Medical Emergency

We were seized with an unprecedented medical emergency this morning as Yusuf Rassiwala had to be rushed to Kokilaben Hospital after losing consciousness and falling to the ground while exercising.

Yusuf Rassiwala (file photo)

We were in the middle of the ‘head rotating’ round when all of a sudden a loud thud disrupted the flow of exercises. Yusuf R lay sprawled on the grass, glassy-eyed, staring skyward. He had fallen like an oak tree, flat on his back.
Within moments a crowd had gathered and water was sprinkled on his face. When he remained unblinking, panic gripped everyone around. Someone checked his pulse and Nahid Khan even lowered her head to his chest to confirm he was still breathing… It was the longest four minutes in the Garden.
The worst was however, not over. For when he came around, Yusuf R wiped his face and smiled, “What happened?” When he was comforted that there was nothing to worry, he sat up looking puzzled, urging us to continue with the exercises. A lozenge was promptly given to him, lest his sugar level had dipped. But when he started repeating himself time and again, it was clear he had turned disoriented. Chances were he had suffered an internal head injury by the impact of the fall.
A spot decision was taken to rush him to hospital (rather than take him home) and save precious time in the event of a brain/ heart stroke. Significantly, Yusuf R was completely oblivious to all that was happening around and maintained he’d rather walk home – this, as Siba Prasad Maitra had already turned up with his car to take him to hospital.
Once Kokilaben admitted him in Emergency, Banoo Apa and Nahid Khan took off to inform the family. (The phone number with us was coming continually ‘switched off’ and Yusuf R was unable to recall any other number.) Before long, his son and daughter-in-law took over and got him discharged from the hospital for further treatment elsewhere.
As per the doctors’ discharge note, the next 24 hours shall be critical for Yusuf R.

Karun Sharma:
This is very serious. It was so comforting that we took him to the hospital. Tried calling him in the evening but phone was not picked up. We must get latest updates about Yusuf Bhai. He is a gem of a person.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Rassiwala fell down while exercising. It was nice that he was taken to hospital. His family got him discharged for better treatment. He should be properly examined and treated. I further suggest that the neck circling exercise be done away with. Firstly, human beings don't rotate necks in the normal course. Secondly, rotating the neck may result in swelling and one may lose balance. After some time, it may even cause vertigo. Most of us are senior citizens. Exercising should be commensurate with age and agility. Please discuss this among yourselves and devise exercises suitably.

Winter is Here

Plotting for today's movie outing

Looks like winter is setting in. Yesterday’s stifling heat was replaced by a perceptible drop in temperature this morning, the Garden awash in mellow sunshine and fresh dew. The benches were still wet when we arrived. Nobody complained of breathlessness, stickiness or fatigue during the exercises. The air smelt good, like we were already into cooler times.
The weather being so pleasant, it came as no surprise for Bhaswati Bose, Santosh Tyagi, Banoo Apa, Nahid Khan and other movie buffs

Andhadhun: Movie poster

to be planning an outing today for the Ayushman Khurrana – Radhika Apte starrer, Andhadhun. As usual, the recommendation came from Siba Prasad Maitra who

Shekhawat

has watched the film and was full of praise for it.
Based on The Piano Tuner, a well-acclaimed French short film, Andhadhun is billed as a “black comedy thriller” and is about a blind pianist drawn into a series of mysterious events and having to report a crime he never actually witnessed. For the Club, the movie outing comes almost a month after viewing the comedy-thriller, Stree (ref post of September 25).
Meanwhile, news comes in from Rajasthan with Shekhawat informing that he has dropped his plans of visiting Mathura-Vrindavan and Ayodhya with an entourage from his village. He has had an enjoyable Dussehra with family and friends and is recuperating fast from the surgery he underwent before leaving Mumbai.
“I do not want to risk my health at this stage,” he explained. “My relatives have also advised me against going on a pilgrimage this time around and that I should rather take rest indoors. Maybe, next year I shall set out. For the moment though, my tickets to Mumbai are booked for November 4 and I should be in the Garden a couple of days later.”

