Arora and Shekhawat try to pacify Monthi Serrao |
Mute witnesses to the morning commotion |
Shekhawat was instantly on the backfoot and Arora rushed to his rescue. Both tried to assure her that there were no such plans and that she was free to decide who her room partner would be. Monthi insisted that whoever it may be, she had to be a Club member. Under no circumstances would she share her space with a stranger.
Nobody had ever seen Monthi so livid and now that she was fuming with rage, everybody was terrified. A small crowd had gathered on seeing the commotion. Arun Patil quietly slunk away and watched from a distance. Arora even volunteered to send his wife, Kiran to Monthi’s room if that would help – just as long as she’d cool down.
But Monthi was unrelenting. Her anger obviously stemmed from a sense of deep hurt at being discriminated against – more so, when non-members would be enjoying facilities she was now being denied. She was not asking for any extra privilege, but did not expect to be punished either. Clearly, at the root of all this was the idea of taking along a big group of 40 when a smaller, more manageable group, restricted to club members would have been ideal.
On this Arora was one with Monthi. But Shekhawat, being a “large-hearted man” (as someone joked) said that he can never say ‘no’ to anybody -- member or non-member -- wanting to join a club excursion. But yes, he had learnt his lesson as today’s flare-up was as much of an eye-opener as a trailer of bigger things to come.
More significantly, the extra chill in the morning air was offset by this unusual outburst of fire and brimstone.
1 comment:
Santosh ji, Aaj kai din hum sub ne jashan manaya hai.
kunki iss din aapne,apne hatho se banakar khilya hai.
You deserve happy birthday wishes for Today,tomorrow and Day after on 10th February from the bottom of my heart.
Jagmohan Papneja
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