Key Decisions

The long-pending Juhu Beach Party will be held on Sunday, December 22, 2019. New Year’s will be celebrated with a day-picnic at the Borivli National Park on January 5, 2020, also a Sunday. And for the month of February,

Meeting in progress

the Annual Sports Day will be held in the Garden on the 14th, i.e. Valentine’s Day, a Friday.
The club's Annual Function for 2019 stands cancelled.
These were some of the key decisions taken unanimously at a general body meeting held in the China Hut this morning. As many as 20 members were present, including Yusuf Rassiwala, H.S.Shekhawat, Siba Prasad Maitra, Banoo Apa, Razia Khan and other seniors of Big Laaf.
The contentious issue of whether or not to discard the club’s caps was also resolved. It was decided to order new caps, replacing the current ones which have become discoloured/ damaged and outlived their utility.
Various colour options for the caps, ranging from saffron and black to bottle green, white and red were also discussed. Ultimately, it was decided to retain the present shade of deep blue for the new lot.
A proposal to suspend the ‘birthday calendars’ for one year, in order to finance the purchase of caps, was rejected.

Fond Farewell

Yusuf Rassiwala and Shekhawat present Vijay Jakhia a farewell card on behalf of Big Laaf

All those wondering what the second photograph in yesterday’s post was about, well, here’s the explanation: Vijay Jakhia, a cricketing aficionado and more importantly, one of the oldest friends of Big Laaf, is relocating to Borivli (ref post of November 6).

Kiran Prakash (r) presents a T-shirt and box of chocolates

A farewell card, bearing the signatures of all members, was to be presented to him.
Naseem Khan is seen in the pic, putting

Vijay Jakhia

her signature on that card.
The card was presented to Vijay-bhai this morning by our two chairmen, Yusuf Rassiwala and Shekhawat in a brief but poignant farewell ceremony at the Garden. Kiran Prakash, whose brainchild this was, separately presented a box of chocolates and a white t-shirt. “You should wear this new T-shirt when you go out on your morning walks from now on,” Kiran Prakash told a visibly overwhelmed Vijay-bhai.
Clearly, he was expecting none of this.

Bhaswati Bose (r) presents the framed memento

But the bigger surprise was yet to come: a framed photograph of Vijay-bhai on the cricket field with M.S.Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal for company. This was the handiwork of Bhaswati Bose, another cricket lover.
Initially, Vijay-bhai could not recognise himself. When he did, he literally jumped out of his skin, wondering how he could be snapped in the same frame with the cricket stars. Kiran Prakash reminded him that the photograph was taken when he last visited Ranchi, Dhoni’s hometown. “Don’t you remember going there?” he asked mischievously.
Vijay-bhai was at a loss of words. So were the others. “But how could you look so young?" exclaimed Rukhsana Khan, unable to figure out the magic of photoshop. For her, as indeed many others, this was a real-life photograph and from that moment, Vijay-bhai’s stature rose immeasurably in her eyes. It shall remain so for all of us, forever. We will miss him sorely.

He can't believe his eyes!

Displaying the photograph

Shekhawat showers floral blessings

Karun Sharma:
Wonderful farewell to a wonderful friend. We shall miss him a lot. Keep in touch and take care, Vijay-ji. Above all, keep your interest in cricket alive. It's another way to stay connected.

Hocus Pocus

Significant rise in attendance

We are seeing a strange phenomenon in the Club. Many members are not taking kindly to the spectacular and somewhat, impressive rise in numbers during the exercises these days. “Hope this does not attract the evil eye,” remarked Nahid Khan while taking a quick count of the attendance closing in at the 20 mark this morning.
Nahid is one of our most regular and senior members and knows a thing or two about seasonal fluctuations in attendance through the year. But in the company of people notorious for being over-superstitious, she too has begun to repose faith in the irrational and silly absurdities like the ‘evil eye’.
We see this phenomenon play out daily in the Garden and not just within the Club. Without naming names, there are many who stop by on the walking track, just to touch a particular tree, which is supposed to bring them luck. Others would spend an entire morning, stealthily plucking flowers (“for puja”) as though the act would earn them eternal salvation.