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
It is good to know that Shekhawat has dropped the idea to go to Mathura-Vrindavan. Health takes priority and visits to religious places become secondary. As a senior citizen, one should be more concerned about health rather than other issues.

Lavish Spread

Back to the old days... Happy Birthday, RUKHSANA KHAN!

Rukhsana (l) with Sadaf

The long-awaited Rukhsana Khan Birthday dawned today. It has been more than a month since we had our last birthday bash in the Garden.

Rukhsana receives birthday calendar from Fahmida Khan (c)

By conventional Big Laaf standards, this was over a decade ago.
But then, the wait has been worth the while. For nobody had expected Rukhsana to lay out such a lavish spread – poha, puran poli, sabu-dana wada, potato chop, buns, cake slice… and of course, hot-hot tea to go along. Rarely, if ever, has any birthday in the Club been celebrated on this grand a scale.
Rukhsana and her daughter, Sadaf had ensured that nobody found anything wanting. Everybody had multiple helpings and many were given take-aways for their families at home. Mother and daughter had also ensured that their friends and well-wishers were all present, having personally invited them on phone for the party.

Rukhsana supervises serving of the plates

As a result, we had a packed house today and many not-so-regular members turned up to wish Rukhsana on the occasion.
On our part, we went through the ritual of singing and dancing, raising the fourth laugh and Fehmida Khan presenting Rukhsana with her birthday calendar on behalf of the Club. Sadly, Bijoy Gupta could not make it (he had excused himself due to indifferent health) or else, we would have had an impromptu teaser number as well from him.
In all the rejoicing and revelry, only Karun Sharma had the presence of mind to gift Rukhsana a red rose to mark the occasion. We do not know if he succeeded in doing so because the florist in the neighborhood was still shut while we were there. Long after everyone had dispersed for the day, Karun could be seen hunting around for his rose.
He may draw comfort from the fact that more than a flower, it is always the thought that matters – assuming that the rose eluded him till the end.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Happy Birthday to Rukhsana. Enjoy good health and long life. It was a good treat after Dussehra. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed and there was good merry making.

Karun Sharma:
Yes, I managed to find the red rose for Rukhsana. She gladly accepted and smelled it deeply to appreciate the intent.

DAY 2694

Pic of the Week

DRESSED IN THEIR FESTIVE BEST 
(Photo Credit: Geeta Latte)

All the ladies are beautifully dressed. It is difficult to identify which of them is Sita coming out from Ashok Vatika after the death of Raavan. --Bihari Milwani

Happy Dussehra!

Dussehra celebration today, courtesy Geeta Latte (c)

When it rains, it pours. This was true not only of the freak showers during the week-end, but also of the sudden spate of Dussehra treats that brought an end to the seemingly indefinite drought and our enforced starvation every morning.
Santosh Tyagi opened the floodgates the day-before-yesterday when she treated us to ashtami prasad – platters of boiled chana and suji-halwa, rounded off with tea. She had organised a puja at home (as she does every year) and even kept fast. We did nothing of the sort but were rewarded on Thursday morning.
The following day, it was the turn of Urmila Sinha – the new lady who exercises with us unfailingly (she's not even a member) every morning. She too had brought us prasad – assorted fruits, home-fried salties, water chestnut, candy flakes, sweet boondi… to mark Vijaya Dashami on Friday. The refreshingly simple yet sumptuous offering made for the kind of stuff money can never buy off the shelf.

Santosh Tyagi (r) celebrates on Thursday

Urmila Sinha (c) celebrates on Friday

Today Geeta Latte pulled off a hat trick of sorts by celebrating Dussehra proper after the exercises. She came with boxes of Bangladeshi cake toast and crispy wafer-thin biscuits a friend had brought from Dimapur, Nagaland. Together with Banoo Apa’s addictive tea and plenty of eats to go around, the unique treat verily made our day.
Yet another major treat is in the offing with Rukhsana Khan today inviting all present to her birthday celebration on Monday. Meanwhile, here’s wishing everyone a HAPPY DUSSEHRA -- good health, peace and prosperity.

