In the Balance

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi, a major festival in western parts of the country. Like all devotees, we too join our hands and bow our heads down in obeisance to the elephant god and seek his blessings for the welfare of all members of the Club.

Lord Ganesh

May he be specially kind towards Banoo Apa’s mother and sister who are gravely unwell, Kiran Prakash for his eye ailment and Nahid Khan for her five-month grandchild who was born a blue baby. We pray for their good health.
Meanwhile, Shekhawat signed off this morning before leaving for his village tomorrow. He has not booked the mini-bus that is supposed to take us there later in the month (ref post of August 30). In effect, the prospect of our Rajasthan trip now hangs in the balance.
However, lest he be accused of chickening out, Shekhawat has offered to finalise things long-distance on phone with a bus operator, a friend of his. “But most important, I need to know how many passengers there would be before

Shekhawat says 'goodbye' before leaving for Rajasthan

I can book a bus,” he explained.
The matter was discussed threadbare in Shekhawat’s presence with Zarina Khan informing that she has already rescheduled a visit to her son in the U.S. while Nahid Khan said she would do whatever it takes to 'qualify' for the trip to Shekhawat's village. Naheed Siddiqui declared she would henceforth set an alarm every morning in order to be regular and punctual for the exercises.
From a practical standpoint though, Yusuf Rassiwala expressed his reservations on whether we were fit enough (“given that we are all above 60”) to undertake the 2,500 km journey to and fro by bus. “Can we handle a situation if god-forbid something untoward happens to any of us mid-way?” he asked. “Is it worth taking the risk?”
Everybody concurred, barring Zarina who argued that any trip, regardless of road, rail or air, entails life-threatening risks. Still, on balance, it was decided to explore the possibilities of travelling by train which should turn out more comfortable for us and also be economical for Shekhawat.

Bihari Milwani:
Now that the government is starting Holiday Homes in Ladakh, we should plan a trip there. With our leader being an ex serviceman, we need not worry about anything.