Naseem Khan puts her signature on a greeting card

Some jokers have even left a bunch of ugly, discolored clay idols behind the bushes and hedges, religiously lighting incense and applying vermillion/ turmeric on them before sunrise.
So when Bijoy Gupta accosted Shekhawat this morning for practising black magic in the Club, nobody was surprised. It was no doubt a joke, but fitted well on a man known to sport assorted good-luck charms, beads, bracelets and whatnot. Some of these talismans are made of pure gold, but (on the advice of members) hidden securely under his vest.
Gupta’s allegation today was that the flowers Shekhawat presents every morning to late-comers (ref post of November 19) were spiked by some mumbo-jumbo meant to cast a spell on recipients. “Who knows what kind of jadu-tona you are up to,” Gupta accused Shekhawat. “Otherwise, what is your interest in giving people white flowers? Nobody else does so.”
As always, Shekhawat did not bother to respond. He stared at Gupta with an amused smile while the rest of us burst out laughing.

In the Offing

Collecting cash for Lakshmi's gift

Even as Lakshmi Hadimani’s ‘golden jubilee’ luncheon at a swank, high-end restaurant on December 1 is supposed to be a ‘private' affair (ref post of November 19), it may not turn out to be so. From the way she has been going about involving the Club, continually extending her guest list and seeking advice on the nitty-gritties, there is nothing private left about the celebration.
Clearly, Lakshmi is quite excited about hitting the half-century mark and is making no secret of her intent on making it a grand affair. Even today, she talked about breaking tradition and opening a champagne bottle with a flourish to mark the occasion. On the part of invitees, it has been decided to pool in for a ‘joint gift’, leaving Banoo Apa to take the final call. Some, like Rukhsana Khan, Naheed Siddiqui and Nahid Khan who are close friends of Lakshmi, have stated that they would rather not join the rest.
But the bigger event in the offing is the general body meeting being called on November 30 (ref post of November 25). Yusuf Rassiwala reminded members

Yusuf Rassiwala reminds members of meeting on Saturday

today to make sure they were present in the China Hut at the stroke of 8:00 this Saturday. As an incentive, he said that light refreshments would be served to all participants after the meeting.
Yet another major event in the offing is the long-pending Diwali party at Juhu Chowpatty (ref post of October 28). For various reasons, this Sunday evening bash is getting postponed from time to time. Now also, we are faced with a situation when a section of the Club would be leaving for the Andamans next week and until their return on December 12, no decision on a date can be taken.
There is also a proposal for a New Year’s celebration – a potluck picnic at Borivli National Park (ref post of October 29) around December 31. Maybe, this could all be discussed at the meeting on Saturday.

Tit for Tat

Shekhawat tries dodging Kiran Prakash

Kiran Prakash follows relentlessly 

Shekhawat met his match in Kiran Prakash this morning. For the past couple of days, the latter had been observing how late-comers were treated to a unique form of 'gandhi-giri' with Shekhawat presenting them a white flower (ref post of November 19) the moment they arrived. Today Kiran Prakash decided to turn the tables on him.
Now, Shekhawat can never be faulted for coming late. He is by far the most punctual member of the Club, being

Air of bonhomie in the Garden

invariably the first to show up at the Garden – that too, a clear half-hour before the start of the exercises. So Kiran Prakash hit upon a rather strange idea of cornering him for being the first to leave the Garden AFTER the exercises.
To be fair, Shekhawat must return home at a certain time every day for his morning dose of medicines and breakfast, as per a schedule prepared by his doctors. Much as he would like to, he cannot afford to hang around for too long in the Garden like the rest of us. But this is something nobody wants to understand because everybody values Shekhawat’s company.
Today, all that Kiran Prakash was asking for was 30 minutes of Shekhawat’s time post-exercise, after which we would all disperse in the normal course. In fact, others like Yusuf Rassiwala and Bijoy Gupta had also tried holding Shekhawat back and failed. What nobody had tried though was to embarrass him with a white flower the way Kiran Prakash did this morning.
At first Shekhawat looked surprised and confused. He refused to accept the flower. He tried to dodge his way out but at every point, his path was blocked by Kiran Prakash proffering the white flower. Soon it turned into a little game, much to everybody’s amusement. Wherever he went, Kiran Prakash followed, relentlessly. Finally, Shekhawat found refuge on a bench, pretending to have run out of breath, completely.
Within seconds, he made good his escape!

