Day 1868

Pic of the Week

Haw! Caught with her hand in the cookie jar...?!?

Kiran Prakash:
* So what? She will 'frame' somebody else!
* Happy Birthday Dilip. Many happy returns of the day. Have a blast. Enjoy.

Bihari Milwani:
Oh, has Mr Kagzi come to check whether she is doing exercises or celebrating birthdays?

Competitively Crazy

Shekhawat addresses the Club on his medical condition

If anywhere there is to be a pack of competitively crazy senior citizens who cannot do without meeting every morning, it has to be here at the Garden. Nothing in the world would ever deter them from showing up at daybreak for their daily dose of tomfoolery and total madness. Or so would it seem.
Shekhawat, for all his problems (ref yesterday’s post) turned up today and was up to his pranks as usual. This, in spite of all the outpouring of concern and good wishes, one elderly lady even telling him, “I am praying that you do not lose your memory!” She had to be quickly whisked away.
Such indiscretion however, does not rattle the ex-service man who has steeled himself to going under the knife, most likely next week. “I have left everything to fate,” he said jovially.

Prabha Kapoor receives memento

Dilip Babani receives calendar

“I am 76 and have lived a full life. Now, for as long as I am around, I shall continue to play the fool and enjoy myself.”
And play the fool he did – to the hilt. For instance, when asked if he was sure of his age, he invoked what his mother once told him: “Beta, you were born when there were heavy rains and we had a bumper crop in the village.” In the absence of a municipal birth certificate and the fact he was not born in a hospital,

Kajal and Dilip distribute birthday goodies

he has taken his mother’s word as gospel truth and settled for an unverifiable birth date convenient to him.
The subject of birth date came up because it was Dilip Babani’s birthday today. He has completed 57 years and celebrated this morning with his wife, Kajal and a big bag of goodies – chocolate bars, biscuits and kachori. There was tea too, as usual prepared by Mallika Kagzi. In return, all we could do was present him with the Club memento – a personalized desk calendar. Srichand Arora did the honours.
Another desk calendar was gifted to Prabha Kapoor. It wasn’t exactly her birthday today, but as she would be relocating (her son has landed a plum job in Delhi) by the month-end we felt she should carry with her something to remember us by. And what could be any better than presenting her with this keepsake calendar on a happy occasion like today's? Indeed, a very Happy Birthday once again, Dilip.

Alarming Turn

Hari Singh Shekhawat

Hari Singh Shekhawat is very ill. Major blockages have been detected in both his carotid arteries – the principal blood vessels that supply blood to the neck, brain and face. “One is 60% blocked and the other is 100% blocked,” he informed, quoting doctors at INHS Ashwini, the military hospital in Colaba.
Shekhawat was carrying three independent reports of reputed cardiac surgeons in Mumbai (including one from the Asian Heart Institute) before seeking a final opinion from the military hospital. “They were shocked to find me still alive,” he said.

Srichand Arora announces postponement of Annual Day function

“A naval doctor has been specially deputed to monitor my condition round the clock for the next three days.”
During this period, Shekhawat will undergo a battery of tests daily at certain designated pathological centres in the city. On Monday, following a CT scan, he would immediately report back to the military hospital and thereafter, the doctors will take a call on surgery.
Shekhawat is 76 now and had undergone a bypass surgery in mid-2013.

Razia Khan had come with sweets to
celebrate the purchase of a new house in Pune

He was critical even then. The carotid blockages had also shown up, but they were not as life-threatening at that time and he was advised to deal with them later.
Things have obviously deteriorated since and last month, at Brindavan Gardens, Mysore, Shekhawat suffered a “mild stroke”. He felt alright after popping in a sorbitrate and did not talk about the incident much. Little did he expect his condition to take such an alarming turn.
In view of this unprecedented situation, it was unanimously decided this morning that the Annual Day function (scheduled for January 16) should be kept in abeyance for the present. “The rehearsals will be resumed once we hear that Shekhawat is in the clear,” suggested Razia Khan. “As things stand, none of us has the heart to proceed with the preparations.”
This has no doubt come as a big setback for those keyed up for the event, particularly Kiran Prakash. Over the past fortnight, he has left no stone unturned at mobilizing members and infusing fresh excitement every morning during the rehearsals. But then, life comes first. Let us keep our fingers crossed and wish Shekhawat all luck and a speedy recovery.
Lt Col Angad Singh:
We are sure that the surgical intervention will be good for Shekhawat and nothing will go wrong. We are quite confident that he will be as fit and agile as he is today. We wish him good health and a joyful life.

