Terms of Endearment

Yusuf Toffeewala???

Every morning Yusuf Rassiwala distributes toffees and lozenges to those who arrive in the Garden before the start of the exercises. This is an ‘early bird incentive’ – a reward from him for being punctual.
But it is also habit forming, as Nahid Khan was to point out today. “We are coming early in the sole hope of getting a toffee,” she remarked.

It was Angad Singh's 85th birthday today. With commendable foresight,
Bihari Milwani (r) gifted him a beautiful memento just before
he left for Dubai last month. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Colonel Sah'b!

“The day we won’t get a toffee, we shall be sorely disappointed.”
“He is our Toffeewala,” attested Rukhsana Khan, grinning from ear to ear.
Overnight, Yusuf Rassiwala acquired a new moniker: Toffeewala. Till then, he could count himself among the lucky few in the Club, not to be having a nickname. Almost everyone else – for reasons good or bad, right or wrong – is tagged with a name their parents did not give them.

Karun Sharma has left for
Delhi to cast his vote 

Thus, we have in our midst a female ‘Bhaijaan’, as also a ‘Urmila Matondkar’, a ‘Gudhri ka Lal’, ‘Babu Moshai’, ‘Simran’ and so on. There are also some not-so-flattering allusions like ‘Tingu’, ‘Golu’, ‘Tension Mandela’, ‘First Floor’, ‘Kareena Kapoor’, etc.
While many nick names have gained currency through the years, some keep changing. For instance, Bihari Milwani has had to contend with ‘Banke Bihari Lal’, ‘Mr 654321’ and ‘Ulti Ginti Wale’ at different points in time. Some don’t stick at all. ‘Gully Boy’ and ‘Kadak Singh Jailor’ are two cases in point.
Name dropping is however, nothing new in Big Laaf. Since its earliest days, there have been people like ‘Khadoos Budhdha’, ‘Aggarbatti’, ‘Teda Sher’ and ‘Topiwale Pandurang Baba’ as members. Late Ram Shankar Shukla was known as ‘Qutb Minar’ due to his extraordinary height and another dear departed, Teja Singh Bhambra used to be called ‘Jingle Bells’ for his Santa Claus-like demeanour.
Ultimately, these nicknames are to be taken as terms of endearment. It is nothing but easy familiarity over time that leads friends to taking liberties and addressing one another by strange epithets. No offence is intended. No offence is taken. It is all in good humour, the handiwork of idle minds.

Bihari Milwani:
In my office I am known by yet another name: 'Birthday Wizard'!