Bihari Milwani:
Funny how Shekhawat, being an ex-Navy man, was running away like a coward. This, on the anniversary of the Mumbai Terror Attack when terrorists came via sea...

Mellow Morning

Attendance booms as the weather improves

Andaman group in a familiarisation meet

As the weather turns mellow, attendance in the Garden has begun to boom. Even more impressive is the level of punctuality among members. From a time, not long back, when we were no more than three or four at the start of the exercises, the number ballooned to double digits today.
“It is good to see so many members at the beginning of the exercises,” remarked Shekhawat whose ploy of shaming late-comers with a white flower (ref post of November 19) seems to have borne fruit.

Zarina Khan distributes Snickers

He had fewer flowers to give away this morning.
Among the many ‘new faces’ today, there was Kiran Prakash showing up after conducting a rigorous ten-day refresher course for managers in the outskirts of Mumbai. He was away for a fortnight or so, but it seemed like we were meeting him after ages.

Yusuf Rassiwala announces meeting on Saturday

The running joke was whether he still recognised us. And so he played along pretending not to recognise even Shekhawat when presented with a white flower as a welcome gesture.
Zarina Khan was also there after disappearing for a week. Her son is back from the U.S. after 16 years and clearly, she needed to spend quality time with him. She came today to distribute Snickers he had sent through her and more importantly, to meet members of a group setting out on a trip to the Andamans early next month.
With Bhaswati Bose and Nahid Khan as the other members of the group (the rest are all outsiders), the six-day tour covers Port Blair (Cellular Jail, Carbyn’s Cove, etc.), Havelock Island and Neil Island and includes the usual museum visits, cruises and ferry rides, light and sound show, snorkeling, etc.
Meanwhile, Yusuf Rassiwalla announced a general body meeting being convened this Saturday, November 30. He requested all members to be presentat the China Hut after the exercises.

Bihari Milwani:
Attendance was good because everyone was expecting there to be many treats today also, like on Saturday.

DAY 2962

Pic of the Week

NEW MODE OF TRANSPORT TO THE GARDEN

"Chal Basanti, jaldi chal, nahin toh Shekhawat Baba safed fool se swagat karega!" --Bihari Milwani

Pleasant Surprises

Fahmida comes decked up to celebrate her marriage anniversary

A joyous week-end with a couple of pleasant surprises.
First, we did not know it was Fahmida Khan’s wedding anniversary today. Soon after the exercises, we were preparing to leave for the morning show of Bala (see yesterday’s post) at a nearby cineplex when Bhaswati Bose received a phone call. “Wait, nobody should go,” she shouted.

Qadir Bano (c) comes with box of sweets

“Fahmida is coming. She is on her way.”
Before long Fahmida appeared, resplendent in an ornate red-and-gold outfit and broke the good news. “This is my 46th wedding anniversary,” she said with pride while handing out luddoos, biscuits and tetrapaks of a fruity drink. It made for a good breakfast snack for the movie goers. Pity, Fahmida’s

Litchi drink from Banoo Apa

husband was not present by her side this time.
The second big surprise of the morning was Qadir Bano materialising out of nowhere. The last we saw her was when she celebrated her son, Aarif’s exploits in a cricket tournament (ref post of December 15, 2018). All this while we were told that she was away, attending to some

At the cineplex for the morning show of Bala

“urgent work” in her ancestral home near Jaipur.
Today, Qadir revealed that she had actually been travelling all along and also spent nearly a month in Dubai. She came with a box of Rajasthani sweets to mark her return to the Club today.
If that were not enough, Banoo Apa topped up the celebrations with a glass full of litchi juice – her one-for-the-road treat to the movie goers. But the biggest joke of the day had to belong to Bijoy Gupta. He pulled up Shekhawat for wearing “Raj Kapoor-style trousers” dating back by 40 years for the movie outing today. It was another matter that those were a new pair of trousers Shekhawat was wearing for the occasion, but had forgotten to alter the length. So he casually rolled up the hems above his ankles hoping nobody would notice.
The biggest surprise of the morning though, was (guess what?) Santosh Tyagi turning up for the movie. This was the first entertainment break she allowed herself since the demise of her son in September – all after some serious persuasion from well-wishers in the Club.

