Health Concerns

Health Camp: Waiting their turn

The timing could not have been more opportune. Just as summer is setting in and people are increasingly reporting ill, a ‘free medical camp’ came up this morning in the Garden – thanks to the initiative of METROPOLIS, a well known pathological major.
It was just what the doctor ordered.
From Yusuf Rassiwala to Karun Sharma to Nahid Khan and Bhaswati Bose, nearly half the Club queued after the exercises to get their basic health parameters checked: blood sugar, cholesterol and CBC (complete blood count).

Santosh Tyagi

The test results are expected on April 3.
Many who missed the opportunity today did not know they were to present themselves for the tests on an empty stomach. Most of our members usually come to the Garden after having at least

Rukhsana Khan 'donates' blood

a cup of tea with biscuits in the morning.
Coincidentally, the check-up came close on the heels of Yusuf R and Shekhawat, both exhorting members to be serious about their health and be regular for exercises rather than “waste the mornings snoring" in bed.
“From personal experience, I can say I have gained a lot from keeping to this Garden routine,” Yusuf R said. “I am 71 today and have never felt more fit and fine. I urge you all to make the effort to get up early in the morning and attend the exercises in time. This is for your own good.”
Santosh Tyagi disclosed she had developed an arthritic knee which has severely restricted her movement from home (and in effect, her attendance in the Garden) for the past few weeks. Her doctor is prescribing medicines for pain relief, but that, she says is only a short-term measure.
For the long-term, she is a little confused about her options: “I have been told I could go either for a knee replacement surgery or an injection that would lessen the friction at the joint. I am asking everybody which of the two alternatives would be better for me out because I can hardly walk now. The pain is excruciating.”
Whatever she opts for, Santosh has been “guaranteed complete relief” for the next six years.

Karun Sharma:
Santosh-ji, I have encouraging news about knee replacement. It could be your best chance from use of the improvements in technology -- if your doctor suggests so. Let us live at our best efficiency, at Level 10!

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
It is good that a health camp was held. I hope most of the members present have made use of the opportunity and are observing precautions as suggested by the doctors. However, laughter is the best medicine. Be regular, keep laughing and enjoy good health.

Gone Phut!

Karun Sharma

We can as well now forget about a session of exercises in the premises of an auto-logistics firm (ref previous post) on a Saturday morning. The main constraint is space.
“It’s a small set-up out there with no more than 35 employees,” revealed Karun Sharma, who had a long discussion yesterday with the HR executive who approached us. “They don’t even have a hall to fit us all.

A livid Shekhawat tries to make telephonic contact

My feeling is they want only two or three of us to stand beside some work station and demonstrate our moves.”
This was confirmed subsequently over another telephonic discussion with the executive, Ramesh Sangore.

Banoo Apa helps Harish Wadhwa
in deciphering a document in Urdu 

There was also the issue of the Club raising an invoice mentioning GST No, etc. about which we pleaded helplessness. Neither are we a commercially-driven organization nor do we intend to make a profit from our hosts. In fact, this would have been the first time we were sticking our necks out in such a situation.
Sangore however, proposed that Karun Sharma could perhaps hold a session for the employees in his individual capacity as a professional life coach.
“I told him that he had approached Big Laaf first and it was through the Club he had got to know me,” Karun narrated. “It would therefore be ethically improper on my part to exploit the situation for personal gain.”
Meanwhile, Shekhawat revealed a side of him that was completely out of character. He is known for his extraordinary zeal in collecting cash and till yesterday had kept insisting that none of the moneys collected for membership renewal would be refunded. This was in the face of mounting criticism against accepting the subscription of a member who has meant no good to the Club.
Today, buckling under pressure, Shekhawat retracted from his stated position and announced he would return the subscription of the recalcitrant member -- in effect, terminate her membership. As usual, she was not present. He tried getting her on the phone and as usual, she did not take his call. Out of sheer disgust, he sent word through Zarina Khan for the lady to come to the Garden and take back her money.

Peculiar Invitation

Shekhawat (in white) informs of an unusual request

We underestimate ourselves. In all our internal bickering and ego clashes, we fail to appreciate the incalculable joy and sense of wellness we generate every morning -- both individually and collectively -- through our interaction in the Garden. The Club serves as an enabler in this – a time-tested support system, a family outside the domestic and a catalyst to stay positive for the rest of the day.
Ironically, it took an outsider today to remind us to count our blessings. The gentleman had been observing us for long during his walks in the Garden with his daughter. Obviously impressed, he approached us this morning, just before the exercises and introduced himself as Ramesh Sangore – an HR executive of a reputed auto logistics firm located in Andheri (East).
He had a peculiar request: Would we care to demonstrate the exercises we do to the employees of his company – the idea being to boost their morale so that they stay upbeat like us. We confessed we had never done such a thing before. But he insisted. He explained that our presence would be not only inspiring but also a welcome diversion from the film shows and other staff welfare activities his company organises.
Later, Shekhawat was to convey the gentleman’s request to all present and it was decided we may consider a Saturday morning for this outing. “They have offered to pay us a nominal fee for our effort,” he informed. “A car will come to pick you from the Garden and drop you back.”
Should this work out, it would also be a welcome break for us from our regular routine.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The invite to give a demonstration to employees of a logistics firm is not only a healthy sign but welcome as well. All of us now realise that the stress and strains of our daily lives can be removed with the daily exercises -- assisted by a little pin-prick here and there. This is the masala of life. Keep laughing and be happy.

