Happy Baisakhi!

Today is Baisakhi, the first day of the new year by the Hindu (solar) calendar. The day also commemorates the establishment of the Khalsa by the 10th Sikh guru, Govind Singh at Anandpur Sahib in 1699. A local Punjabi association is celebrating the occasion with a cultural programme this evening at the neighboring Celebration Club. On our part, let us wish all our members, their families and friends a bountiful year full of happiness, good health, peace and prosperity.
Hari Naraiyani (below) has returned from a month-long trip to Punjab, after obtaining the blessings of his family guru at Amritsar. His wife is not keeping well and last heard, she had been hospitalized with a severe thyroid and kidney condition. Hari-bhai says she is still suffering (“there’s been just a minor improvement of late”) which has been a cause for much worry and distress for him. Nevertheless, he promises to be more regular in the Garden for his exercises from now on.
Otherwise, it was a pleasant morning with Shekhawat-ji and Arora-sah’b back, both hale and hearty. As it gets warmer by the day, everybody tends to be more quiet and less exuberant while exercising. Even the ordinarily irrepressible Dilip Babani has become unusually withdrawn these days. Probably, it has something to do with the humidity sapping all the energy. Still, with Nahid Khan in the middle and funny comments coming from people like Tara Chand and Gopvinita, the mood was upbeat.
Towards the end, Bapu Rane (right) announced that this was his last day before he boards the morning train tomorrow for his village in Sindhudurg. He will have to stay put there, taking care of the annual harvesting of mangoes. This year, his alphonso crop has been particularly good and he even offered to send 10-12 crates of the fruit for the Club, if someone here would care to handle the logistics. Everybody discouraged him.
Bapu Rane will be back after two months – end-June.
Harish Wadhwa says:
1. Rane-bhau, have a great time at your village, enjoy good mangoes and the harvest. By the way, I don't mind one crate of good mangoes, if you are sending some to Mumbai. Needless to say, I will pay for them -- as long as they are affordable and reasonable.
2. To all the Punjabi folk: Baisakhi di twanu bahu bahu vadhayian!
--Harish
Anonymous says:
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--Anon