New Fillip

Shekhawat’s long-distance call yesterday has given a new fillip to the Darjeeling-Gangtok trip scheduled next year. Several members suddenly woke up after the exercises this morning and rushed to submit their names to Monthi Serrao and Bhaswati Bose – the two who have been entrusted with organizing local stay and travel for the Club at both destinations.
According to Bhaswati, not more than 20 people can be accommodated on this trip because only 10 rooms could be booked (on a twin-sharing basis) last night in certain premium hotels at both destinations. Even as the trip is well six months away, it being peak tourism season, rooms in good hotels are getting rapidly sold out. “Somehow, we could grab only 10 rooms for ourselves and that too, after readjusting the dates from mid-April to March 28-April 2, 2015,” Bhaswati informed.
In effect, this would be a six-day trip with two nights at Darjeeling and three nights at Gangtok. “Members will be accommodated on a first-come first-serve basis, the cut-off point being at 20 because beyond that we will not be able to take a single person,” Monthi elaborated. “Our first priority will be Club members, then the yoga group and after that, depending upon the availability of rooms, will outsiders be considered. Since a token advance has to be paid to the hotels, please pay 50 per cent of the tour cost and confirm your bookings by October 15. Otherwise we’ll have to let go these rooms also.”
Significantly, Shekhawat would be returning on October 18 and it seems he holds a list of 22 people committed to go on the trip. The list with Bhaswati and Monthi stops at 18, though there are some like Yusuf Rassiwala and Srichand Arora who are yet to commit. How the two lists would be reconciled is anybody’s guess. Only after that would Shekhawat be booking the air tickets to and fro.