Bihari Milwani:
Wow! We must celebrate 23rd as 'Big Laaf Party Day' as we have 5 birthdays and one marriage anniversary on 23rd!!!

Film Outing

Planning for the movie outing tomorrow

Yusuf Rassiwala (far end) distributes nankhatai from Surat

The movie bug woke up today, after a long time. Not since the John Abraham-starrer, Batla House (ref post of August 27) has the Club found a single movie worth watching. That apart, the prolonged monsoon this year had also dampened our spirits. Now, after nearly three months, a new release, Bala has recharged the enthusiasm of our ardent cine-lovers.
Tomorrow, immediately after the exercises, a group comprising Shekhawat, Bhaswati Bose, Banoo Apa, Bijoy Gupta, Sayeeda Sayed, Nahid Khan and a few others would troop out of the Garden to be in time for the morning show of the film at Fun Republic.
With Ayushmann Khurana cast in the title role of a prematurely balding young man, this so-called ‘social problem comedy film’ is about coping with low self-esteem and dealing with societal pressures in adverse situations. More specifically, it has the hero, caught between two female characters (Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar) managing to redeem himself with dignity intact.
Bala is not really a new release. It has been running to full houses for more than two weeks, garnering rave reviews and critical acclaim. For some strange reason, Shekhawat has been very keen to go for this movie from the very beginning, just that he was not finding the right company. Today, Bhaswati could mobilise a few ladies and with Gupta also joining in, the practice of a monthly ‘movie outing’ in the Club is being sought to be revived.
On a still happier note, Yusuf Rassiwala marked his return to the Garden this morning with a load of nankhatai from Surat. He had been there for a week to attend two weddings, back to back. As some of his female admirers pointed out, he appeared “glowing” with renewed energy, which he attributed to the salubrious climate of Surat.

Another Casualty

Shekhawat cuts a forlorn figure,
watching us from a distance

It was Shekhawat’s turn today to fall ill. In an uncanny replay of yesterday’s incident, he buckled in pain midway through the exercises and spent the rest of the morning on a bench, grimacing at intervals. He could barely stand up. Unlike Bijoy Gupta, he needed to be dropped home by autorickshaw.
It is well known that Shekhawat has been nursing a peculiar problem of unhealed sutures on his chest, post

Urmila Sinha (l)  treated us to a variety of sweets

his bypass surgery five years back. It remains unattended, partly because the sore is fairly deep-seated and involves another complicated surgery. At age 79, Shekhawat feels inhibited going through the ordeal and prefers to rely mainly on prescription painkillers.
Surprisingly, through periodic check-ups, doctors did not dissuade him from adopting this line, but warned him about shooting pain off and on, should he over-exert himself. He is supposed to ensure that the skin in the affected area is not stretched and more specifically, never to extend his arms out wide.
But being the excitable person that Shekhawat is, he gets easily carried away in our company, throwing all caution to the winds during the exercises. Today also, he kept jumping around like a playful child and even kept up the ritual of presenting late comers with rotting white flowers (ref post of November 19)… till tragedy struck.
Gupta kept telling him to be restrain himself, but Shekhawat did not listen. In the end, he had to pay the price.

Old Age Blues

Bijoy Gupta is in distress

Bijoy Gupta raised a scare minutes after the exercises got off this morning. Hands on his waist and panting, he complained of excruciating pain in the stomach region and that he could not even stand. He was sweating profusely. We offered to summon medical help or drop him home, whatever he chose. He declined, saying that he would rather sit through the exercises on a bench.
Turned out that he was experiencing muscular spasms owing to extreme dehydration. He had come to the Garden early at 6:30 a.m. (half an hour before we start) and as has been his practice, indulged in some vigorous exercises. Adding to his misery was the humidity in the air and he had already exhausted his bottle of drinking water. He cannot take refrigerated water (on medical advice) from the water cooler in the Garden. He needed tea, he said.
Oddly enough, Shekhawat dismissed the plight of his friend saying that it was all a sign of old age. According to him, there no need for a vigorous workout early morning