Conservatives vs Liberals

Shekhawat continues on his collection drive

Arun Patil, Yusuf R and Banoo Apa in heated discussions

In the run up to our biennial elections, the Club is beginning to look like some miniature parliament in a western democracy. On the one hand are the Conservatives – a rigid, highly disciplined, no-nonsense group, sworn to upholding the sanctity of the exercises every morning in the Garden.
On the other hand, there are the casual, demotivated, free-wheeling types, who have nothing but contempt toward discipline and are forever late and irregular for the exercises. To these so-called Liberals, the club is essentially a ‘social platform’ where you catch up with friends, indulge in idle/ vicious gossip, partake in eats/ parties whenever available and the exercises be damned.
Significantly, the composition of the two groups varies from time to time – which perhaps explains how they co-exist in spite of their extreme differences. Also there are several moderates who studiously keep to themselves and refuse to be part of either group – unless of course, rubbed the wrong way.
Then there are those like Siba Prasad Maitra, Bihari Milwani and Karun Sharma who, much as they would like, are unable to keep their appointment with the Club on a regular basis owing to professional compulsions.
These factors have suddenly come into play as Shekhawat goes about collecting subscriptions for renewal of annual membership. Being a Liberal by nature, it does not matter to him who is what so long as he is able to max the numbers – so much so that habitual offenders with no interest in the Club or the exercises are being approached to pay up.
To the likes of Arun Patil, this is sacrilege. He has drawn up a list of people who do not “deserve” to be members and must be immediately shown the door – failing which he threatens not to renew his own membership. The point is, not paying up would be a disqualification for taking part in the upcoming election.
Arun enjoys the support of Yusuf Rassiwala and Banoo Apa who also feel that there is no point in retaining members who have no interest in the Club and/or the exercises. “If they themselves do not realize what is good for them, why keep them at all?” reasons Yusuf R. “Nobody is a child here…” Above all, everybody should realize that ours is an “exercise club and not gossip club”, added Banoo Apa.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
This is election time and feverish activities are taking place everywhere. The Club is no exception. However, ours is a well-knit group and a disciplined lot. A lot of hustle and bustle would take place but there should be no acrimony. Once the elections are over, we are again back to normal. Do rejoice and be happy.

Under the Weather

Kiran Prakash tries a herbal drink

Normal people normally walk it to the Garden from home every morning. Some people use their car and get their morning walk from a couple of brisk rounds inside the Garden. And then there are those forever running late and rushing in by auto-rickshaws. But who on earth would use Ola early morning to reach the Garden?
Well, Kiran Prakash claimed the distinction of the first human being in recorded history

Yusuf R and Razia Khan try to cheer Arun Patil

to hire an Ola cab from home and report for the exercises in time today!
But then, to be fair, he had a reason. Kiran Prakash had been battling acute weakness, following a viral attack (ref post of March 22) that kept him away from the Garden for long. This morning, he somehow summoned the courage to make an appearance, if that should help him psychologically at getting back to his regular routine.
“I did not want to risk driving down from my Malad home,” he confessed. “Yes, auto-rickshaw was an option, but it meant getting exposed to pollution on the way. My body cannot take it. So I decided to cab it to and fro.”
Kiran Prakash sat on

Nahid Khan (c) strikes a hilarious pose

a bench for the best part of the exercises today. Later, he was to treat himself to an invigorating herbal drink at the Garden gate and gather the confidence to negotiate his journey back home. The good part was that he looked fairly fit and fine, though not his usual upbeat self.
Significantly, Kiran Prakash was not the only one to be under the weather today. Arun Patil was completely off-colour and kept to himself for a change. Quite clearly, he was struggling to cope with the incredible heat and humidity of the morning. But Yusuf Rassiwala mistook his silence as an act of sulking (for whatever reason!) and good-naturedly plied Arun with cake slice and salties after the exercises, just to cheer him up!
But the one to really take the cake this morning was Nahid Khan. Having injured her right shoulder, she has been having a tough time while exercising – often coming across as a railway signal as she comically moved the good arm up and down. Today, with some improvement, she raised her level to that of a Bharatnatyam dancer. She even worked both hands and fingers into striking strange mudras, throwing us all in splits!

