Friday, the Thirteenth

Normal day. Nothing scary – just some dark thoughts over the low turnout. Maybe, it is the weather. Maybe not. We began with only five. And then, slowly, more people trickled in. Better late than never!
We have three categories of people in our Club. The first are the regulars – people we usually meet every morning without fail, like Shekhawat, Arora, Naid Khan, Santosh, Monthi and so on. For them the Club is obviously a habit, a way of life. They are the ones who keep the flock together.
The second category are the birds of passage. One young girl, Seema (introduced by Naid Khan) who came for a few days and disappeared; a “dhoti-wala uncle" in transit from Kolkata; one struggling actor who had a role in Billoo Barber; a lady from Srinagar who gifted us batuas before leaving… We don’t even know their names because there never was any real connect with them. They are the types – here today, gone tomorrow.
In between, we have the flotsams and jetsam – members who are not too regular, but hold a heightened sense of loyalty and belongingness. As Motwani put it succintly, “Ek relationship ban jati hai.” They make for the bulk of membership – the life and soul of the Club. Most of them have been around for just two or three years.
Of late, a fourth category seems to have emerged – people who have been an integral part of the Club, but not any longer. Anita, the civil engineer and a founding member has apparently left the city. Tara Chand has to divide time between Delhi and Mumbai. Yusuf-bhai is not as regular as we would wish him to be. Pratap Bhatt is traveling all the time. So is Harish Wadhwa. Sitaram is torn between Kandivali and Oshiwara…
At one time they were all active members. Obviously, they have other compulsions now. The many demands life makes, domestic and otherwise, cannot be planned, nor wished away. We understand all that. Still, we wish we were all together and could share that one hour with them every morning.
Renu Babani said:
I shall be the first to admit to not being a regular. But after a while, I do feel the need to come in the mornings at times. It has got to be some attachment that makes me come. Hopefully, some day, I shall be a regular!
--Renu