Siba Prasad Maitra assures us that all is well

as our exercises were adequate enough for him. “Listen to your body,” he advised Gupta. “It is time for you to slow down.” Gupta was in no state to reply.
Minutes earlier, Naveen Bhai, a loudmouth in the Garden was heard talking about the physical constraints of old age while passing by on the walking track. “Budhapa bekar hai,” the 78-year-old concluded prompting a burst of laughter in our group with Nahid Khan repeating those words.
To his credit though, Naveen-bhai looks and behaves in a manner belying his age. He colours his hair, talks like a teenager, is always cheerful and walks around without support after a major hip surgery recently. In short, a jolly good fellow and an inspiration to many.
On a positive note, Siba Prasad Maitra gave us a pleasant surprise, as he turned up looking hale and hearty for the exercises. Barely 24 hours earlier, he underwent a serious medical procedure (ref post of November 18) for which he was hospitalised. He assured us that all had gone off well and there’s now nothing to worry.

Karun Sharma:
Oh, I met Maitra-ji on my way out but forgot to inquire about his health. Get well soon. Or are you already well?

Gandhi-giri

Shekhawat presents Naheed Siddiqui a white flower on her arrival

Fed up of pulling up late-comers every morning, Shekhawat has devised a novel method for enforcing discipline in the Club. He solicitously presents a white flower to every late-comer in what Naheed Siddiqui was to describe today as a “unique demonstration of Gandhi-giri”.
There are plenty of white flowers lying scattered on the ground where we exercise, just that the later you come, the more damaged and discoloured the flower you would get. No flower is plucked from the tree.
Surprisingly, the method seems to be working. For, many of the recipients of white flowers yesterday, including Bijoy Gupta, Banoo Apa, Zarina Khan and Bhaswati Bose, reported for the exercises relatively early today.
Naheed Siddiqui was an exception. “But I cannot wake up so early in the morning,” she pleaded. “I usually go to bed around midnight and do not use an alarm to get up. As it is, I toss and turn all night. I prefer to have my full sleep and would wake up in the natural course.”
Instantly, Shekhawat put the fear of the devil in her by offering to be at her doorstep every morning. “I am up and moving by 4:30 a.m.,” he explained.

Lakshmi Hadimani (ext left) informs change of mind for her party

“Going to your house at 5:30 – 6:00 to wake you up is no problem for me. Tell me when should I come?”
Panic stricken, Naheed requested Shekhawat not to take the trouble of visiting her and that from tomorrow, she would try her best to be punctual. “Please don’t try to phone me either,” she implored. “I shall wake up on my own and be here in time!”
In an unrelated development, Lakshmi Hadimani dropped by to inform that there has been a change of plans for her 50th birthday bash on December 1 (ref previous post). She told Shekhawat not to make any phone call to members as she would herself be deciding on the guest list. “It is a private party from my side,” she explained. “Big Laaf club has nothing to do with it.”
Clearly, Lakshmi would like to be selective in inviting people for the occasion and in all likelihood, be including her relatives and friends from outside the Club. However, she is yet to decide upon the time and place of the party.

Bihari Milwani:
How does Mr Shekhawat plan to reward those who come in time?

Touching Base

Siba Prasad Maitra (ext rt) informs about his hospitalisation tomorrow 

Zarina Khan and Nahid Khan kept their word on turning up today after disappearing for a few days. Nahid had gone to Goa on vacation last week and produced a packet of salted cashew nuts to show for it.
Zarina came with two packets – one of dates and the other, of chocolate wafers. The dates were from Doha (Qatar) where she had gone to spend time with her son and his family. The choco-wafers, she said, was to celebrate her return to the Club after a month.
In addition, Urmila Sinha brought some home-made salties, but could not stay around long enough to distribute them. She left half way through the exercises owing to a medical emergency arising at home. Bhaswati Bose distributed the salties on her behalf.
Siba Prasad Maitra was also there for the exercises, from start to finish. He reported a medical issue that would require urgent colonoscopy (to detect abnormalities in the large intestine) for which he will have to be hospitalised tomorrow.

