Deserted and Desolate

Holding fort in the absence of the Alibaug ladies

It was an all-men’s day at the Club – barring the presence of Urmila Sinha. All the other women had left for Alibaug (ref post of January 18) early morning.

Banoo Apa watches the
Mumbai coastline recede
in the distance

But more significantly, the Garden wore a desolate and deserted look through the exercises today.
Even strangers on the walking track stopped to ask why we were so few today. “Hope everybody is okay?” a gentleman remarked.
Shekhawat was in no mood to exercise. He wanted to declare a two-day holiday (till the Alibaug group returned), but was prevailed upon. Clearly, he did not find anybody motivating enough to stick on today.
Before long Shekhawat wanted to curtail the exercises by suspending the tai-chi round. This time Yusuf Rassiwalla intervened and Shekhawat finally agreed to follow the routine – just that he had no late-comers to give his flowers away.
Bijoy Gupta, Siba Prasad Maitra and Bihari Milwani were all absent today.
Meanwhile, news comes in of the ladies having made it to Alibaug, safe and sound. Qadir Banu had to back out because of a death in her family.
The others, including Rukhsana Khan and Fahmida Khan were on time at the Garden gate for the cab which took them to the jetty near Gateway of India. From there, they were to catch the ferry service to Alibaug.

On the ferry, cutting across the Arabian Sea, toward Alibaug

DAY 3018

Pic(s) of the Week

Mother and son

Hari Singh Shekhawat (c) with a section of the guests 

Shlok, the 'host' of honour

The family 

Grand 
party 
at the
Shekhawat
residence 

Dance performance

Proud father also sings

Musical interlude

Light-hearted skit

Dinner time

Panoramic view of the party in progress

All Set to Go

Would Alibaug be as cold as it is in Mumbai? What warm clothes should we carry on Monday? Will a shawl suffice since much of

Final briefing ahead of the Alibaug trip on Monday

the time will be spent on the beach? Or is it going to be too windy… or very sunny?
These were the pressing concerns of the ladies as they met one last time today to tie up the loose ends for their Alibaug sojourn on January 20 and 21. This is their first outstation trip from the Club without male company.
But that is not as much of a bother as the prevailing cold wave sweeping across the western coast. Already Fahmida Khan has sent word that she is down with high fever and bouts of coughing. Chances are she will have to withdraw from the trip if she does not recover by Monday.
Rukhsana Khan is another possible dropout. She is currently holidaying with family in Silvassa and is likely to be back, not before Sunday night. To prepare herself for the two-day trip to Alibaug by early morning next day shall be a tall order.
But then, last-minute dropouts before an excursion is nothing unusual. What matters more is someone falling prey to inclement weather or reporting sick during a trip. That could ruin everybody’s happiness and turn the vacation into a nightmare.
This must not happen.

Coldest Day

The 'Gang of Big Laafpur'

Soldiering on in the bitter chill

They said it was the coldest day of the season yesterday. Today it felt even colder. So it was no surprise that more than half the Club did not turn up in the morning. Those who did were, without exception, wrapped in woollens from top to toe.
Shekhawat looked every inch a renegade from the Chambal ravines, a dark muffler and cap hiding his head and face. Only the rusty rifle was missing. And Nahid Khan, for the best part, tried emulating the thakur from 'Sholay' by rolling down the sleeves of her pullover to cover her hands.
Then there was Qadir Bano with only her eyes visible behind a black shawl she had wrapped around her head downwards to cover her body as well. Most of the others were similarly disguised as though they had just returned from beating up the students of some university.
Somehow it seemed like the Delhi winter had descended upon Mumbai. Never before had it felt so cold in the Garden. But Karun Sharma had another take on the weather. “Looks like Hingland’s cold has arrived here,” he said in an oblique reference to the visit of Shekhawat’s grandson from London.
Shekhawat though was in no mood for any humour. Even before the exercises were over, he was ready to leave for home, muttering to himself, “Ufff, bahut thand hai”. He had curtailed the exercises by dropping the facial round (of the tai-chi exercise) saying that there was “no part of anybody’s face exposed” to be worked on.
In the end, it must be said that the extreme cold had one positive effect. There was no time wasted during the exercises. No idle talk, no joking around, no fooling about. We went through our routine business-like at double-quick speed. And there were still 10 minutes to spare when we were done. By then Shekhawat had already left!

Bihari Milwani:
I am sure everyone was missing Banoo Appa’s steaming, hot tea.

After Party

Snapshot of the dinner party last night. Wait for Sunday for more pics.

The ‘surprise party’ Shekhawat hosted last night came in for high praise – particularly his decision to limit guests to only those who turned up for the exercises in the morning (ref post yesterday). “The fact he did not invite people over the phone has set a healthy precedent for the Club,” Karun Sharma commented.
Yusuf Rassiwala also complimented Shekhawat for taking this unprecedented step as it now shields him from the criticism of playing favourites or deliberately missing out on anyone while inviting over the phone. “We should all follow this principle,” Yusuf R exhorted. “There is no need to make phone calls to everybody in future.”
An added advantage everybody recognised was that those keen on attending club parties would henceforth be more regular for the exercises. Already, one such party is in the offing within a week; but the hostess, clearly inspired by Shekhawat’s example, has decided to make this a surprise announcement.

Fahmida Khan checking
video recordings of the party

She is not saying anything in advance.
In spite of the restriction on admission, the party last night had nearly 25 guests in attendance. All of them were unanimous in pointing out how well-organised it was

Tilgul luddoos: Makar Sankranti celebration continues

from the very start – the way food and drinks flowed uninterrupted, the songs and dances and spot jokes, personal attention the guests received, involvement of all family members including Shekhawat’s son Raghuveer, daughter-in-law Kamna and of course, grandson Shlok.
“We did nothing in organising this party,” Mohankanwar Shekhawat said. “Full credit to the children. They did everything their way.”
On a slightly discordant, if hilarious note, was the talk of a resident ghost inhabiting Shekhawat’s terrace. Fuelled by family members, the rumour put the heebi-jeebies in some ladies who refused to take the terrace route on their way back from the party. They opted for the staircase instead, down all five floors. But the experience of having visited a haunted building stayed with them this morning.

Bihari Milwani:
I wonder how a sensible ghost can stay in the house of an armed forces veteran. Is it not scared of Shekhawat's loaded revolver?

Karun Sharma:
My thanks to Shekhawat-ji and his children. They were warm and caring. We enjoyed their hospitality.