"Happy Friday"

A morning of much merriment and positive vibes. The weather was not-too-warm and attendance, unusually high. From Yusuf Rassiwala to Sitaram Hivarkar and Gopvinita, Lakshmi, Sunita Jajodia, Dilip and Kajal Babani (right)… everybody was there, getting after one another with their pranks and well-timed wisecracks. Even Tara Chand Seth was in a particularly wicked mood as he kept commenting on (the male) latecomers, “Dekho, kaise matak-matak ke aa rahe hain!”
And when, Sadanand Pawar (below, left) was seen avoiding the exercises and negotiating the walking track instead, Srichand Arora had to take a dig at him: “Kyun Pawar-sah’b, power nikal gaya kya?” Seeing everybody burst out laughing, the poor fellow mumbled something about his sugar level shooting up and scrammed, not taking that path again.
Yusuf-bhai too was the butt of many jokes, even as he himself kept needling people for not paying attention while he conducted the exercises. Suddenly he picked on Arora, with a loud “Jai ho Pandurang Baba!” Taken back, Arora-sah’b could just about say, “Jai ho, laal topi waley” and was then at a loss of words. “Aagey ka nahin maaloom,” he admitted.
The thing about Yusuf-bhai (below, right) is that for the past few weeks, he has made it a point to show up on Fridays. So this morning, when he was sighted, members like Nahid Khan hailed him with a “Jumme Jumme ka wada!” Others speculated that Fridays are special to him because new movies are released on the day and he gets to discuss whether we should go for any of them. A few playful ladies pretended not to recognize him and kept asking him audaciously, “Aapki taarif?”
Incidentally, it is Hari Singh Shekhawat who has been making a fetish out of Fridays even earlier – thanks to an old habit of indulging in his favourite tipple late into Thursday nights. Unable to wake up on time next morning, he’d show up late in the Garden, but would make up for it with a childish grin and the cheeky greeting: “Happy Friday!”
Today was no exception.
Renu Babani says:
I guess, I missed the morning fun. But got up late and then decided to stay in bed. Glad to know that everyone is back to their normal selves and enjoying the morning exercises. Tomorrow is party time again. Will definitely be back in the Garden for my exercise and morning walk. Also heard that a picnic is on the agenda... So something to look forward for sure.
--Renu