Zarina distributes dates and choco wafers

Nahid Khan distributes salted cashew

Meanwhile, Lakshmi Hadimani made an appearance to formally invite us to her 50th birthday bash on December 1, a Sunday (ref post of November 12).
She clarified that she would like to limit it "members of Big Laaf only" and that "outsiders were not invited". She could not however, confirm the timing or venue of the party. Apparently, her son is making all arrangements and she will inform us once everything is finalised. There is still time, she explained.
For the moment though, she wants the Club to give her the ‘guest list’ of members she ought to be inviting to her party. Shekhawat has offered to oblige.

Bihari Milwani:
It will not be a good practice to accept the invitation of non-members.

DAY 2955

Pic of the Week

Can you give a suitable caption for this combo pic?

Aa gale lag jaa... Sorry sorry, Wrong number! --Bihari Milwani

'Happy' or 'Sorry', we are always together. --Karun Sharma

Winter is Here

Barely a week back we faced torrential rains, thunder and lightning as monsoon delivered its parting shot for the year. Now winter is upon us. Even as the morning chill is yet to set in, there is an unmistakable nip in the air.

Dull haze hangs over the Garden while we exercise

Many are nursing sore throats and runny noses and can be seen sporting mufflers and shawls. (Shekhawat said he is already wearing woollen inners.) Our day begins in partial darkness and the dull haze over the Garden lifts only towards the end of the exercises when the sun comes out. It is mid-November after all.
The continued absence of our key ‘teachers’ (ref post of November 14) is throwing up new surprises every morning. Day-before yesterday, Karun Sharma took charge of the exercises. Yesterday, Shekhawat stuck his neck out. Today, Bhaswati Bose was to play ring master, but we ended up having multiple ‘teachers’ with Shekhawat and even Rukhsana Khan joining in, thus raising an unusual cacophony during the exercises.
While Yusuf Rassiwala and Nahid Khan had informed that they would be out of town, Razia Khan’s no-show has been a bit of a mystery. She was supposed to take care of the exercises in the absence of the other two. Today we were told that she has badly sprained her foot after a terrible fall at home. She is unable to walk. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope to see her soon.

One Upmanship

Shekhawat (ext left) conducts today's exercises 

After Karun Sharma yesterday, Shekhawat conducted the exercises today. Clearly, whatever anybody could do, Shekhawat can do better. Or so was he made to think by none other than his best frenemy Bijoy Gupta. (Else, Shekhawat would have been the last person on earth to step into the middle.) Karun was present all through, silently watching the fun.
At every stage, Gupta kept flattering Shekhawat saying that only he was capable of conducting exercises the way a chairman should. “Today you have proved to be the real boss of Big Laaf,” he said. “Otherwise, everybody would have still taken you to be a fake chairman. Keep it up!”
Shekhawat was so taken in by those encouraging words that he accelerated the exercises to a point we were all running out of breath. At first Rukhsana Khan complained and then Bhaswati Bose and Banoo Apa. Somehow, Shekhawat seemed to enjoy rushing at breakneck speed.

Karun Sharma (ext left) treats us to jumbo dryfruit luddoos

After all, he had a point to prove: He was the chairman!
There was another reason for Shekhawat to hurry through the exercises. Were he not stuck to the middle, he would have been at liberty to play the fool as he usually does. He could have pranced about at will, indulged in some crazy antics, joked around, or simply broken away from the exercises to chat up someone on the bench.
Today, he could do none of these. Even when he saw Gupta walking away (without permission) to talk to a lady on the walking track, Shekhawat had to remain a mute spectator. The moment Gupta returned to the circle, Shekhawat stepped on the gas again and declared with a vengeance that we were all on his “Jaipur Superfast Express”.
In the end, we were rewarded with the most extraordinary luddoo any of us has ever had. Karun Sharma was at Lucknow recently for a reunion of his college alumni and on the way back, he thoughtfully picked a box of this divine delicacy for us. It takes time to eat as it is studded with almonds, pista, dates, walnuts and the world’s dry fruits – sweetened not by sugar, but raisins and dates. A single luddoo is a meal by itself. And we got two – one for the road, obviously.

