Day 1839

Pic of the Week

THE EXERCISES CAN ALSO PUT YOU TO SLEEP...

Wow, President is sleeping! Get the GST Bill passed immediately!!! --Bihari Milwani

Annual Day Function

Kiran Prakash addresses members on the annual day programme

Kiran Prakash today set the ball rolling for the Club annual day programme, tentatively fixed for January first week. Yesterday he took Srichand Arora, Yusuf Rassiwala and Hari Singh Shekhawat into confidence on formulating a rough plan of action and in effect, preparing the ground for the event.
Harish Wadhwa was also consulted on the technical back-up and today he dropped by to elaborate on the sound and projection equipment for the programme. The idea is to have a slideshow of photographic highlights (as was done last time) during the year gone by as also an audio-visual presentation of the recent South India tour (November 24 to December 3) organized by the Club.
“It should be like a movie so that those like me who could not go on the trip would get the feel of being on the journey,” explained Mallika Kagzi showing unusual interest in putting together the evening programme. On being asked what she would like to do that day, she snapped: “Don’t ask me to sing or dance. I will do what I can.

Gita Latte marks her return from Goa with luddoos and cashew

I can cook only. I will cook!”
An equally upbeat Harbans Kaur offered to sing two Punjabi numbers while Santosh Tyagi was gung ho on staging a ramp show. Nahid Khan, who has done amateur theatre earlier, will be approached to stage a skit. But Swati Punjabi insisted on performing ‘Chikni Chameli’, momentarily taking the breath of Siba Prasad Maitra, a trained singer and natural wiz at playing a variety of musical instruments. He nevertheless promised to not only sing but bring his daughter also to accompany him on stage.
These are just initial responses. By and large, the ladies have become so excited about pitching in (one way or the other) that Razia Khan had to sound a word of pragmatism: “Let us try to showcase the best within ourselves. Don’t push for sub-standard or unrehearsed stuff because we are bound by limitations of time. I appeal to all to come forward with suggestions in the next few days so that I am able to draw a proper programme schedule.”
Two sticking points however, remain: one, obtaining permission for the venue and two, sourcing the food and refreshments for the evening. That shall be for the ‘gents log’ to handle.
Kiran Prakash:
I am delighted and grateful that a small step of mine was wholeheartedly welcomed by all in the Club. The enthusiasm of the members is beyond words. I could not have imagined that with this first meeting, a road map would be drawn with practically every member getting deeply involved. No doubt a great show is expected.

Fight On Food!

Rekha Sial (r) celebrates her birthday with cookies and salties

Rekha Sial, our new member-in-waiting, celebrated her birthday today by treating us to cookies and salties soon after the exercises. The treat came as a wonderful surprise, for three reasons.
First, no one expected her to treat us so generously (and so soon after joining), much as she is one of the most regular in daily attendance and takes her exercises very seriously.

Lakshmi Hadimani

Secondly, it was Lakshmi Hadimani who was supposed to celebrate her birthday today, but the suppliers of the food packets she ordered let her down this morning.

Mallika Kagzi's sister (l) visits us

And thirdly, today’s treat was given in the shadow of a fast escalating bushwar between the Garden management and some late-evening visitors to the China Hut notorious for turning the area into some kind of a café. Evidence of this ongoing strife was visible in the form of a stern notice put up on the Notice Board (ref yesterday’s post) and somehow we are getting caught in the crossfire.
Last evening apparently the revelers were caught red-handed, as usual messing around and littering the place with half-eaten food, paper wrappers and plastic.
“They cited our parties in the morning as an excuse,” reported Mohar Singh, a witness to the raid. “But they were told that nobody had ever complained against us. It was they who were being accused of turning the Garden into a dirty and unhygienic place, for which they could easily be taken to task.”
After a heated argument, it seems a settlement was reached with the Garden management allowing the visitors only packed food boxes -- so long as they were not opened inside the Garden. No mention was made of us though, added Mohar Singh.
Still, Srichand Arora felt that it would be better if a delegation of two or three senior members from Big Laaf called on the Garden management and apprised it of our position. This would clear the air and foster better relations for the future.
Siba Prasad Maitra:
Dear Mr Milwani, Thanks a lot for the beautiful "good wish card" on my wedding anniversary which was handed over to me after our exercise. It is nice of you that you remembered. I don't know how you could get the photo of my wife. I am really touched by such an innovative memento.

