Champion ‘Chair’ Man

Yusuf R is the only man among five women and four chairs

Yusuf Rassiwala must be having a karmic connection with musical chair competitions. How else does one explain his winning every single musical chair event he has participated in from the Club so far? The last one was on August 22, 2015 at the Royal Hills’ Resort (see post). Today's victory was no different.
It so happened that we ended up with more chairs in the lawn than we needed and after the exercises, on a whim everyone decided to put them to use by having a round of musical chairs.
There was recorded music from Arun Patil’s speaker box and there were more than a dozen women and men eager to take part – if only for a lark.
Yusuf R was however, a reluctant participant. He stood around with the self-assured grin of a winner – almost as though he already knew the result of the competition before it started. Still, at the insistence of Banoo Apa, Nahid Khan and others, he joined sportingly

Rehearsal in progress: Saathi haath badhana

and as the men eliminated themselves one by one and the women stumbled and squabbled among themselves, he coasted comfortably to victory.
In the final round, he was pitted against Qadir Bano Khan. He didn't even try to occupy the last chair as the latter had already conceded defeat and walked out. A jealous Mallika Kagzi rewarded Yusuf R with the epithet -- ‘Chair’ Man.
The chairs were later put to better use in the rehearsal for the Annual Day function with all our singers, actors and dancers turning up in full strength. This is a good opportunity for bonding among members and performing together as a team.
However, as chief organizer, Kiran Prakash has a tough task on his hands. All his ‘artistes’ need to be put through a rigorous grind if they are to come up with a face-saving performance on January 16. They are sorely short of practice, but high in confidence and enthusiasm. And that, as anybody with any experience on stage knows, is the surest short-cut to disaster.
Kiran Prakash:
Please allow me to correct you. I am NOT the chief organiser. The programme is jointly organised by all the members, except a few. I am simply a facilitator. Tomorrow morning I will surely communicate your concern to the artistes.

Night Bird

Sunita Jajodia

Long back, ex-member Sunita Jajodia had unwittingly made a very profound statement. She voiced what many of us feel, but would rarely admit in public: “As we grow old, we turn into gadhey (donkeys) by day and ullus (owls) by night.”
Today Shekhawat lived up to the latter part of the statement in deed. At 5:45 a.m. (while it was still pitch dark) he was making frantic calls from the Garden inquiring why nobody had turned up. “It is going to be seven, why isn’t anybody here?” he demanded.
Kiran Prakash was convinced that Shekhawat had “started walking in his sleep”. Ved Prakash Grover inferred that Shekhawat must have taken a "Patiala peg last night" and had lost track of time. Another member, rudely woken from his sleep,

Shekhawat boasts of his own folly

sat bolt upright, wondering if this was a joke or an emergency: “But it isn’t even six…”
“Not even six!” Shekhawat exclaimed. “What do you mean?”
In moments his voice crackled again: “Oh my God, I had no idea of the time. What shall I do now? I’ve been in the Garden for the past half-hour wondering why

Teja Singh Bhambra

I don’t see anybody. Except for two strangers walking about, there is not a soul in the Garden. What should I do for another one hour?”
Later in the morning, Shekhawat was to narrate this incident to friends and laugh at his own folly. He boasted of being the first to land in the Garden, to have completed his (yogic) breathing exercises undisturbed and still feel fresh and energetic.
What he did not mention was that at age 75, sleep eludes him and for the best part of the night, he stays wide awake, staring into darkness – like an owl. In fact, this is true of most of us in the Club.
On a different note, here’s a spot of good news from Faridabad. Our favorite sardar, Teja Singh Bhambra just called in to inform that he would be landing in Mumbai the day-after-tomorrow. “I will report to the Garden on January 7,” he informed, sounding upbeat. “Hope to be seeing you all!”
We look forward eagerly to welcoming him back.
Bihari Milwani:
Shekhawat's action may be called "youth at old age". In old age, things are forgotten. But in the case of Shekhawat, he remembers a little more than others and that too little early in the morning. Or maybe, he wanted to capitalise on the darkness and practice some romantic moves for the 16th January function.