'Student of the Year'

Urmila Sinha (l) is felicitated by a white plumeria  

Urmila Sinha was today adjudged Student of the Year, 2018-19. Shekhawat, in his capacity as a chairman of Big Laaf, presented her with a stalk of white plumeria amid a round of applause from all present.
The impromptu ceremony was accompanied by some fresh pedas Fahmida Khan had brought on the occasion.
Coinciding with the Children’s Day celebrations nation-wide, today’s felicitation was in recognition of Urmila’s record of exceptional dedication and commitment to our daily regimen from the time she joined the Club. She is a relative newbie and as is well known, has been not only regular but unfailingly punctual, come rain or sunshine.

Karun Sharma conducts the exercises today

We do not need to check the time when she shows up every morning and only thereafter, do our exercises begin.
In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, we had a new ‘teacher’ to conduct the proceedings this morning.

Fahmida Khan (r) celebrates with peda

Karun Sharma has of course, assumed charge of the exercises a couple of times in the past. But that was long, long ago. Today’s session was not only a refreshing departure from the routine, but more importantly, a measure to train new ‘teachers’ for the future.
Such training has increasingly become a matter of concern for the Club. For far too long, have we been relying on the two Khans, Nahid and Razia for conducting our free-hand exercises and in an emergency, Yusuf Rassiwala has also stepped into the middle. But today, by a rare coincidence, none of them were around.
True, there are old timers like Shekhawat who are quite knowledgeable as they have been doing the same exercises since the inception of the Club. But knowledge alone does not make a good ‘teacher’. You need a lot more to take a group along. In that respect, Karun Sharma redeemed himself appreciably.

Karun Sharma:
It was good to reconnect after a very happy six days spent with my engineering batchmates of IIT, BHU at Lucknow. Big Laaf is truly my 'home town family'.

Ladies Winners

When we were evenly poised...

Nahid Khan has left for Goa and will turn up on November 18. Yusuf Rassiwala is leaving for Bhopal tomorrow and will be back only on November 20. He did not however, come to the Garden today.
There is also Kiran Prakash, recovering from a nasty viral attack, but is committed to a ‘training assignment’ which will end on November 23. We should hopefully be seeing him on November 25.
And then, there are some faces we have got used to seeing every morning – Karun Sharma, Fahmida Khan, Bhaswati Bose, Naseem Khan, etc.

The 'elusive' Bihari Milwani

Significantly, none of them were to be seen today.
Normally such occasional dropouts do not

Shekhawat anxiously peers at the gate

affect us as the exercises are conducted every day, on schedule, without fail. But to Shekhawat, this matters a lot. He has a funny habit of keeping check on whether the men outnumber the women, or vice-versa, and then declaring whose jhanda is higher.
Today, for the best part of the exercises, we were evenly divided. There were as many men as there were women. And then word went out on whether it would remain the same till the end, or if the arrival of a woman would upset the balance.
Shekhawat insisted that the men’s jhanda would eventually fly higher. Razia Khan challenged

Razia Khan greets Naheed Siddiqui. Shekhawat walks away, dejected.

him saying that a woman would show up and if she were to be proved wrong, she would treat the Club to chai. Shekhawat accepted the bet. And should we remain equally balanced, there would be no winner or loser.
Immediately the Club got divided on gender lines. As the minutes ticked, suspense mounted and everybody started stealing glances at the gate. The exercises turned into a nail-biting thriller. Clearly, Shekhawat (as indeed the men) were counting on Bihari Milwani. He even started crowing towards the gate, “Milwani aaja – aaja”!
The ladies were on stronger ground. They were betting on two probables – Naseem Khan and Naheed Siddiqui. But then, Shekhawat could not discount Manoj Motwani, another known late comer. Just when we thought we were inching towards a draw, in walked Naheed Siddiqui, an apparition in white.
The Garden exploded. Razia rushed to shake Naheed’s hands. Shekhawat walked away, dejected. He had lost the bet.