Bihari Milwani:
Raavan is dead, partying has started!

DAY 2692

Pic of the Week

PARTING SHOT... FOR OLD TIMES' SAKE

White tigers in half-pants hugging each other before parting for Dussehra! --Bihari Milwani

What are two April-born lions doing in the green jungle? Definitely not fighting for the grass! --Anonymous

Under a Cloud

On a loose end for the Annual Day function

With less than two months to go, the Annual Day function has come under a cloud of uncertainty. Banoo Apa today sought to be excused, citing health reasons. Shekhawat too has pleaded inability to take part due to his delicate health condition.
Earlier, Nadira Sayyed, our chief choreographer, requested a postponement because of “personal commitments”. As for all else, things are in a limbo as everybody has chosen to conveniently wait and watch.
By now, rehearsals ought to have begun in right earnest. (Last time around, we had about four months to prepare.) At present, we not only have a busy festive season ahead but many of us would be in and out of the city (ref post of October 1) for one reason or the other. Clearly, attendance will suffer in the coming weeks.
It is therefore imperative that we make the most of the available time and have at least the programming finalised and work quickly delegated.

"Have a great weekend!"

Sadly, two Saturdays have passed by since our last meeting (ref post of September 22) and we have not been able to even put our heads together on the basics: taking stock of the talent on hand.
So far, Bijoy Gupta appeared to be the only one charged with ideas and had even penned a couple of humorous plays for the function. Now he too sounds demotivated. “So what if we don’t have the function?” he needled Arun Patil this morning. “A picnic to Khandala sounds a better idea.”
Yet, all is not lost. We may still be able to catch the deadline should we double our efforts and get cracking without further delay. Once rehearsals get started, momentum will catch on automatically and there will be no looking back.
Should that not happen, the function may well be postponed by a couple of weeks. But most important, someone has to pick up the reins and steer things from now on. The success of the function depends entirely upon this initiative.
A peculiarity of the Club is our herd mentality. We like to follow a leader who inspires. That leadership is sadly missing at the moment.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
As usual our Annual Day function is jinxed. Let us wait and see.

Big Blessing

Happy Birthday, Mrs Chhanda Maitra!

Today was Siba Prasad Maitra’s day; rather, his wife Chhanda’s. It was her birthday. But she could not make it to the Garden in the morning when we were there. So it was left to her husband to treat us all to cake slices and cool, lip smacking lassi on her behalf.
Funnily though, Bihari Milwani insisted on claiming “some credit” for the celebration. He declared that were it not for a midnight threat from him via SMS, we would have none of the goodies. It seems he had text-messaged Maitra to better remember his wife’s birthday (under pain of a “shower of rolling pins”)

Get well soon, Yusuf Rassiwala

and celebrate with us in the Garden.
That said, the lassi treat could not have come on a better occasion.

Shekhawat leaves for Rajasthan today... lassi in hand!

Over the past few days, the weather had turned extremely sultry, the temperature shooting from 28 degrees last week-end to 37 degrees within four days.
Today we were left so drained out after the exercises that any form of liquid nourishment at that moment would have been god sent. In fact, Bijoy Gupta had to excuse himself and could be seen on a bench groaning in pain with muscle cramps due to dehydration. No amount of back massaging and drinking water seemed to help.
Maitra’s presence had come as another big blessing for Shekhawat. He is to leave for his village in Rajasthan this evening by train and as is his wont, had muddled up on his medication. This was the second time he had done so (ref post of June 26, 2017) and the result could have been catastrophic, were it not for Maitra’s timely intervention. “I was taking double dose again,” Shekhawat explained sheepishly.
Meanwhile, news comes in of Yusuf Rassiwala catching the bug. This morning he sent word that he is suffering from viral fever since yesterday and obviously, needs to take rest. Barely a week back, Maitra was similarly down with the virus for about five days.
Let’s hope and pray for Yusuf R's speedy recovery and that he is back in the Garden, fit and fine.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Happy birthday, Mrs Chhanda Maitra. May God bless her with a long and healthy life. Is Shekhawat going to Rajasthan on bike? Good show! The weather is really very lousy. One must be very careful these days.

