Zoology Lesson

Snarling male lion

Bijoy 'the loin' Gupta

A raging dispute has broken out over the Lion and Lioness Laughter round -- the exercise meant to clear our throats and strengthen the vocal chords. It involves taking on a menacing stance with arms outstretched and letting out a collective roar with eyes popping and tongues obscenely stretched out!
Now, all of a sudden, some ladies have discovered that lions never thrust their tongues out the way we have been doing. According to them, only dogs (and human beings) stick their tongues out. When told that it is one and the same thing as dogs and lions belong to the same canine family, Geeta Sardana became all the more adamant. “No, lions belong to the cat family,” she said correctly. “Cats don’t behave like dogs.” She even refused to concede that in images of Goddess Durga, the lion has its tongue drawn out while attacking the mahishasura demon.

Shekhawat conducts today's exercises

Nafisa's last pic with Razia Khan

Clearly the intent behind all the zoological hairsplitting was to tell us that we stop insulting the 'King of the Jungle' with what is patently dog-like behavior. In effect, the Lion and Lioness Laughter round be better renamed as Dog and Something- Else Laughter round. Monthi Serrao helpfully added, “Gents should look the other way while snarling…” only to realize her faux pas and stopped herself mid-sentence at the instance of her giggling lady friends.
Now, with this picture (above left) of a snarling lion, there should be no reason to feel guilty about demoting lions to the level of dogs. If Bijoy Gupta can roar to perfection, we can also aspire to be lions some day.
Meanwhile, in the absence of anyone to conduct the exercises today, Shekhawat took to the middle and committed some deliberate bloopers, much to everybody’s amusement. A frantic SOS was sent to Srichand Arora to relieve Shekhawat, but he arrived late and could just about deliver instructions from the sidelines towards the end. But even that was a new experience.
The other big news was that Nafisa Sayyad has relocated to Pune for good. Shekhawat called her this morning and was told that her son had decided overnight to pack their bags so as to make room for a new tenant moving into their Mumbai apartment. We were supposed to give Nafisa a send-off party. But that will have to wait now.