Day 1405

Pic of the Week

ONCE A SOLDIER, ALWAYS A SOLDIER...

Celebrations

Monthi Serrao presents the winner's trophy

Harbans Kaur presents Papneja's trophy

The 13th isn’t unlucky at all. Celebrations were in order today as it was Harish Wadhwa’s birthday. And congratulations were in store for Hari Singh Shekhawat who, as winner of the latest edition of the Pehchaan Kaun contest, was awarded a glittering crystal trophy at a brief but charming ceremony outside the China Hut this morning.
The results of Pehchaan Kaun-10 were declared last Saturday (ref post of September 6) when, from a field of 11 all-correct entries, six were short-listed for the final round. A spot question was thrown at them by Jagmohan Papneja, who, till then, was hiding behind a black-and-white photograph of a 14-year-old school boy. Two got it almost correct – Shekhawat and Yusuf Rassiwala.

Happy Birthday, Harish Wadhwa!

Finally, a toss of the coin determined the winner.
The highlight of today’s presentation ceremony was a quaint little drama enacted by Shekhawat. When his name was called out, he responded by taking two brisk steps backward and stood, arms by his side, ramrod straight. Then he marched towards Monthi Serrao swinging his arms, stopped, clicked his heels and lifted his right hand in a smart naval salute. Horrified, Monthi held on to the trophy for dear life, but soon regained her composure and wonder of wonders, executed an equally smart (but NCC) salute. She presented Shekhawat his trophy, shook hands and the ceremony was over amid a round of applause.
The presentation to Papneja (for all his support and cooperation) was more civil with Harbans Kaur doing the honors. She greeted him warmly, exchanged pleasantries and before we realized it, they were through. The short and sweet ceremony was concluded by a round of soft, sublime pedas, courtesy Harish Wadhwa. It was his birthday treat.
Many happy returns of the day, Harish!
Jagmohan Papneja:
* Pehchaan Kaun is an interesting contest. It makes the members of Big Laaf very curious and stay engrossed for a number of days to find out the correct answer. Thereafter, the winner is declared. I convey my compliments to Shekhawat-ji for winning the Pehchaan Kaun-10 contest.
* On the occasion of Harish-ji's birthday, I hope today is the beginning of a great year for him. Many, many happy returns of the day, Harish-ji.
Harish Wadhwa:
Thank you, all my dear members for your good wishes.

On a Roll

Santosh Tyagi holds her daily 'jokes' durbar

The Club is finally on a roll. Over the past couple of days, there has not been a dull moment. The sun is out and people are looking bright and chirpy. Attendance is creeping up and many who were homebound during the rains have begun to stir out. If Shekhawat is determined to make full use of his self-awarded “licence” to fool around, the ladies are one step up, cackling and chuckling like there’s no tomorrow.
Arora had to pick up a stone today and threaten Shekhawat with it so as to curb his playfulness, but when it came to his own turn in the circle, he found an engaging partner in Jagmohan Papneja to chat while the exercises were on. And if all this fun and revelry were not enough, Santosh Tyagi was there with her ready stock of jokes to keep everyone reeling, long after the exercises were over.

Srichand Arora

We can never have enough of her hilarious tit-bits!
Ultimately, we have realized that anything funny is a matter of perception. Because there is one man among us who wears a perpetual sullen look and never finds anything funny unless it comes from women. Everybody knows this man, but out of respect for his age, we have left him alone. The ladies were the first to notice his tendency to sidle up to them and overhear their conversation, only to laugh out loud like a hyena at inappropriate moments. Since then, they have been on their guard.
Today, he was to pass a highly objectionable remark while the ladies were enjoying a joke with Shekhawat. While many took exception, others laughed it off as an expression of jealousy. The running joke now among the men is that this could soon develop into a full-blown turf war. And that would be real fun!
Meanwhile, Arora has taken it upon himself to storm the Registrar’s office in Worli and get the club registration done. It has been a long wait, for almost two years and clearly, he is running out of patience. So whether anybody joins him or not, Arora will be there next Wednesday and not leave the place without a firm commitment from the Registrar. That also will be fun!