Day 1861

Pic of the Week

SO THAT'S HOW YOU PRACTICE YOUR CAT WALK?

Wrong practice. A cat walks on four legs! --Bihari Milwani

No practice for Dog Walk? --Anonymous

Celebrations Continue

IT'S PARTY TIME!

Another stretched week-end kept the festive spirit alive. Celebrations continued at Big Laaf as Qadir Bano Khan today threw a big birthday treat with scrumptious oven-fresh dhoklas, samosa, jalebis, kachori and butter-cake sandwiches, neatly packaged, though (regretfully) not-to-be-consumed in the Garden.

Qadir's bahu serves tea

There was music, there was dance and most significantly, there was hot-hot tea to go along – served by Qadir’s charming daughter-in-law and the gregarious Mallika Kagzi.
Qadir’s birthday was actually yesterday. She deliberately pushed the celebration by a day because of two reasons: one, it coincided with Sheela Mirani’s birthday and two, the New Year festivities could also detract from her special treat. She wanted to reserve the Saturday exclusively to herself and make an event of it.

Qadir opens the big blue bag of goodies

Zarina Khan presents Qadir's  calendar

From all appearances, she has been more than successful as this was one birthday bash that will remain with us for a long time.
What added that extra zing to today’s celebration was the Annual Day function (just two weeks away) with rehearsals in full swing and many members already tuned to breaking into a song and dance at the slightest provocation. The moment Arun Patil put a dance number on his ‘music box’, there was no stopping them. This was just the trigger they were waiting for. Even Siba Prasad Maitra could not hold himself from shaking a leg and jiving the morning away with the ladies.
Moments like these make a birthday celebration memorable. We hope Qadir Bano enjoyed the merrymaking as much as we did. We thank her also for the generous treat and once again, wish her many happy returns of the day.
Bhaswati Bose:
Where is Mr Maitra shaking a leg? We request him to repeat the performance on Monday morning.

Summery New Year

THE FIRST EXERCISES OF 2016

After a brief wintry spell last week, it is turning out to be hot and humid again in Mumbai. We have not had to sweat it out yet, but the stillness in the air and with the morning temperature hitting double digit, many were complaining of breathing problems during the exercises.

New Year greeting... Mallika and Monthi

The day temperature is likely to cross 35 degrees Celsius, according to newspapers.
The freakish weather notwithstanding, we had a full house this morning – more so, because of the Club’s annual tea-‘n’-biscuits party meant to usher in the New Year.

Ajit Chaudhury relates his ordeal

Prabha Kapoor supplemented it with toffees while Swati Punjabi added a meaningful twist to the celebration by distributing ball-point pens to all. She is on a mission to make us all literate by the end of 2016.

Swati Punjabi gives away ballpens

Jokes apart, Ajit Chaudhury made a surprise visit to explain the reasons for his absence during the past month or so. Indeed, we had been missing him and his wonderful family (of son Akshat, wife and parents) who had become an integral part of Big Laaf. Little did we know that a series of medical mishaps had overtaken the family, one after another. “It was a harrowing time for all of us,” he narrated. “I was caught between the pathological lab, my job in the bank, doctors’ appointments…” And if these were not enough, he had to contend with a major burglary at his ancestral home in Bihar.
Let us hope and pray that Ajit is able to put all this behind and that the New Year brings happy tidings for him and his family. They don’t deserve to suffer. Nobody does. So this is wishing you all that 2016 turns out to be the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ everybody is talking about.

Hot, home-brewed tea for all

Prabha Kapoor gives toffees

Biscuits to go with tea

Bihari Milwani:
* In a hurry we forgot to raise a fourth laugh to wish Happy Birthday to Ms Shiela Mirani.
* Wish you all a very Happy New Leap Year. May you all prosper by leaps and bounds.