Bihari Milwani:
A friendly advise for Mr S P Maitra on the occasion of his wife’s birthday: 'Biwi ko apni palkon par baithalo/ De kar khushi uske sare gham churalo/ Pyar aisa karo k sabh dekhte rah jayen/ Padosan bhi aa kar kahe, Mujhe apni biwi banalo'!

Siba Prasad Maitra:
Thanks everybody for your good wishes on my wife's birthday. Actually, there was no party. We just shared a piece of cake with cold lassi in this warm weather. Missed many of you who could not join. And dear Milwani, I thank you for your advise, but padosan ki biwi par mere koi interest nehi hai kyunki ek biwi samhalne mein hi... Ha ha ha.

Nicknames

Santosh Tyagi (c) narrates a joke today

Razia Khan reports to the Garden after a month

A nickname is not always complimentary. But it is the surest indication of a relationship moving to a level of informality. It strips you of the trappings of reserve and correctness and instills a sense of easy bonhomie, belonging, acceptance and most importantly, love.
So when Nahid Khan today addressed Santosh Tyagi as “Simran” during the exercises, a quick smile darted across many lips. The appellation – drawn from the heroine’s name in a yesteryear blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge – was suggestive of a woman realizing her personal freedom by breaking the shackles of domesticity.
From a private joke (circulating among ladies) the nickname has found currency over time and to Santosh especially, it is an expression of love from all Club members. Significantly, Nahid herself boasts of a peculiar male epithet, “Bhai” after the gold-plated tooth she flashes while smiling. The talk is that the “false tooth” is a ruse for smuggling the precious metal like an underworld don!
Such wild allusions apply to several others the Club has learnt to take liberties with. Most of the nicknames are however quite innocuous and used selectively – often out of convenience and/ or on a one-to-one basis:
Shekhawat: “Shekhu Darling”
Bijoy Gupta: “Gudhri ka Lal”
Fehmida Khan: “Femmi”
Bhaswati Bose: “Bhashu”
Arun Patil: “Tokam Toki”
Bihari Milwani: “Bankey Bihari”
There are many more, but those are being deliberately left out since they don’t sound complimentary. (After all, this blog is also read by members' families.) You get the drift anyway.
Meanwhile, here’s some good news. Shekhawat went yesterday for a follow-up on the medical procedure performed on his chest last month (ref post of September 18). The doctors at the naval hospital in Colaba removed the sutures and have given him the green signal to travel to his village in Rajasthan for Dussehra. He leaves by train, tomorrow evening.

Normalcy Returns

Arun Patil (l) shares a light moment with friends

After yesterday’s showdown, normalcy returned to the Garden this morning. Everything was forgotten. Or so it seemed. All were back to their cheerful selves. Those who had to come late, did so, with impunity. Those who had to come early, also did so with impunity. No questions were asked. And surely, no answers were necessary.
The one to appear happiest was Arun Patil – the man who triggered the ruckus yesterday. “These are all my brothers and sisters,” he beamed indulgently after the exercises. “I do not mind what they say about me. Fights are inevitable in a large family. But does one have to take offence every time there is a showdown?”
That’s the spirit – a common sentiment, mostly unspoken – that has bound us together and kept the Club going for over 15 years. The best part is that there can be no place for anybody holding a grouse. There is a good reason for this. We have all reached that blissful stage in life when it is futile to stand on false pride and ego. We all know age is no longer on our side. And yet, should anyone make a prestige issue out of something, it would be betraying utter stupidity -- nothing else.
This realization, for many, is the biggest takeaway from Big Laaf.

Bihari Milwani:
Who says we are old? We fight in the morning and play gulli danda in the evening.

Anonymous:
Be a proud idiot of 3 IDIOTS and say, "Aal izz well"!!!