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The weather is bad all around. We have to be extra careful these days. Stay hydrated. It is futile to run after doctors later. I feel Maitra-ji can give us good advice on how to stay hydrated. Our blog can certainly coax him for some salient points on this issue.

Karun Sharma:
We all go through slumps. During this period, our performance level is low and we become less effective. The best known solution is to take a break and perhaps go for a long walk or watch a movie, take rest or sleep it over. Do what benefits you and soon you will become more productive. Think about it.

March Ending

Khatoon Baig (l) pays her annual subscription

As March draws to an end, the annual ritual of renewing Club membership gets on an overdrive. Unpleasant as it is, the task of collecting cash is necessary before the new financial year, 2018-19 kicks in on April 1. And nobody can do this any better than Shekhawat.
It is barely a week since he has returned from his village in Rajasthan – mercifully without a mishap. But the tragedy that overtook Bijoy Gupta’s family (ref post of March 19) had since put all important Club activities on hold. Now, with barely five days to go, Shekhawat has redoubled his efforts at reminding members to pay their annual subscription in time.
Sure enough, he has been feverishly making phone calls to all those who are not so regular in the Garden. To some who are forgetful by nature, he is making veiled threats of visiting their homes like some recovery agent. And to those for whom he has a soft corner, he is offering to pay the subscription amount on their behalf, if only to embarrass them.
Put this to his persuasive skills, pressure tactics or penchant for fun, the efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Already Shekhawat has got about a dozen people to pay up. There’s another two dozen to go. Given his track record and the time on hand, this should be a cake walk.

Bihari Milwani:
Even though the 'don' of our Club is injured, everyone is very scared of her and will pay the subscription in time.

DAY 2511

Pic of the Week

COINCIDENCE: WHAT ONE LATTE TOLD ANOTHER LATTE?

"Let's merge together and become one!" --Kiran Prakash

"Let's drink to our meeting!" --Bhaswati Bose

Theology Class

Shekhawat narrates his church experience

After attending yesterday’s church service for Bijoy Gupta’s deceased daughter, Shekhawat turned the Club into a theology class today. It was the first time in life he had entered a church. And being there a good half-hour before time, he was witness to the Christian ritual of ‘confessions’ to the holy pastor of the church.
Intrigued by the practice, Shekhawat brought up the subject this morning, first to Arun Patil and then to Razia Khan – only to draw a blank. In his wildest imagination, he could not figure out the compulsions of a sinner making an honest confession to another mortal. Arun simply dismissed Shekhawat saying that he “misunderstood the whole thing”.
Later on, Shekhawat raised the subject before Yusuf Rassiwala, Siba Prasad Maitra and others, even enacting how the pastor sat impassive on a chair, not uttering a word, while the so-called sinner knelt beside him and did all the talking into his ear.

Siba Prasad Maitra chats with Banoo Apa

“What is the purpose of this ritual?” Shekhawat wanted to know.
The explanation that confessing is the first step to atonement and that Jesus had died on the cross for the sins of man somehow, made no sense to Shekhawat.
Both Yusuf R and Maitra told him that confessions were an integral part of the Christian faith and that he need not bother about it.
But Shekhawat’s takeaway from the discussion was that one could well be a repeat offender and get away with every possible sin so long as a confession was made. “Otherwise, why does the Father not warn, or at least, advise the sinner on mending his ways?” Shekhawat argued.
On a happier note, Maitra was to inform that his daughter’s wedding has been fixed for April 20. “The counting of days has begun,” he said. “The main ceremony shall be in Calcutta as most of my relatives are there. I will have a separate reception for you all in Mumbai. Let me decide on the date and venue. All members of Big Laaf will be invited.”

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
All religions have their own rituals. We should respect them. There is no need to elaborate on this.

Church Service

Announcement put up by the Guptas

The church service scheduled this evening for Pushpa and Bijoy Gupta’s deceased daughter (ref post of March 19) had put the usual fun and games of the morning at a low ebb.
Pushpa had already informed her WhatsApp group about a holy congregation “to pray for the soul of Rachana Pinto on 23rd March, 2018 at St Rosary Church, MG Road, Goregaon West at 7:00 pm”.
It was Shekhawat’s turn today to relay the news in the Garden and urge all present to make it to the church in the evening.

Shekhawat (l) informs about the church service today evening

This was at the behest of Bijoy Gupta, who had made a phone call last night informing about the service.
Gupta had also requested that his other friends in the Garden (who are not members of the Club) be suitably informed.
In spite of the solemn atmosphere, there were moments during the exercises when a little smile did escape our lips. For instance, Karuna Waghmare, of all the days, had to speak in cute pidgin English today in order to gain admission to the exercise circle. “Can I come in?” she intoned.
It was a gentle broadside against the current punctuality drive in the Club. Likewise Razia Khan, for once, asked if she would be “allowed to exercise” after turning up later than usual.
Quite clearly, the Club has finally got around to respecting the clock. Of the 20-odd present today, almost everyone reported on time – barring Nahid Siddiqui, Banoo Apa and the Babani couple.

