Valentine’s Day 2018

Shekhawat says it with a bouquet of roses

Whatever Shekhawat had been cooking for Valentine’s Day (ref previous two posts) today came to a naught because it happened to be Mumtaz Jahan’s birthday as well.

Mumtaz Jahan receives birthday calendar

At the outset, she declared she would not be celebrating as she was still in mourning. It is not even a year since the demise of her mother.
“This is my first birthday without her,” she said while distributing chocolate perks to everyone

Banoo Apa's special treats

in the Garden.
Nevertheless, we raised the customary fourth laugh for her and sang the birthday song, as per Big Laaf tradition. Zarina Khan presented Mumtaz her birthday calendar on behalf of the Club. And Banoo Apa came loaded with special biscuits from Pune and bhujiya to go along…
If these were not enough, Rukhsana Khan produced a box of pedas to celebrate her newfound status as a grandmother. Her daughter has just been blessed with a baby girl.

Rukhsana Khan celebrates her grand-motherhood

Mother and child are doing fine, Rukhsana confirmed.
Taking advantage of the celebratory mood, Shekhawat

Zarina Khan distributes choco perks

made bold to present Mumtaz Jahan with a red rose bouquet without actually spelling out what it was meant to be. Till then, he looked a bit unsettled as he had been warned that Mumtaz’s father would also be coming. It turned out to be a false alarm as the gentleman would actually be landing in Mumbai today (from Jammu) and not at the Garden. Still, Shekhawat did not risk taking any chances and kept his Valentine wishes to himself.
Hugely amused by this absurd turn of events was Shekhawat’s good friend, Bijoy Gupta.

Karun Sharma:
Yesterday, it was all fun ahead of Valentine's Day. Today, we witnessed a somber celebration with few Valentine greetings exchanged. Our preparation for the 'exam' was not enough. Kadak Singh was the only brave man to wish his Valentine.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Happy birthday to Mumtaz. I wish her a happy and healthy long life. February 14 is remembered because of Valentine Day. But we forget another event. It was on this day in 1931 that Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev attained martyrdom. Hardly anybody remembers this.