Big Buzz

Animated discussions on the political future of Maharashtra

Siba Prasad Maitra shares some chikkis he picked up from Pune

The political stalemate in Maharashtra captured the imagination of the Club this morning. Without getting into specifics, several incredible permutations and combinations of power sharing between the parties concerned were discussed, ultimately leading to one inevitable conclusion: the imposition of President’s rule in the state.
But the bigger buzz of the morning had to do with food. Lakshmi Hadimani confirmed over the phone that Sunday, December 1 will be the day when she would like to celebrate her 50th birthday (ref post of November 9). She did not however, show up at the Garden today. Apparently, she was busy packing for a trip to Goa this evening.
Talk on Lakshmi’s momentous birthday treat has been brewing for some time, ever since she declared that she would like to throw a “grand party for the Club in a hotel” and that “money is of no matter” to her. Yesterday she revealed that it would also be an occasion to introduce her newly-married son and daughter-in-law to us.
However, she would not be able to celebrate on December 10, i.e. her birth day because the family would be out of town from December 7 for a week. “Moreover, I do not want to do anything on a weekday because my son and his wife have office to attend,” she said. “I need to have the celebration on a holiday, like Sunday. So after talking to my son, I felt that December 1 would be the best date for the party.”
She also spoke of choice of cuisine and if we had any special preferences on food, the venue, etc. She said that for those who like to drink, there would be hard liquour also and that her son would take care of the corkage. Her close friend, Nahid Khan however, put her foot down and tried to dissuade Lakshmi on serving alcohol at the party.
Our general stand though, was that since it was her birthday and she being the hostess, it had to be entirely her call on what was to be served. We had no demand nor expectations, one way or the other. “But I would insist on opening a bottle of champagne!” Lakshmi retorted with a twinkle in her eyes.

Lost Opportunity?

Happy Birthday, URMILA SINHA! Banoo Apa presents her the club calendar

Disappointment writ large on everyone’s face this morning. Neither did it rain yesterday nor was there any violence on the streets. Had either of these occurred, our decision to call off the beach party last evening (ref post of November 9)

Cutting the birthday cake

would stand vindicated.
The overall feeling among members was that of an opportunity lost for ever. “We could easily have gone to Juhu Beach yesterday,” rued Nahid Khan repeatedly, echoing the general sentiment around. “Who knows when we would get the chance next.”
Bijoy Gupta informed that our new member, Saeeda Sayed landed at Juhu Beach late last evening not knowing that the party had been cancelled. It had become dark

Preparing the plates

by then and she was alone. Not finding any of us there, she started making frantic calls wanting to know our whereabouts.
“It was Shekhawat’s duty to inform her (of the cancelled party),” Gupta continued. “The arrangement was that he’d give Saeeda a lift by autorickshaw. How could he leave a young lady in the lurch?

Flipping through the birthday calendar

She has complained to her mamu now and he'd come here any moment with three-four goondas to beat Shekhawat up.”
Shekhawat chuckled, admitting that he had indeed offered to give Saeeda a lift. “But she was supposed to call me at 4:30pm to confirm the arrangements. She did not phone. So how am I responsible if she wanted to take a stroll at Juhu Beach by herself?”
“She trusted you and you have let her down,” Gupta persisted. “Now you better call her and apologise, or else her mamu won’t spare you. There is still time. When I entered the garden, I saw four fierce looking men at the gate asking for Shekhawat…”
Meanwhile, Urmila Sinha celebrated her birthday with a lavish spread of samosas, suji halwa, tea and biscuits. Earlier on, we sang the birthday song for her and raised the fourth customary laugh while she cut the birthday cake.
Banoo Apa, who presided over the ceremony, presented Urmila with the birthday calendar on behalf of the Club.

Geeta Latte:
Bahut bahut janmdin ki badhai ho aapko! Aap har saal aise hi aapka janmdin manate rahe apne Big laaf family ke sath💐🎂💐💪💪🤗💃😍

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Juhu party is still outstanding (or standing out). Long live Shekhawat! He will again convince you all for the picnic. Be ready. Happy birthday to Urmila Sinha. May she live long and be in good health.

Karun Sharma:
Happy Birthday, Urmila-ji. May God give you good health and simplicity.