Getting Catty

Crouching Lions and Feline Females

For a few moments this morning, the Garden sounded like a jungle with noises of lions and cats (yes, cats) emanating from the exercise circle. Normally it is with a collective roar for the Lion and Lioness Round that we have been concluding our laughter exercises. But today was different.
Razia Khan declared that there was absolutely no need for female members to compete with their male counterparts in growling their lungs out like demented lions. “We ought to be different,” she proposed.

Kiran Prakash

“Let the ladies make cat noises for a change.”
Instantly the character of the group changed. Against the sonorous rumble of male vocal chords, strange female sounds could be heard: one of a meowing billi, another of a purrring billi, a third of an angry billi, a fourth of a pesky billi, yet another of a silly billi… From Razia to Bhaswati Bose to Khatoon Baig to Qadeer Bano, the ladies were in full flow!
Shekhawat got so excited by this spectacle that he went charging, arms outstretched, at the ladies, but suddenly stopped short. “Arrey, they are sounding like real billis,” he said, eyes twinkling unbelievingly.

Zarina Khan gets into a playful spat with Arun Patil (in striped tee)

“Kamaal hai! How do they do that?”
Seated on a bench at a distance, Kiran Prakash watched with equal amusement. He had resumed his Garden routine today (after a brief interregnum) but did not join the exercises. A bout of viral fever had sapped his energy, such that he looked a shadow of his former self. Some said he looked slim and trim like a teenager – but not in a good way. Clearly, it will take him some time to recuperate.
Meanwhile, with talk of renewal of club membership now in the air, Zarina Khan came up with a classic quip. “Why should I pay full subscription fees?” she asked Shekhawat. “This Arun Patil has been making life miserable for me. And you want me to pay and listen to his nonsense every morning? Rather, he should be made to pay for me!”
Minutes later, Zarina was seen hobnobbing with Arun Patil over a personal issue.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Change is a law of nature. So it was for Big Laaf to make lion and cat calls instead of lion and lioness calls. After all, cat is the auntie of lion. She has not taught him all the tricks. She has quite a few tricks up her sleeve. Keep laughing and enjoying. This universal law of life should be followed religiously.

Karun Sharma:
Democracy and Discipline need to be balanced in Big Laaf. The tai chi exercise being restricted to standing persons only is a good initiative and is largely accepted. It was also a good initiative for ladies to meow like cats, but the basic purpose of energizing the throat would not be achieved in the long-term. Incidentally, Angad Sir has written a personal mail to me saying that he was feeling weak and tired. He conveys his blessings to the Gupta family as well as his sympathies for the tragedy that shook everyone in Big Laaf. He asked me to get checked as he saw the blog after some days.

Comeback Celebrations

Santosh Tyagi hugs Razia Khan after receiving the Club calendar 

Celebrations on Santosh Tyagi’s comeback (yesterday’s post) continued into the morning today as her personalized desk calendar was presented to her amid another big round of applause. Yusuf Rassiwala asked Razia Khan to do the honors since she was the one to have successfully got Santosh back to the Garden and to her exercise routine.
But this was more in the nature of an unfinished business. Santosh was to have received the calendar last month on February 10, but as she had chosen to skip

Karun Sharma shows missing teeth

celebrating her birthday (and not turn up at the Garden), this little gift from the Club was kept on hold. Now she says she will have a belated birthday celebration with us, once she is done with fasting for the ongoing Chaitra Navratri festival.
Meanwhile, Karun Sharma came up with a shocker this morning. Much to our astonishment, he stretched open his mouth sideways to reveal three missing front teeth (incisors) – the result of a nasty fall. He said he felt unusually weak and lightheaded at that moment and accidentally keeled over, crashing against the edge of a table at home.
“I was absolutely exhausted at that time after having to shuttle between Raipur and Delhi repeatedly within a fortnight and then traveling back to Mumbai,” he narrated. “How I lost my balance and toppled over I do not know.”
This is really unfortunate. Karun needs care, but will have to manage between himself and son, Madhur. He will also have to decide whether to go for a dental implant or dentures before he can have his next proper meal.

Karun Sharma:
* Thanks Blog Monster for reporting on my accident. It is extremely important to share such news and elicit the support and suggestions of the Big Laaf Family (BLF). My implant treatment will pose more challenges I'd have to cope with. Today my BLF helped me learn to resolve an emotional issue with physical ego. I obeyed instructions to sit out the exercises for turning up late in the Garden.

