All’s Well

Hari Singh Shekhawat

Razia Khan

Shekhawat called from Rajasthan early morning to check if all was well in the Garden during his absence. He wanted to know whether everyone was attending the exercises regularly, that there were no problems and on his part, he informed he was having a gala time there with his childhood friends, even though he had to remain indoors because of heavy rains.
More specifically, Shekhawat wanted to know if there had been any development on the Darjeeling trip front. When told that Khatoon Baig, Naseem Bano and three other ladies were ready with cash and had taken a ‘look out notice’ for him, Shekhawat was overjoyed. “Look, I had predicted that the Darjeeling picnic will be a success,” he chuckled. “I shall be returning on the 18th and in two days I shall complete all collections.”
Shekhawat’s joy was however, short-lived when informed that Razia Khan, his sparring partner for the exercises, had contracted conjunctivitis.

Bihari Milwani purchases Lotto sports shoes from Geeta Sardana

His concern was genuine as he inquired if she was taking proper medication, since when has she been suffering, if she is able to visit the Garden and exercise, etc. He also wished her early recovery and promised to call her later during the day.
Actually it was only today that Razia showed up at the Garden, wearing dark glasses and looking every inch a female don. She said that her eyes had started hurting since Eid (September 6) and after that she has been home-bound. But then, she has taken it well in her stride and in fact, appeared quite cheerful this morning even as many like Monthi Serrao and Geeta Sardana were a little worried about getting too close to her lest they get infected by the virus.
Geeta incidentally, was to make a lovely presentation to Bihari Milwani this morning. She had a pair of Lotto sports shoes to spare, just that no one she knew fitted into the No 10 size. The relief on her face was palpable when Bihari smilingly extended one foot – clearly, the only human being in the Club to have such giant flappers for feet. More importantly, the shoes had found their rightful owner!
Srichand Arora:
Here are three heart-touching statements of Charlie Chaplin I would like to share with everybody:
1. "Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles."
2. "I like walking in the rain, because nobody can see my tears."
3. "The most wasted day in life is the day in which we have not laughed." Keep smiling!