Women’s Day 2018

Naseem Khan

Were it not for Naseem Khan this morning, we would have given the International Women’s Day (IWD) a miss. She was the only one in the group to remember and remind us on the importance of the day – that too, after the exercises had ended.

Arun Patil is entertained by
his mini music box

As an afterthought, a fourth laughter went up. And that was just about it!
Time was when the IWD used to be celebrated with much ceremony and laughter, befitting a Club of predominantly female members. A beautiful crystal glass trophy would be presented to the ‘Woman of the Year’ after a fool-proof and fun-filled voting process restricted to the men. Santosh Tyagi, Nahid Khan and Bhaswati Bose were some of the past recipients of that much-coveted trophy.
Then disaster struck. The green-eyed monster raised its head and it was decided from last year not to honor any single lady on March 8, but felicitate all the ladies in general.

Dilip Babani (in red) and Bijoy Gupta raid the shoe shop

A rose was presented to every lady and that marked the beginning of the end.
With the trophy now summarily scrapped, the IWD lost its sheen and nothing is left of any celebration – not even the roses. Had Naseem not reminded us today, in all probability nobody in the Club would have remembered it was Women’s Day today. Next year, who knows, there may not be a fourth laugh to commemorate March 8.
Meanwhile, here’s something to smile about. A shoe seller outside the Garden gate is offering us branded sports shoes at a throwaway price. Those are regular Provogue sneakers and according to Bawaskar, the shop owner, his offer of Rs250 per pair is open exclusively to members of Big Laaf, till stocks last. “For everybody else, I am charging by the company price tag,” he said.
Where on earth would you get a solid pair of shoes for less than the price of a coffee?