* I visited Bijoy Gupta and his family today. Both the parents and brother of late Rachna Gupta were grief-stricken and it would take them some more time to recover. Their daughter-in-law and grandson are expected today from London. The presence.of their grandson at home should cheer them up. Gupta-ji informed me that a Condolence Meeting would be held at 7:00 pm in a church at Goregaon West on Friday, March 23, 2018.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The news of the loss of Karun Sharma's teeth is tragic. It is perhaps due to professional exertion and exhaustion. He should get himself medically examined and look after himself properly. Health is of primary concern and everything else comes later.

Surfaced

Bihari Milwani (l) presents Santosh Tyagi a welcome gift

Shekhawat (c) shows press clippings on his gaushala project 

After lying low for nearly two months, Santosh Tyagi surfaced this morning. Dressed in contrasting black-‘n-blue salwar-kameez, she impishly peeped from behind a tree and chirped, “How do I look?”
The question marked her comeback in the Garden.
Santosh’s reappearance was greeted by a round of applause and after the exercises, Bihari Milwani presented her with a lovely welcome gift – a personalized desktop photograph embellished in classic Gurmukhi calligraphy along the border.
The credit for getting Santosh to the Garden today goes to Razia Khan. All these days we had tried and failed to make even telephonic contact with her (ref post of March 12) and yesterday, Razia simply dropped by at Santosh’s place after attending the cremation ceremony at Bijoy Gupta’s house close by.
“I insisted she better get back to the Garden routine every morning, or else she would be doing herself more harm than good,” Razia narrated. “She had no explanation to offer for remaining cooped in her house for days on end.”
We too could have similarly persuaded Santosh earlier, but none of us wanted to ‘disturb’ her. We presumed she would be preoccupied nursing her son, Manoj back to health following his recent hospitalization.
“More than anybody else, Manoj has been the one to insist that I step out of the house and to not abandon my exercise routine,” Santosh explained. “But what to do – call it inertia, mental block, lethargy, fear… somehow I could not get myself to leave home. I have even taken the lift down and within minutes, returned to my bedroom!”
As a minor diversion, Shekhawat fished out a bunch of press clippings on a massive gaushala (cow shelter) project his family is sponsoring in their village in Rajasthan. It was launched earlier this month in the presence of his son and grandson (all in Rajput finery replete with pink turbans) and the event was widely covered by the local media. “We already have 200 cows in the shelter,” Shekhawat informed proudly.

Heart Breaking

Pushpa Gupta

Bijoy Gupta

Shekhawat returned today from a relaxed, one-month sojourn at his village in Rajasthan. But his first announcement in the Garden was heartbreaking: Bijoy and Pushpa Gupta have lost their only daughter, Dolly last night. She was 36.
Earlier in the morning, Pushpa sounded her WhatsApp group with a contrite one-liner – ‘Meri beti nahin rahi’ (My daughter is no more).

Shekhawat breaks the news

Puzzled at receiving the message, Siba Prasad Maitra tried his best to get in touch with Pushpa. He was on his way to Delhi and failing to contact Pushpa, he called us from the airport to check. That was how the news reached the Club..
A pall of gloom descended on the Garden. It was collectively decided then to do away with the laughter exercises today and in the end observe a two-minute silence in the memory of the departed. Many of us had never met Dolly in person but emotionally, we could easily empathise with the Guptas and share their sense of loss.
Before long, bits and pieces of information began to emerge from those who knew or had met Dolly – that she was staying in Malad with her husband (they had no children), that she was the

Two-minute silence in the memory of the departed

older of two siblings and her brother (also married and with a son) was settled in London, that she worked with Jet Airways, that she had no history of a heart condition, BP, diabetes, cholesterol or any such life-threatening ailment…
Meanwhile, Bijoy Gupta was to call the Garden and inform us that the tragedy occurred around 9:30pm yesterday. “She died of heart stroke,” he said. “Nobody was at home. When her husband returned from work at night, he unlocked the front door only to find her lying on the bed motionless. She was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.”
The Guptas are still in shock. They were waiting for the body to be released from hospital after postmortem and have scheduled the cremation in the evening. By then, their son would have arrived from London. “He has taken the first available flight and should be landing in Mumbai at 11:30a.m.,” Bijoy informed. “As brother and sister, they grew up together and were extremely close. This shall be his last opportunity to see his sister.”

Brother (in striped T-shirt) takes his sister on her final journey

Karun Sharma:
Oh, my God! This news has shaken us all. Loss of one's child is hard to overcome and stays in the mind for a long time. I stand by Bijoy and Pushpa Gupta in their hour of grief.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Bijoy Gupta and his wife, Pushpa have suffered a great loss in the sudden and untimely death of their daughter. It is an irreparable loss. I pray that the Almighty grants peace to the departed soul and gives Bijoy, Pushpa and their family members the courage to bear this loss. I request the Blog Monster to convey my grief to Bijoy and Pushpa.

DAY 2504

Pic of the Week

THE ULTIMATE LOOK OF MALE HELPLESSNESS
(What did he do to deserve this?)