No More Treats?

The mysterious notice

Happy days are over for us. An unsigned, undated ‘notice’ on the Notice Board today sent chills up our spines. It “strictly” prohibits the consumption of eatables and beverages in the Garden -- the operative word being “strictly”. The implication of this veiled threat effectively killed our appetite this morning and we meekly dispersed, not daring to take even a single bite or sip after the exercises. We were really, very very scared.
So what happens now?
On the one hand, this could be a blessing in disguise as we would no longer be tempted to accumulate extra calories after the exercises. On the other hand, it establishes somebody somewhere is not happy that we have a good time. More specifically, this person is upset that we get to eat, drink and make merry every other morning. All this did not matter for the dozen-odd years that

Swati Punjabi is agitated

we’ve been around in the Garden. Now, out of the blue, we are being threatened without as much as a word of rhyme or reason.
According to some members, this so-called ‘notice’ has been prompted by some evening-time visitors to the Garden who do not bother to clean up after their kitty parties and high tea. Indeed, in the mornings, we are often greeted by leftovers of half-eaten biryani, soiled paper plates and napkins, food wrappers and plastic bottles littered around. In the absence of any conservancy arrangements (barring a few friendly crows and cats), we have been doing much of the cleaning-up by ourselves.
“Nobody can ever accuse us of littering the place,” asserted Swati Punjabi, echoing the anger of most members. “We’ve been making sure that not a single scrap of food or even a piece of paper is left behind after every party. So why pick on us? Why don’t they prevent the evening wallahs? Why don’t they stop the parties in the other Garden? This is unfair. We must protest!”
But protest where… And against whom?
Bihari Milwani:
Letter or notice or cheque not signed is no different from TOILET PAPER.

Wicked Humour

Everybody wants a piece of Ram Shankar Shukla (seated)

Ram Shankar Shukla came to the Garden badly bruised. He was unshaven, the right side of his face grotesquely swollen with splotches of black caused by blood clots under the skin. “I fell down and hurt myself,” he said, his voice feeble.
He did not elaborate further because the exercises were on. But all eyes were on him as he folded his lanky frame into a plastic chair and stretched his legs. He was obviously still in pain. This was not the first time the 80-year-old had fallen or hurt himself accidentally. “He should not take the risk of coming here on his own in this condition,” Srichand Arora said out of concern.
No sooner were the exercises over than everybody converged upon him wanting to know what had happened. The ladies were particularly worried. Haltingly, Shukla explained that the day-before-yesterday at night, he had fallen from the bed during his sleep and started bleeding profusely from the nose. But for some reason, he did not call the doctor.
To the men standing around, desperately trying to catch every word he spoke, none of this made any sense.

Mallika Kagzi treats us to nankhatai (and other goodies)

Somebody said Shukla was sleeping on the floor ("as he usually does") and mysteriously landed on top of the bed with a loud thud. “But who was with him?” Bijoy Gupta desperately wanted to know. He edged his way upfront and asked Shukla, “How come nothing happened to your girlfriend?”
“Arrey, there was no girlfriend… I simply rolled off my bed at night and woke up on the floor.”
Again Gupta was foxed. He pointed at Sitaram Hivarkar, saying that he was of the same age as Shukla: “Sitaram also goes to sleep every night but he does not roll off his bed. How come you managed to fall and hurt yourself?”
The ongoing banter kept Shukla in good spirits, at least for the time he was with us. And adding to the merry-making was Mallika Kagzi, who had just returned from Surat with loads of nankhatai as always. She passed around samosa-pao also followed by tea to celebrate the discharge of her elderly jeth (husband’s elder brother) after six months of intensive care in a Surat hospital. Dr Moin Kagzi, she says, is now in good health and would soon resume normal activity.
Bihari Milwani:
This is called commitment -- even addiction. In spite of all odds, Mr Shukla came to meet us in morning, ready for the exercises. Hats off to him!
Bhaswati Bose:
Mr Shukla was actually sleeping on the floor. In the night he got up, wanted to stand, lost his balance and fell on his right side across the floor. That is how he got hurt. It had nothing to do with falling from the bed.