Kerala Poyi

KERALA BOUND: Ready to board the bus

Finally, the day had arrived. After weeks and months of meticulous planning, mounting excitement and many hiccups, Shekhawat and his brave gang of 40 took off this morning on their seven-day trip of Kerala. A specially-hired bus picked them from the Garden at 9:00 a.m. and deposited them at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in time for the Netravati Express departing at 11:40 a.m. for Ernakulam.
Earlier, during the exercises, instead of the routine “Very Good-Very Good” (and its many variations) we wished the group “Happy Journey-Happy Journey” for a change. Also, today being Santosh Tyagi’s birthday, we raised an extra laugh and clapped and sang in her honour after the exercises. But clearly, the focus of the morning was on the Kerala group and their peculiar kinks like making repeated head counts, seeking last-minute confirmations on train tickets and so on.

Getting into the bus

Santosh Tyagi

Tara Chand Seth, in a quiet but significant gesture, handed over a packet of lozenges and toffees to the group – just in case. Shekhawat looked hale and hearty, after that major scare last Saturday (see post). Everyone had been instructed not to hassle this man during the tour as he is yet to recover from his heart surgery barely six months back. Srichand Arora and Arun Patil helpfully offered to chip in. But Shekhawat isn’t one to easily delegate. In spite of all warnings and precautions, he eagerly attended to the most stupid demands and tantrums of two ladies for whom no amount of assurances would ever suffice.
Otherwise, the Garden gate wore the look of a colorful carnival as group members turned up in their holiday best with their strolleys and relatives in tow.

Arora signals, 'All set!'

Endless cups of tea made the rounds amid much cheering and jeering. Even people not connected to the Club came out of the garden and gathered around the bus to see off the group. Funnily enough, many actually thought that the bus would be taking the 40 members all the way to Kerala and back and even fell sorry for them!
Post Script: The bus had just about pulled out when a piece of paper flew out from a window. On it, scribbled in Hindi, was a list of 28 items:

"Ta-Ta, Bye Bye!"

Odomos, brush, shaving set, towel and muffler, underwear, identity card, mobile charger, pajama, liquor permit, knickers, bathroom slippers, medicines, water bottle… Guess whose check-list this could have been!
Jagmohan Papneja:
* Best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy journey to the 40 geniuses who have set off to Kerala. GOOD LUCK! Hope you all have an amazing time and come back with great memories. I am looking forward to hearing the stories of the wonderful journey.
* The check list mentioning 28 items including a liquor permit... My guess is that it belongs to none other than 'Military Man' Shekhawat-ji.