Late Realisation

Birthday boy KIRAN PRAKASH (in blue, seated in centre) flanked by well-wishers

Kiran Prakash was born yesterday. But he became conscious of his existence today. For full 24 hours, he was blissfully unaware that there were hungry souls waiting for him in the Garden to celebrate his birthday. It was only this morning that he woke up to the realisation of his place in the universe and his immediate duty towards the 25-odd mouths to feed.

Geeta Latte presents birthday calendar

Kiran Prakash distributes the goodies

Strangely also, nobody in the Club even questioned why a fourth laugh was to be raised after the exercises today. It was taken for granted that there had to be a Santa Claus with a bagful of goodies in our midst and he can be none other than yesterday’s birthday boy, Kiran Prakash.
So we all broke into a mini war dance, lustily clapping and singing the birthday song in the open. A handsome dog, called ‘Romeo’ tried to enter the melee out of curiosity, but was rudely chased away by a ferocious Zarina Khan in hijab, wielding a tri-pronged walking stick.
Only when Geeta Latte presented Kiran Prakash the birthday calendar did a modicum of sanity return to the Club.

Seeking Tara Chand's blessings

Checking out the birthday calendar

Kiran Prakash was basking in the afterglow of a rejuvenating trip to the North East (March 10 to 16), looking much younger for his years in a dapper aquamarine t-shirt and blue jeans to match. He sought the blessings of Tara Chand Seth, the 89-year-old patriarch of the Club and touched his feet out of reverence – a gesture loaded with raw emotion that did not go unnoticed. And then of course, there was the customary photo-op for all the well-wishers before everybody dispersed for the day.
Kiran Prakash was born again.

Geeta Latte:
Happy Birthday, dear Kiran Uncle 💞🎂💞

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Everyone in the Club seems to have enjoyed the birthday celebration of our dear Kiran Prakash in a big way. At the same time it was nice of him to follow the age old Indian tradition of taking the blessings of a senior in a befitting manner. Be happy and continue to laugh -- more so, as our Happiness Quotient at the national level has come down.

Karun Sharma:
Kiran-ji, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you. As the blog monster rightly puts it, you have become younger after the NE trip. Thank you so much for being there for all of us. Keep up your jovial self and romanticism with life.

Cooling Their Heels

Happy Birthday, Kiran Prakash

Today was Kiran Prakash’s birthday. But he was not to be seen in the Garden. In all probability, he could be cooling his heels at home, much like the others who had gone on the North East tour (ref last few posts). They came back post-midnight from Guwahati via Calcutta -- rather, early morning today. After their week-long odyssey, none of them would be in a fit condition

Yusuf R looks drained out... even after
Qadeer Bano helped him with water

to attend the morning exercises in the Garden – not until Monday at best.
With Kiran Prakash though, we might get lucky tomorrow!
Oddly enough, when our friends landed in Mumbai, they were greeted by a mild drizzle at the airport. The city has been under cloud cover for the past two days and thunder-showers are predicted during the week-end. This is an aberration in the weather system and its effects were felt during the exercises today.
Humidity levels had shot up alarmingly, leaving us breathless and dripping in sweat. Unable to bear the discomfort, Bijoy Gupta simply gave up and went home. Likewise, Khatoon Baig complained of an aggravated asthma attack and looked wobbly on the feet. Yusuf Rassiwala too was ill at ease (even as he insisted he was fine) and when he

Siba Prasad Maitra (r) is concerned about Karuna

began to show signs of dizziness, Qadeer Bano had to rush up with a bottle of drinking water. That seemed to give him some relief.
Then there was Karuna Waghmare who remained seated throughout the exercises. Turns out she has a Parkinson’s condition and were it not for a solicitous query by Siba Prasad Maitra, we would not have known about it. (Most likely, she herself was not aware.) We have been noticing a continuous tremor of her right hand, which she has been dismissing as “an age-related issue no doctor can cure”.
As one who habitually keeps himself updated with the latest in the pharma industry, Maitra informed Karuna about a new drug in the market which might take care of her condition to a major extent. But he warned her not to take the medication without first obtaining a prescription from the doctor treating her. What appeared as a casual tete-a-tete today could well make the critical difference in Karuna’s quality of life – all thanks to Siba Prasad Maitra.

Dilip Babani:
Happy Birthday, Kiran-ji!

Bihari Milwani:
I hope that in the event Kiran Prakash comes for the exercises tomorrow Arun Patil doesn’t shout at him for remaining absent on his birthday!

Siba Prasad Maitra:
* Happy Birthday, Kiran-ji. We are eagerly waiting to hear about your exciting experience on the recent North East trip.
* My heartiest congratulations to Mrs Bose for organising such an excellent and difficult trip successfully.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Happy Birthday Kiran Prakash-ji. It is nice that you along with other members of the Club have enjoyed the trip to the North East and that your return coincided with your birthday. I wish you a very healthy and happy long life.

‘Are you ready?’

