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.