Bums on Seats

Hari Singh Shekhawat (left) is a terribly hassled man, just that he isn’t showing it. Many members who had enlisted for the Royal Garden picnic this week-end (see post of April 6), are backing out. Some of them who had demanded four or five seats in the bus, are prepared to pay for two now. As a result, he is worried if he’d have enough bums on the seats on Saturday. He can see around 20 to 25 seats going abegging in the bus.
Shekhawat-ji’s anxiety to fill those seats has led him to solicit the participation of non-members in the Garden – a prospect that many members have never taken kindly to. But even there, he is facing resistance. Everybody says it is too hot to go for a picnic now and the travel to and fro would be particularly tortuous. Assurances that the journey time would not exceed an hour (that too, in the comfort of a Volvo bus) have proved futile.
One member has offered to underwrite 50 per cent of the differential (about Rs 2,500), should an air-conditioned Volvo be booked. Shekhawat knows that he can easily rustle up the remaining Rs 2,500, but does not want to create any misgivings among non-paying members. At the same time, he is reluctant to overburden everybody by abruptly switching to an air-conditioned bus at this stage. So that possibility is ruled out.
Fact is, Mumbai has become unusually hot. The “discomfort index” (as experts put it) is incredibly high, which is already telling on our exercise routine every morning. We are witnessing not only a slump in attendance, the sense of bonhomie that has kept the sessions lively, is sadly missing these days.
Mercifully, Renu Babani’s (right) birthday today uplifted the spirits for a while as we all rejoiced and performed the customary Happy Birthday jig after the exercises. Somebody suggested having joint-birthday bashes on the last Saturday of the month, instead of the beginning (as Renu had done on April 9). Still, there were many who playfully kept insisting on a treat on-the-spot. Here’s wishing the lady once again, many happy returns of the day and an abundance of all things nice throughout her life.
* Many, many happy returns of the day. Happy Birthday and God bless you!
--Dilip Babani
* HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Aunty!
--Neelam
* HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Aunty!
--Juhi
* May the Almighty shower you with all his blessings and make your wishes come true. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
--Bhaswati Bose