Razia Khan conducts the exercises today 

After 10 years of conducting free-hand exercises, flawlessly, Razia Khan today woke up to the realization that she was not cut for the task. Discomfiting as this may sound, she was told that she did not know the first thing about exercising: How to pace it out?
“Keep a gap between one exercise and the next,” Arun Patil instructed her from the sidelines. “Give people time to recover their breath after each exercise. Ask them if they are ready for the next. What is the hurry to finish off?”
“Yes, Razia conducts the exercises too fast,” grumbled Khatoon Baig.
Razia took the reproof sportingly and from then on, much to our amusement, took permission from all before starting every exercise. “Are you ready?” she joked, tongue firmly in cheek, before proceeding to the next number.
“You should carry a whistle from tomorrow,” advised Yusuf Rassiwala, who had been quietly watching the fun. “Every time you move to a new exercise, blow the whistle and that shall be a signal for us to get ready.

Kiran Prakash and Purushottam Sharma

You don’t have to take permission every time.”
Tara Chand Seth had a different take: “Instead of giving Razia a whistle, why doesn’t someone give Arun a nipple (soother) to shut his mouth? He talks too much these days, unnecessarily!” And so did everybody get something to talk and laugh about on an otherwise dull morning.
Meanwhile, in keeping with our series of SPOT REPORTS from the group touring the North East,

Setting out on the jeep safari

here’s the latest (and the last) despatch: “After the elephant safari and a visit to Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park, we set out for an adventure by jeep across the wildlife sanctuary. But the jeep safari was more like a roller coaster ride. Since there were no proper roads, we had to negotiate kutcha tracks in the jungle, bouncing up and down all the way in the open jeep, hoping to spot some wild animals in their natural habitat. We were told that there are very few counted tigers in the park and they could rarely be seen. But there were the rhinos, wild elephants, deer, bison, etc. Every time an animal was sighted, the jeep would stop for us to take a good look through the tall grass. For city people, these encounters in the wild are hard to describe. We are now headed home -- first to Guwahati from where we shall board a flight to Mumbai in the evening. End of the trip.”
Karun Sharma:
Many a time we paint a person black because of a single incident. It is so simple to tell Razia to keep a little more gap between exercises and we are sure she will do it. When we find that we are not able to make changes in a person, we ourselves are also responsible for the failure. Do it Razia, for the sake of POSITIVITY.

New Landmark

Another morning at BIG LAAF

We have reached a major milestone today. Little known to many, BIG LAAF has recorded 2,500 blog posts (in as many days of blogging) and notched an incredible number of ‘page views’, fast nearing the one million mark!
A bulk of this traffic has been flowing from India (naturally) and certain English-speaking countries like the USA, U.K., Australia, South Africa and so on. The odd part is that Russia accounts for the third largest traffic source (after India and the USA), far exceeding that of the next three – France, Germany and Ukraine combined. Even China, Croatia, Portugal, UAE and Bangladesh are presenting us with huge volumes in terms of page hits.
For a typically localized (read niche) blog on a bunch of senior citizens going about their fitness regime in a Mumbai suburb, this is no ordinary distinction. We thank the vast numbers of our readers across the globe for their abiding interest (if not curiosity) in our day-to-day activities over the years.
When we started this blog back in 2010, the idea was simply to record what we do during the one hour we meet every morning in the Garden. By extension it was to provide a window

Zarina Khan revisits childhood in Kaziranga

for friends and relatives of our members to have a look-see at our activities and in effect, serve as a means of bonding within the families.
Over time, with increasing popularity, the blog name, BIG LAAF became the official name of the club – w.e.f. November 15, 2014. (Till then it was known simply as 'Lokhandwala Laughing Club’.)

Out on the elephant safari

Still, we had not expected so many people, completely unrelated to us and living in remote corners of the globe, to take such a keen interest in the activities of our club through this blog. Thank you all, once again.
And now for an update on the group touring the North East. Here’s the latest SPOT REPORT:
“The excitement of going on an elephant safari early morning and catching sight of the fabled one-horn rhino, tigers and some rare wildlife in the Kaziranga Game Sanctuary gave us all a sleepless night. The wake-up time was 4:00 a.m. and we were to leave the forest lodge at 4:30 a.m. But we were at the breakfast table for tea, well before the appointed time.
“Unfortunately, it was very foggy at that hour of dawn and all we could see initially were a herd of deer and some wild buffaloes. There was no tiger. And then, we saw the one-horned rhino -- not one, but four majestic creatures emerging through the morning haze. But more than those sightings, it was the experience of moving about sitting on an elephant that made our day. Those who were apprehensive that the elephants would be unable to bear their weight were pleasantly surprised. Each of those elephants on the safari could easily carry four well-fed people on its back!” –Kiran Prakash
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
* It is admirable that we have become popular all over the globe. This gives immense pleasure to all members and at the same time, a big credit to the writer of this blog who has been projecting our activities in a lucid and readable form. Hats off to Blog Monster. Well done and keep it up.
* Our colleagues who are touring North East are enjoying all types of system of transportation available -- from the dawn of civilisation to modern era transport i.e. animals to aircraft!!! Keep enjoying.
Karun Sharma:
Congratulations, dear Blog Monster. You are the best. Your language is clearly understood with the depth of its words and definitions. We are proud of this achievement!

