Scrap Material

Najma Sayyad

Why was it cloudy and still so hot this morning? Why did Monthi Serrao and Bhaswati Bose come dressed in identical outfits? Why does Banoo Khan walk around with her mobile phone stapled to one ear permanently? Why did Srichand Arora not come to the Garden today also? Why does Ruksana Khan do her exercises on the bench with her legs and not with her hands…
Of all the questions swirling around, the biggest concern was Najma Sayed. She has not shown up for close to three months and yet, had sent her membership renewal today through her friend and neighbor, Khatoon Baig. The latter informed that Najma had suffered another fall barely two weeks back. “The poor lady, she is suffering a lot because of her weight problem,” remarked Khatoon. “She can barely stand up and keep her balance.”
“But this was the second time she has fallen down?” Shekhawat inquired, genuinely concerned. “I remember she fell six months back in the bathroom.”

Khatoon Baig pays up on behalf of Najma Sayyad

“That was the second time,” Nafisa Sayyad corrected him. “Before that also, she had fallen in the kitchen.”
Khatoon agreed that Najma keeps falling off and on, but that cannot be helped. She has apparently reached a stage of obesity beyond all treatment and by now, has come to terms with it. “We are all at that stage in life when we are beyond any repair,” she declared philosophically. “We are all tootey-phootey log, broken down completely!”
“Don’t feel bad,” Nafisa consoled her. “So long as you can, just pull on somehow. Afterwards, there is the bangaar wallah. He will take you as scrap material, by the kilo.”
Nobody found that funny. “Even the bangaar fellow will find us worthless,” Nahid Khan informed. “Why don’t we better go for a good exchange offer?”
“Rubbish,” Monthi said dismissively. “After 60 years of age, we should be ready to be dumped under the ground forever. No exchange offer!”
That was it. The discussions were given a decent burial for the day.
Harish Wadhwa:
Monthi-ji and Bhaswati-ji are birds of the same feather; no wonder they flock together. As for Najma-ji, she is one of the very few, soft-spoken women among us and a noble lady at heart. Having a cheerful and fun-loving mind is more important than the physical body and that overshadows the weight issue. You will be fine, Najma-ji and we are looking forward to see you back at the Garden soon.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime one has not committed.