‘Poor Air’

Today’s papers described Mumbai’s air as “very poor”. According to data recorded by some Weather Forecasting and Research System we are told that the air quality index in the city was 302 yesterday and it would worsen to 306 today.

Welcome back, Teja Singh Bhambra!

Translated, this was to mean dark, cloudy skies with the revival of early morning chill in the Garden. Woolens reappeared and many like Mallika Kagzi presented a comic sight while exercising with a heavy shawl wrapped around. She also led the ‘joy train’ at the end of the free-hand exercises – just that she insisted it was

Siba Prasad Maitra regales with a song

not a train today but an ‘all-women’s boat’ and that she was “rowing”, if not wading.
Mallika could get away with the prank because Shekhawat (our regular ‘engine driver’) was not around. And in order to make an impression, she went about wishing everyone ‘Happy New Year’ instead of ‘Good Morning’. “The whole of January is new year,” she declared. “Didn’t they teach that to you in school?”
Be that as it may, Sardar Teja Singh Bhambra deserved our warmest New Year greeting when he turned up today as promised (ref post of January 4).

Harbans Kaur (l) shares the tragic news

He was unusually dressed – in full-sleeved striped blue shirt, tucked neatly into belted formal brown trousers – as though he had come directly from the airport. “Oh-ho! It is terribly cold out there,” he said about Faridabad, while treating us to a box of barfis. Kiran Prakash gave him the first bite.
Lt Col Angad Singh also joined us for the first time in the New Year – but with some tragic news. He has lost a close relative which prompted his sudden disappearance last month. He had to rush back to Mohali (from where he had come a few days earlier) upon being informed of the death. He is now back after attending the last rites – still grief-stricken, but trying to keep a cheerful front.
Harbans Kaur too is in a state of bereavement. Her elder sister, who was suffering from cancer since long, has breathed her last. “We knew she did not have much time with us… but still, when someone so close leaves you like this, it is hard to come to terms with the absence,” Harbans Kaur said bravely. We join her in sorrow at this difficult moment.

Tried and Tested

Sitaram Hivarkar

“You do not tell your grandmother how to suck, just as you do not tell your grandfather how to ....” The import of this classic English proverb is becoming increasingly clear as rehearsals warm up for the club’s Annual Day function on January 16.
Mumtaz Jahan today raised a pointed question when Sitaram Hivarkar wanted to sing his favorite Zohra Zabeen number at the function. “But didn’t he sing the same song last year?” she asked no one in particular. Banoo Apa nodded, but neither of them dared to directly ask Sitaram who was sitting right across. After all, how do you ask a veteran of Zohra Zabeen to practice another song at age 77?
Likewise, Kajal and Dilip Babani suggested reintroducing the tried-and-tested antakshari round when Nahid Khan’s idea of staging a play was not leading anywhere. “We had great fun with antakshari last year, didn’t we?” Dilip pointed out. Indeed, this was another comfort zone for our members where hardly any practice is required.

Mallika discusses rates of biryani boxes -- veg and non-veg

We have had many such fun items in the past at our get-togethers, both formal and informal, and the outcome has always been enjoyable.
On the flip side though, these items could also appear jaded and repetitive. So, in our anxiety to provide something fresh and more entertaining, a few options are still being explored – the only problem being that there is not enough time to start practice on anything we have no experience in. Many of us have developed a strong sense of inertia, resulting in a general reluctance to learning new tricks. Moreover, we are all rank amateurs with no prior exposure to professional stagecraft. Significantly though, this is what contributes to all the fun and frolic during the rehearsals.
Simultaneously, at another level, preparations for the eats are in full swing. Mallika Kagzi has been requested to organize the biryani boxes, as she did last time. With Srichand Arora around, the budget for the event was also discussed. He handed over a donation cheque of Rs5,000 received recently from Celebration Club. In short, everything looks hunky dory and we should be having a ball next week-end.