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
We come to enjoy and get refreshed by the exercises. This basic aim should always be kept in mind -- even while passing remarks or cracking jokes. Let us forgive and forget all grouses. It will help us all.

Boomeranged!

Yusuf Rassiwala (l) tries to drill some sense after the exercises 

Arun Patil had unwittingly planted a ticking time bomb in the Garden when he took upon himself to enforce discipline in the Club. Noble as the intention might be, it was bound to blow up on his face one day – more so, after he started to selectively pull up people turning up late for the exercises.
Today he picked on Anjana Prakash, who was late by 15 minutes. She retaliated saying that she needed her morning walk and had taken prior permission for late-coming. She also complained that she was being unfairly faulted, whereas several others, coming long after her, were spared.
The issue snowballed when Banoo Apa arrived and was to similarly accuse Arun of being partial towards other late comers. “You do tell anything to those who come just to clap their hands at the end of the exercises,” she charged.
Bhaswati Bose, another victim of Arun’s discriminatory treatment, was equally unsparing:

Belated birthday gift from Bihari Milwani: chocolates, a
memento and a unique, self-created 200 year calendar

“The irony is that just two or three of us are targeted every day whereas others are overlooked even if they are the last to drop in.”
The instant reaction all around was that nobody should be pulled up and if anybody turns up late, it is that person’s loss. Seeing the issue boomerang on him, Arun explained that he was acting only in common good, but it fell into deaf ears.
“You have made this into a crying club,” Bhaswati said. “From tomorrow we shall tape your mouth during the exercises.”
In the end, it took Yusuf Rassiwala's voice of reason to restore some sanity in the gathering. It is too late in life for any of us to change, he reiterated. “If some members insist on coming late, what can we do? We cannot spoil our mood in the morning because of them. As for those coming only for parties, we shall sort that out in our managing committee meeting.”
He added that Arun Patil stands to gain nothing should we be punctual for the exercises. “But I’ll advise him to keep a check on his sharp tongue. Maybe, putting a tape on his mouth is a good idea!”

Bihari Milwani:
We should put a ban on the parties. Everyone will come only for the exercises and depending upon stamina, they will exercise either standing or in the sitting posture for 15 minutes or full 57 minutes.

Anonymous:
It is very unfortunate that we are fighting on an auspicious occasion -- the birthday of the great leader who taught the world that one can achieve better results by not fighting -- non-violence.

Autumn Exodus

Members wish Zarina Khan bon voyage

We are in October and in another fortnight, we should be celebrating Dussehra. Every year, at this time, the Club witnesses a massive exodus, though not for festive reasons only. The comings and goings continue for a good two months, long after Diwali is over.
Already Bijoy Gupta has taken off on a week-long break with wife Pushpa. In another four days, Shekhawat would be leaving for his ancestral village in Rajasthan to celebrate Dussehra with his relatives and childhood friends. He intends to extend his sojourn with a pilgrimage to Mathura-Vrindavan and Ayodhya later in the month.
Today, Zarina Khan said her goodbyes before departing for Doha, Qatar. Her son stays there and she needs to meet her new-born grandson “before he becomes too big to handle”, she joked. She does not intend to return before December 1.
Meantime Siba Prasad Maitra has a trip lined up for Calcutta while Dilip and Kajal Babani will be visiting their daughter in Melbourne, Australia. Geeta Latte shall be gallivanting with guests in Goa. And then there is Bhaswati Bose taking a trip to Udaipur and Mt Abu on November 16. Kiran Prakash, Banoo Apa, Nahid Khan, Santosh Tyagi, Nafisa Sayed, Naheed Siddiqui, Lakshmi Hadimani and others have signed up on this trip.
These are just a few names to be missed in the coming weeks. There are several more whose travel plans have not yet been finalized. In other words, we should brace ourselves for a drop in attendance at the Garden from now on.

Karun Sharma:
I am also leaving on 16th November -- to have fun with my BHU friends at Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Bihari Milwani:
So long as all the members do not disappear together, our club will keep on walking... sorry running!