Spot Jokes

Harvinder Jauhar

Mumtaz Jahan

Harvinder Jauhar has an incredible sense of humour. An ex-army man with a deceptively casual demeanor, he does not belong to Mumbai, but comes here often to visit his children. And every time he does so, he keeps his appointment at the Garden to exercise daily without fail. In course of time, he has become as close to us as any other member.
Today we got a glimpse of his funny streak when Arora accosted Shekhawat during the Hai Mera Dil number. Arms outstretched, he asked where his dil was and Shekhawat, taken by surprise, looked around wondering what to say. Straightaway Jauhar intervened and declared he was not responsible for Shekhawat losing his heart. “Nahin, maine nahin liya!” he clarified.
This was actually to set the tone of the many jokes and counter-jokes exchanged this morning. But the best one was when Monthi Serrao inquired, in all seriousness if anyone had heard from Mumtaz Jahan. We all know she is currently in Srinagar (her hometown) and with the Kashmir valley ravaged by one of the most devastating floods in human history, Monthi had good reasons to be concerned about Mumtaz’s safety.

Everyone wants to know about Shekhawat's mysterious saalis 

We also know that Shekhawat has been in touch with Mumtaz on telephone and only yesterday, he informed that she is safe as her house happens to be located at an elevation where the flood waters haven’t reached.
Now, instead of repeating this information to Monthi, Shekhawat waxed eloquent on his sister-in-laws. “Kaun saali”, Monthi pressed, utterly confused.
“Not one, but four saalis,” Shekhawat boasted. “I have four saalis in the Garden and I am in regular touch with all of them.”
“Who are the four?” everyone urged in chorus.
Shekhawat was enjoying this. Nahid replied on his behalf: “One is Mumtaz, another is…”
Monthi could not hold herself: “Mumtaz is your saali? Is Mumtaz your saali?”
Now Shekhawat clamped up, allowing the suspense to grow. “Tell us the names of the other saalis.” “Is Mumtaz your saali, Shekhawat-ji?” “Who are the other saalis?” “No.”
Monthi became wise. “Oh artificial, you are talking only artificial saali!” she concluded.

Lull Sets In

End of another day's exercises

As the weather continues to play foul, a lull seems to have descended on the Garden. It is not as though attendance has suffered during the exercises, but nobody’s presence can be taken for granted any longer. Almost everyone has a story to tell about getting dressed early morning and ready to leave home, only to find the skies suddenly opening up. And if there’s no rain, it is plain good luck.
In this climate of uncertainty, the only buzz that can be heard is of Shekhawat planning his Darjeeling trip for next April. Today he buttonholed Bijoy Gupta who claims to have spent many years on a job posting in those parts.

Bijoy Gupta briefs Shekhawat

He says he still has many friends and family members settled there and they would be happy to help and facilitate the excursion. “You have just to ask whatever you want and they will make all necessary arrangements,” he assured Shekhawat.

Muthu 'Unglimaster 'Swamy

“You have nothing to worry at all.”
Shekhawat sought Gupta’s advice on several aspects of the trip – the tourist attractions, places that can be avoided, whether it would make sense going up and down by rail or perhaps, return by air, the best route to be taken – whether to switch trains at Howrah or if there’s a better alternative… and so on. Since he has enough time (more than six months) on hand, Shekhawat wants to explore all his options before firming up on a travel plan that is both economically and physically comfortable to all.
In between, his friend Muthu ‘Unglimaster’ Swamy made an appearance at the Gate and as usual, narrated his ordeal on battling diabetes and how it eventually cost him his big toe last March. Predictably, he broke down at this point and Dilip Babani did his best to console and cheer him up, before Arun Patil took over to narrate his own tale of woe (ref post of September 8). Finding another person sailing in the same boat was obviously more comforting and Muthu trotted merrily into the Garden, ready to jab the first unsuspecting man with his famous forefinger.
Jagmohan Papneja:
It is heartening to note that Shekhawat-ji is going ahead with his ambitious plan on Darjeeling and Gangtok. He is getting help from so many sources for the excursion. Today he was inquiring from Mr Bijoy so as to design a great itinerary. My suggestion is that he should also make an inquiry from Thomas Cook, Kesari Travels, Eezigo etc. so that problems faced in the past can be eliminated. After all, tour operators have their own set up to handle such tours professionally and efficiently.