Party Postponed

The party scheduled for Saturday, February 11 has been pushed to next week. This morning Shekhawat announced that the three main hosts -- Santosh Tyagi, Mumtaz Jahan and Vasudev Bhateja -- would decide among themselves on a new date for their joint-birthday celebration – which would most likely be the 15th or 16th. No reasons were given for the postponement (see yesterday’s post). And no questions were asked either.
Regular readers of this blog could be under the impression that the raison d'etre for our Club is its frequent parties. The truth is that parties do constitute an important activity of the Club, but surely that cannot be the sole reason for everybody showing up in the Garden religiously every morning. In fact, many among us – particularly those who are diet-conscious – are strongly against having parties and some even say (rather, unthinkingly) that the food packets they get here are later given away to the household help and building watchman!
The reasons for attending the Club go far beyond the parties – or for that matter, picnics and the monthly movie shows. To people like Hari Singh Shekhawat, Nahid Khan, Srichand Arora, Ved Prakash Grover, Khatoon Baig (right)… and many others, this is nothing short of an addiction – their daily fix without which time hangs heavy. For some like Bapu Rane (below), Kishor and Renu Babani, Razia Khan, Sitaram Hirvekar and Geeta Sardhana, this is more of a passion – to sustain a fixed fitness regimen and catch up with friends at the same time. For others like Ramila Mistry, Bhaswati Bose and Santosh Tyagi, this is simply their only opportunity to socialize on a day-to-day basis.
Significantly, the first question Santosh asked when her son wanted to shift residence was whether the new place would be within walking distance from the Garden. She takes an autorickshaw to-and-fro nowadays.
And then, we have Sunita Jajodia (top, left) who had met with a freak accident on the way to the Club and sprained her leg. It is almost a fortnight since that mishap and the swelling has not yet subsided. Still, she showed up limping slowly into the Garden this morning and even took part in the exercises for a while. When the pain got the better of her, she made a silent exit.
This is dedication. It means commitment – a sense of attachment to the Club and our friends. It is a feeling we all share that cannot be described in words.