Inside Story

Bijoy Gupta (l) narrates the 'real' story behind the Rajasthan  fiasco  

The cancellation of a free road trip to Rajasthan (ref post of August 30) was not entirely of our making. True, we were unable to take up the offer because of physical constraints in covering the 1,200 km journey each way by bus. But there were other compelling reasons, unknown to us, that put paid to our hopes of witnessing the Dussehra festivities in Shekhawat’s village.
This morning Bijoy Gupta was to reveal the inside story of the trip that was not meant to be. For one, Shekhawat would be returning from his village on October 3, well before Dussehra (which is on October 8). For another, he had trumpeted the idea of a free trip all over the Garden in advance, only to realise that

A kind soul shares her 'modak'
with us in the China Hut 

he had taken more on his platter than he could possibly consume.
“One evening I came to the Garden and saw him boasting before a group of bhaiyyas how he would be taking the Club to Rajasthan at his own expense,” Gupta narrated. “I sat down quietly behind him. I could see how impressed the bhaiyyas were and some of them even wanted to join the Club, if that meant paying Rs60 as a month’s subscription. Shekhawat was game, assuring them he had enough rooms in his house to accommodate everybody.”
That was when Gupta intervened. He jumped up to ask if every room was fitted with a toilet. When Shekhawat replied in the negative, Gupta advised the bhaiyyas to pack a lota with their luggage as they would have to go out in the fields every morning to relieve themselves. “I thought this would discourage them, but surprisingly they did not mind,” Gupta said. “Obviously they were experienced at doing the deed in the open.”
At this point Shekhawat started to retract. He realised he was inviting a problem too big for him to handle. “He said something like gents and ladies having separate timings for going out in the morning and when that did not dissuade the bhaiyyas, Shekhawat did the vanishing act. He stopped showing up at the Garden two days before he had to leave for Rajasthan.”
According to Gupta, there is no way Shekhawat can sponsor a trip to his village now. Should he do so only for us, the bhaiyyas will tear him apart whenever they catch sight of him. So he has quietly taken the easy way out.

Karun Sharma:
Both the 'lions' know each other well. But they still long for each other. I missed the modak by few seconds, I believe. time is modak.