Frenemies

Karuna Waghmare (r) consults Arun Patil

Karuna Waghmare is in a spot. Her folks are leaving for Canada on a business trip and it would now be upon her to pack her grandson off to school from tomorrow morning. Consequently, she may not be able to report to the Garden on time.

Naseem Khan in Khasi gear

She wants to know whether she should opt out of the exercises lest Arun Patil ticks her off for coming late.
“It is not as though I do not want to come,” she has been trying hard to explain. “But it does not look nice that I should be identified as a late-comer. I would rather stop coming to the Garden till such time my son and bahu are away.”
It is hard to say when Karuna is joking or when she is serious. She has a terrific sense of humor, often breaking into spurts of outlandish monologues without provocation. With Arun she has a special affinity, poking fun at him… to the extent of chiding him for farting shamelessly during the exercises. Few can take such liberties and get away with it.
Yet, she had considered it necessary to consult Arun on a matter of Club discipline and this, by itself, speaks highly of her sense of values. Given her circumstances, surely nobody would have refused her permission for coming late.

Dawki River: Bangladesh is on the other side

She too knows it. But she still felt it necessary to ask.
As for our friends driven by wanderlust, here’s the latest SPOT REPORT from the North East: “To reach a root bridge (unique to Meghalaya), we had to climb 350 steps down and come up. Even those who cannot exercise in the Garden without sitting down after a few minutes accomplished this feat. It was a unique experience.
“We also visited Mawlynong, famous for being the cleanest village in Asia. Had lunch there and came to know from the locals how they maintain cleanliness and the measures adopted for garbage disposal.
“Lastly, we went to the Dawki river on the Indo-Bangladesh border. The water is so crystal clear there that we could even drink from it. But more than these beautiful places, I must say that the people of Meghalaya are extremely well-behaved and caring. The local boys held the hands of the ladies in our group, helping them negotiate the steep steps.
“Our journey to Meghalaya is over. We are now heading to Kaziranga.” –Kiran Prakash
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The season is changing all around the world. Even the Bridge of Snow has melted and fallen down. This is strange and unexpected. All the same, we have to be careful and stay hydrated. Drink ample water and other liquids, especially lassi. It is a good healthy drink. Those who have gone to the North East are enjoying the scenic beauty missed so far.

Monday Blues

Depleted attendance today

The mercury has started to rise and already people are talking about water shortage in summer. According to the weather bureau, the temperature is currently 6 degrees above normal in Mumbai. The mornings may not be too sunny or humid, but the effect of a sudden change in the weather was evident from the depleted turnout in the Garden today.
Or it could well be a hangover from a lazy Sunday that accounted for the absence of the likes of Nahid Khan, Bihari Milwani, Shanti Singh and Rukhsana Khan. These are people who are regular in their attendance, even as they may not be punctual every day. The worrisome fact is people could be falling ill,

Deep inside the Mawsmai Cave

as it happens every year around this time.
The continued absence of Santosh Tyagi is another worrisome fact. We were told last week that she would be reporting back for the exercises from Monday (today). Sadly, she was not to be seen. We know she is preoccupied with her son who had been hospitalized late January (with an acute liver condition). She did

Santosh Tyagi

not even celebrate her last birthday on February 10. As phone calls to her have drawn a blank, our only information about her is from hearsay and idle speculation. We can merely hope and pray that all is well with her.
Meanwhile, there’s some exciting news from the group touring the North East. As Kiran Prakash puts it, they “are all in the peak and pink of their health”, the highlight yesterday being a trip to Cherrapunji (once the wettest place on earth) and in particular, to the enchanting Mawsmai Cave, known for its rugged limestone interiors with breathtaking stalactite and stalagmite formations. Believe it or not, the group managed to cover the 150 metre stretch of the cave successfully and emerge without a scratch!
Here’s a SPOT REPORT: “Very exciting day for us. Went to Cherrapunji. On the way, we visited Elephant Falls. But going inside the Mawsmai Cave was a once-in-a-life experience. We not only went inside but successfully came out from the other end. And that included Zarina as well. It took us 20 minutes. We felt we had conquered Mt Everest!" --Kiran Prakash
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
We wish Santosh Tyagi a very long, happy and healthy life. Hope she soon finds herself fit to join the daily activities of the club. Our colleagues who have gone to North East are enjoying themselves and seeing the beautiful places. We wish them a happy sojourn and more enjoyment ahead.