Next Picnic

A yoga camp came up this morning, close to the area where we exercise

Hari Singh Shekhawat today finally relented to the long-standing demand for organising a day picnic in or around Mumbai.

Shekhawat discusses picnic plans

Of the three options short-listed, he settled for The Great Escape, a popular water park and resort near Virar. The other two options were Byculla Zoo and Royal Garden Resort.
“I have just received the telephone numbers and contact details of The Great Escape,” he declared soon after the exercises. “I shall be calling them during the day to check the facilities there and also work out the transportation costs. Be prepared to set out this weekend – on June 8.”

Srichand Arora

The announcement met with lukewarm response. “It is a wrong time to go on a picnic,” many members mumbled. “What was the harm in going last month when we were at the peak of the summer heat? We would have enjoyed then. We kept on insisting but he did not care to listen.”
The general apprehension is that we will have to contend

Razia Khan distributes ball-point pens

with the onset of monsoon that could make travel risky and off-putting. More than that, many members this year have suffered from bouts of viral fever (even relapses) and they would all be reluctant to exert or expose themselves in the rain. Some like Ram Shankar Shukla and Santosh Tyagi are yet recuperate fully. Srichand Arora is the latest victim of viral attack, betraying the usual symptoms of fever, chest congestion and body ache. He too is recuperating at home. In these circumstances, a huge question mark hangs over Shekhawat’s plans for a weekend picnic.
Meanwhile, in a bid to ‘educate’ our members, Razia Khan went about distributing beautiful white ball point pens to all and sundry. Apparently, this is part of the latest adult literacy drive initiated by a certain Swati Punjabi, though nobody is quite sure. Whatever be the truth behind those free ball point pens, it was a welcome departure from the usual sweets distributed after the exercises. Pity, Shekhawat’s pen refused to write!
Renu Babani:
Amazing yoga session. At the end of it, felt energised and ready to start the routine. Remember, an individual can find 1001 reasons to cry. Find one reason to laugh and have a beautiful day. It was great meeting a few members of Big Laaf and at least this week we shall meet daily.