Tit for Tat

Hari Singh Shekhawat met his match this morning in Nafisa Syed (below, right). For long he had been needling the ladies with mindless pranks – what with his 'target practice' during the Slow and Fast laughter rounds, constantly keeping count of them, snarling extra-long during the Lion and Lioness rounds… Today he got paid in his own coin.
Soon after Srichand Arora finished with the free-hand exercises, Razia Khan took over and as usual, called for everybody to close in for the second session of the laughter round. As is his nature, Shekhawat joined her in chorus, “Kareeb aaiyeh, Kareeb aaiyeh” and moved towards the ladies's semi-circle. From nowhere, Nafisa broke out of the semi-circle and moved ominously towards Shekhawat-ji. It happened within seconds. As though in a trance, she kept propelling forward, arms out-stretched and muttering aloud, “Kareeb aaiyeh, Kareeb aaiyeh, Kareeb aaiyeh…”
Shekhawat blinked. We too could not believe our eyes. Seeing the advancing presence of what seemed an automated giant doll, Shekhawat stopped in his tracks, trying to gather his wits. But Nafisa was unstoppable: Kareeb aaiyeh, Kareeb aaiyeh… she kept chanting. Just when she was within arm’s length, Shekhawat turned and took to his heels. With a “Oht-teri, maare gaye!” he simply fled and in moments, was sighted far out of the circle.
Never before have we seen Shekhawat-ji laugh so much. And rarely have we all laughed as much at something so bizarre. “Aap ne bola ‘kareeb aaiyeh’ aur main aapke kareeb ja rahi thi,” Nafisa said, justifying her act. Harish Wadhwa could not help remarking, “Shekhawat-ji ke toh hawaa nikal gayi!” Long after the laughter had subsided, Arora-sah’b kept shaking his head, admiring Nafisa’s natural “sense of humour”.
The other important lady of the day (though, in absentia) was Rachika Majerekar (left). Today was her birthday. As she has joined the Club a couple of months back, we have not got to know her well as yet. Besides, by nature, she is a reserved person and keeps to herself. Still, this is a good enough occasion to wish her a long, happy, healthy and contented life ahead.
Harish Wadhwa says:
1. Nafisa's spontaneous walk towards Shekhawat-ji today did get every face smiling and then burst into laughter. She indeed has a good sense of humour. Do you recall her earlier one-liner of the song, Tum jo aye zindagi mein baat bigad gayee...? Just thinking of those words brings a smile to all faces. Guru-ji’s Gyan on Santa-Banta today were also lovely. I wonder where he gets all these select jokes from.
2. Many happy returns of the day, good health and happiness to Smt Rachika Majerekar-ji on her birthday.
3. Smiles on the faces of Dilip-bhai and Shekhawat-ji in today’s picture are really infectious. One just can’t stop smiling looking at them. Good natural pic, Blog Monster.
--Harish
Renu Babani says:
Talk about a taste of one's own medicine. I am sure Mr Shekhawat will not forget today and watch his words the next time. It was hilarious indeed watching Nafisa advance in full force and he was actually taken aback. One lady even suggested that that all the ladies should advance forward, thus the men will definitely move many steps back. Naturally, that didn't go too well with all the ladies present, who felt that they didn't have the guts to do that.
Another suggested perhaps during Raksha Bandhan, that would be a better reason to advance forward. As usual, the morning air was filled with our laughter and lots of fun before everyone went their own ways.
--Renu