was ‘liberating’ in a way. She was bed-ridden for weeks and in pain. The end came yesterday.
Fahmida was obviously prepared for this eventuality as doctors had sounded her that there were no chances of her mother's survival. She rushed to Nagpur last evening

Nahid Khan is inconsolable

Fahmida Khan (file photo)

with her family, in time for the funeral.
In contrast, Nahid’s bereavement came as a bolt from the blue. Utterly confused and grief stricken, she is yet to fathom how her nephew, in the prime of youth, doing well in life and preparing for his marriage, could meet a horrific end on the rail tracks. The most intriguing part was his presence at Malad -- a place he was "not supposed" to be in. Nahid cannot even say whether it was a suicide.
In condoling their passing, we pray that the affected families are able to bear their loss with strength and fortitude. Nobody deserves to die.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Two bereavements together is two too much. We pray that the Almighty may grant peace to the departed souls and courage to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss.

Showdown

Kiran Prakash (r) takes up for Razia Khan (in yellow)

Arun Patil had another run-in with his favorite bête noire, Razia Khan. And for the first time in Big Laaf history, it took two ‘teachers’ to wrap up the free-hand exercises.
Trouble started the moment Razia stepped in the middle with Arun reminding her that she better conduct the exercises “properly” today. Instead of retaliating, Razia retraced her steps, leaving the field open to Arun.
Arun refused the invitation, but continued to needle her while she conducted the exercises. Now Razia is no greenhorn at this and in her 10-odd years as ‘teacher’, Arun has been a constant

Arun Patil (l) makes up with Razia

irritant – not without a touch of humour.
But matters reached a head today when Arun pointed out that she is incapable of even keeping count, thereby triggering an instant showdown. Razia lost

Banoo Apa stirs up the magic potion

her cool and walked away in a huff, telling Arun that he take charge from there on.
In all this, what has become clear is Arun’s increasing intolerance toward any slip-up during the exercises. Given his background in the NCC and with some training in yoga asanas, he knows a thing or two about exercising and expects everyone to fall in line with him.
So far so good. But as Kiran Prakash was to point out, Arun is himself not perfect. He too makes mistakes. In the discussion that followed after the exercises (meant primarily to assuage Razia’s feelings) it was explained that with advancing age, we are all prone to major gaffes due to physical limitations and there was no need of making an issue of them. On a reconciliatory note, Siba Prasad Maitra proposed that Arun be designated ‘Permanent Teacher’ of the Club.
Ultimately, it took Banoo Apa to cool down tempers. She introduced us to iced ‘Muharram ka sharbat’ – an unusually refreshing milky drink laced with blanched almonds, cardamom and the works. She informed that no artificial sweetener or essence had been used.
Banoo Apa need hardly have explained. For most of us who had never tasted anything of this sort, the sharbat was nothing short of a gift of the gods.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Ours is a happy-go-lucky group. All of us join the exercises for fun and some lively talk. Too much of everything is not good. Let us not rub anybody the wrong way. Otherwise it may hurt too much. Let us relax and enjoy the morning. Keep laughing instead of becoming too critical.