Tears and Laughter

Geeta Sardana

Nobody knows what transpired between Santosh Tyagi and Geeta Sardana today. All we saw were the two talking together during the exercises, till suddenly Santosh looked like she was on the verge of tears. She turned to Geeta and holding both ears, apologized aloud: “I did a mistake. I am sorry for what I said. Please forgive me!”
A hush fell. It was completely out of character for Santosh to confront anyone. As one of our seniors, she has always conducted herself with grace and dignity – verily a mother figure to most of us. What could have gone wrong suddenly?

Razia Khan and Shekhawat in full flow

The only plausible presumption we could draw was that it had something to do with Srichand Arora ticking off Geeta a few minutes earlier for refusing to wear the Club cap. Incidentally, they are so-called ‘rakhee' siblings and Geeta has been taking undue advantage of this, much to everyone’s annoyance and Arora’s profound unease and helplessness.
Lest the exercises be disrupted, Shekhawat made light of the situation and urged Santosh not to take anything to heart and relax. “We come here every morning to have fun, not to spoil our mood,” added Razia Khan and engaged Shekhawat in a hilarious banter in order to divert Santosh’s attention.

Yusuf's comforting hand brings relief and calm

They teased each other on an imaginary pact over bequeathing all their cash and property in one another’s name till someone remarked that Shekhawat would leave her with only Rs20,000. “So what?” Razia retorted gamely. “Even that is good enough. There’s not much left of our lives anyway?”
“Who told you?” Shekhawat countered. “There’s a lot in store you have no clue about.”
“Oh I see, yeh andar ki baat hai!”

Sunita Jajodia

was Razia’s straight-faced reply.
The double entendre did not escape anyone and Shekhawat turned ecstatic, dancing like a robot around Razia. Their antics finally brought a smile on Santosh, sitting at a distance on a bench. She had excused herself, saying she was “feeling unwell”. So after the exercises, everyone crowded around to console her while Geeta walked away. The most comforting gesture came from Yusuf Rassiwala when he placed his hand quietly over her head and advised her to stay calm. Santosh was so overwhelmed that she held on to his hand and later, much later, went up to Yusuf to thank him for being such a kind soul.
But more than Yusuf, if Santosh had been missing anyone today, it was her trusted friend Sunita Jajodia. She came to the Garden early morning only to see Santosh and left in a hurry as she had a train to catch to Delhi. We wish her a safe and pleasant trip.
Jagmohan Papneja:
The bond that links us is meant to prevent any altercation on trivial issues but to respect and enjoy in one another's lives. Thank you very much, Yusuf-bhai for showing a sense of maturity on consoling Santosh-ji.