Sporting Spirit

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Fed up of repeated postponements, Shekhawat took a determined stand earlier this week to have the Sports Day at Borivali National Park on January 13 (Sunday) come what may. Those unwilling to join may stay away. But there will be no more change of date (see post of January 7), he declared. Period.
The announcement has worked wonders. From a point when there were not enough numbers to fill a small 30-seater bus, plans are now afoot (pic alongside) to book a bigger bus and take along at least 40 participants, if not more. Arun Patil has already ordered 40 food packets for lunch while Harish Wadhwa is working on the games to be played and prizes for the winners. Srichand Arora is taking care of medical emergencies and Shekhawat, as usual, will be looking after finances and lining up the bus to ferry us to and fro.
Basically, the drill worked out is as follows: The reporting time at the Garden on Sunday is 8:30 a.m. and the bus would leave by 9.00 a.m. Between 9:30 a.m. and 10.00 a.m. we should be in the National Park, after which the group will be split into two teams. There shall be two captains (appointed by common consensus) and each would select a member for his/her team by turn so that both teams are evenly balanced. Nobody shall be excluded, regardless of whether s/he participates. Each member will be identified by a red or yellow arm band, depending on the team s/he belongs to.
Effectively, with everything now falling into place, the enthusiasm of members has become contagious. Everyone wants a “favourite childhood game” to be included while some are intent upon taking along their families and friends as spectators. Many who were non-committal till yesterday, suddenly changed their minds today. A few are contemplating driving to Borivali on their own, should there be no place in the bus. Such is the overall excitement that a visibly ill Nahid Khan (pic above ), running high temperature, turned up at the Garden – all wrapped up and sniffling – lest she misses out on some of the 'action'. That’s what sporting spirit is all about.
Jagmohan Papneja:
* Sports encourage many things, one of them being team-work. Together Everyone Achieves More. That's what TEAM stands for!
* HASNA will do wonders on Sunday: H=Harish, A=Arora, S=Shekhawat, N=Nahid, A=Arun!!!