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.