Morning Wasted

Exercises Abandoned: Our patch in the Garden wore a deserted look 

Our worst fears were confirmed today. However, what we did not expect was that this should happen so soon – even before the monsoon had set in.
“This is the first time the exercises have been cancelled due to lack of members,” said Rukhsana Khan, the second to arrive in the Garden. “Where is everybody? Did they eat so much at Gupta’s party yesterday as not to be able to wake up in the morning?”
The real reason for abandoning the exercises today was that those who have been flagging off the exercises every day were almost entirely absent.
Kiran Prakash sent word early morning that he had "urgent work" to attend at home. Nahid Khan was away since yesterday at Mumbai Central for a family wedding. Bijoy Gupta is of course, down with viral fever. Shekhawat is not in town. Yusuf Rassiwala has still not recovered from debilitating weakness...
But to the Garden at large, we had become a laughing stock.

If only they had all come on time...

A dark, fat man waddled up to ask why we were not exercising these days, only to be snubbed by Siba Prasad Maitra: “Not these days, but today only.” He ran away without uttering a word.
He was followed by another stranger, sporting a sheepish grin: “Hope everything is alright… So why are you not exercising?” He tried hard to look worried, even concerned -- as though we were in mourning -- but his smile gave him away.
Only Navin Bhai was upfront when he volunteered to take us on a guided tour of the Garden: “Good! You people needed a break. Come with me and I will walk you round the Garden. You haven’t seen the Garden all these years.”
By then Bhaswati Bose, Naseem Khan, Karun Sharma and Bihari Milwani had turned up and even did a cameo of the end-claps and prayers, little realising they were only drawing more attention to themselves.
If only they had been punctual, this cameo would have been wholly unnecessary. We would not have wasted our morning and the exercises could be held in dignity from start to finish. But what can be said when the virus is so deep set that these days, late-comers have come to outnumber the regulars?

Bihari Milwani:
It is time we learned how to do solo laughter exercises. We shall never be disappointed.