Free-for-all

Hari Singh Shekhawat (below) did not come today. He’s had a harrowing night as his brother-in-law, who’s been ailing for some time, has passed away. Around 10:00 p.m. yesterday, he had to rush to Andheri (East) to register the death in a police station and after other formalities, take delivery of the body from Holy Spirit Hospital. All this must have made him so exhausted that he needed a break this morning.
The other key absentee was Srichand Arora. The Club was, in effect, rendered headless with members left to their own devices. Barring Sitaram Hivarkar and Ved Prakash Grover, everyone had a ball getting at one another, joking and fooling about non-stop. There was not a moment of respite without someone or the other pulling off a prank – all on the pretext of exercising. Every time things got out of hand, Razia Khan, in mock seriousness, would ask Sitaram to scold the members. But after a point, he too had given up on everybody.
Amid the chaos, Nazma Sayyad showed up (above) to mark her attendance after more than three months. She has just about recovered from a bad fall which had kept her bed-ridden all this while. Her daughter-in-law, Deepali Sayyad (a movie star) dropped by to check how she was coping with the exercises. Happily, Nazma was doing fine, except for her inability to raise her left arm – which would require the attention of a physio-therapist.
Close to 8:00 a.m., when there were still no signs of the exercises concluding, Nahid Khan walked away. Sunita Jajodia, who was holding herself back because of Yusuf Rassiwala’s presence, took the cue and also ambled away. Dilip Babani hailed her back, only to be rebuffed with “kaam hai”. Dilip kept wondering, “Kya kaam ho sakta hai, jab ghar mein bahu hai?” when Tara Chand volunteered an answer: “Pehle chabi toh de!” The moment everyone burst out laughing, he turned serious: “Chabi dena bahut mushkil hota hai.”
Meanwhile, here's Bhaswati Bose (left) sharing her holiday pic from Dibrugarh, Assam. She is posing against what used to be the 'mighty Brahmaputra' -- the only male river, known for its robustness and volume (as against all other Indian rivers, named after female deities). Here you see the Brahmaputra, dribbling by like a canal -- a sad example of ecological depredation.
Srichand Arora:
Shekhawat-ji, my heartfelt condolences upon learning about your brother-in-law. May God give you all the strength to bear this loss.
Harish Wadhwa:
* By the way, someone from our team is mesmerised by the pretty Marathi film actress (Top Secret)! Just a request to Deepali-ji: She should visit us more often! She has many secret admirers/fans now in the Garden (respectfully).
* Deepest condolences to Shekhawat-ji and the bereaved family on the passing away of his brother-in-law. Our prayers go out to him and as a mark of respect to the departed soul.