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Sardar Tohba Singh (in pic) is back. He arrived last evening from Faridabad and the first thing he did today was report for the exercises at the Garden. From the open-armed welcomes he received (especially from Ved Prakash Grover and Srichand Arora) and the way he greeted everyone with folded hands it appeared as though he always belonged here. Within moments he had made himself at home.
This was however, not the case when we met this gentleman for the first time last November. He used to sit quietly on a bench at a distance, observing us exercise and occasionally mimic our movements. What caught our attention was his unusually frail body and Santa Claus-like countenance. So when he joined us, many actually called him “Jingle Bells” (see post of November 8, 2011). In time though, his quiet and comforting presence had become a habit for us and many would look forward to his sermons after the exercises. And then one day, he simply left.
Today, we saw a much more ebullient Tohba Singh as he kept chuckling at Bapu Rane’s antics and jokes. He cracked up when Ramila Mistry suddenly addressed Arora as “Mota Bhai” and Arora, taken aback, retorted with “Nani Ben”. Shekhawat’s late-coming today sparked another round of wicked jokes and as usual, there was Pratap Bhatt on his “Kem chho-Bhaloo toh?” trip.
Later, Shekhawat was to announce that Yusuf Rassiwala (right pic) would be hosting a party on June 23 -- for reasons best known to him. (It is supposed to be a secret!) As a result, the joint-party being planned for this month by the June-borns would have to be shifted to June 30 – the following Saturday.
Renu Babani's PICSPEAK:
* "Namaskar everyone... So great to be back with the family."
* "Yes, I have a secret and will not tell you... So don't keep asking."
Harish Wadhwa:
* Topi-wale Panduranga Baba... without the topi? You look handsome Yusuf-bhai! Is Mrs Rassiwala reading this blog and admiring her husband's picture?
* Sadde Punjabi pirah noo wekh ke khushi oyee! Twada swagat aye! (Nice to see our Punjabi brother joining us. You are welcome!)