Gurpurab 2014

Srichand Arora returns from today's prabhat pheri

As expected, the turnout today was abysmal. It was Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the first of the Sikh gurus. A number of members had joined the celebrations well before sunrise, instead of attending the exercises. Srichand Arora, Nahid Khan, et al were part of the prabhat pheri which set out at 5:00 a.m. from Lokhandwala market and after three hours and more than a dozen stops, completed a round of the locality around 8:00 a.m. This time, it was the local Sindhi community that had taken out the morning procession.
In the Garden, it was left to Arun Patil to conduct the free-hand exercises. And true to style, he rushed through the drill like a runaway bullet train. Only after he wound up were we able to catch our breath and let our hair down. For a change, Bhaswati Bose offered to raise our general knowledge with a bizarre narrative that was to be more hilarious than a jokes session. She informed us about a famous coffee shop in Bangalore that charges Rs15,000-plus for a brand of coffee beans extracted from cat’s poop! “And the cat?” Monthi Serrao interrupted.

Cat poop tale from Bhaswati Bose

“Do they eat the billi?” First joke.
With dramatic flourish, Bhaswati explained (see pic) to an open-mouthed audience how the cat is kept captive and force-fed with certain berries it cannot digest so that it develops a running stomach. The excreta is then collected, dried and processed to produce those expensive coffee beans.
“I drink Nescafe,” Khatoon Baig said. “Do they do this for Nescafe also?” Second joke.
Arun Patil interjected to say that there is nothing to be alarmed about all this as such examples can be found in other food products as well. “Let us then feed Arun those berries!” was the instant reaction of the group. And then? Silence. Third joke. Obviously, what remains unsaid can be more funny than that which is spelt out. Arun slinked away before things got any more embarrassing.
Harish Wadhwa:
Next time coffee is served in the Garden, we can say that it is the "same" one. I am sure the bill will be low.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Every year a prabhat pheri is taken out by the Sindhi community during the birth celebration of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Millions love and and worship him. Scores of men, women and children visit Lokhandwala Garden No 2 in the evening and offer prayers before partaking in the community dinner served on the occasion. I extend my heartiest greetings to all on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti.