Final Call

Santosh Tyagi is nowadays coming regularly after her knee operation. But she needs to keep both legs raised while exercising. 

After the Holi festivities, our trip to Gir Forest next week (ref post of February 6) has come under a cloud because of the corona virus scare. Two members of the group have suddenly opted out.

Meeting to decide on whether to proceed with the Gir forest trip   

A meeting was therefore called in the China Hut to check if other members held similar misgivings and also to take a final call on whether at all, to proceed with the trip.
This came in the backdrop of reports about travel plans getting randomly cancelled all around owing to last-minute drop outs and tour operators not taking chances in view of the risks involved.
What seemed to weigh heavily on our group though, was the damages to be incurred individually if the trip were to be called off. As Banoo Apa put it bluntly: “Since all of us have paid an advance (for accommodation and transport), we need

Naseem Khan brought us gajak today

to know how much of it will be refunded or whether we will have to forfeit everything.”
However, many

Bihari Milwani gifted Santosh a belated birthday memento

like Nahid Khan, Yusuf Rassiwala and Zarina Khan were determined to go on the trip, come what may. “Who knows if we will get another chance to go?” Naheed Siddiqui opined. “Since we have decided to go, we mustn’t back out now. The world has not come to a standstill because of corona virus. So why panic? We will take all precautions and proceed.”
Bhaswati Bose, who is coordinating the trip, informed that the special package deal available to us is valid only till March 31. “To postpone the trip to a later date will not only work out more costly but chances are, we’ll be caught in peak summer heat,” she explained. “Still, I’d check how much we stand to lose if, in a worst case scenario, the trip has to be postponed or cancelled.”
As of now, the trip is on.