United in Green

Srichand Arora is in the middle, conducting today's exercises

Green Brigade

When the green woods laugh with  joy, 
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it.

– William Blake (1757 – 1827)

William Blake should have been alive today. And visited the Garden this morning. Most likely, he would have reworded his poem, the opening lines reading thus: 'When the Big Laaf members laugh with joy/ And everyone in the Garden runs laughing by…' or words to that effect. For it was green, green… and more green all the way.
What began as a casual experiment on November 5 (ref post) today became a full-blown celebration of green.

Mallika Kagzi

It was verily Green Wednesday for us. Almost the entire Club turned out in parrot green T-shirts and tops and the few who did not, made sure they wore some element in like shade.
Mallika Kagzi had got a green salwar-kameez specially stitched “on an emergency basis” for today. Those who grudged the idea of “school uniform”, fearing they would look like "jhokkers”, walked in cheerily, sporting green. At the Garden gate, a middle-aged couple hailed Bhaswati Bose as “Hari Mirch” (green chilli) and she was to bounce it off on Dilip Babani as “Shimla Mirch” (capsicum). Shekhawat, for double effect, tied a parrot green nada (pajama drawstring) around the waist of his white shorts. Passersby on the walking track stopped to click pictures on their cellphone cameras, one particular gent repeatedly requesting us to pose together for the perfect green photo-op.
Surely Srichand Arora, the man who started it all, could not have expected that his fetish for green would generate so much excitement.

Kiran Prakash celebrates 'Green Wednesday'

One fine morning he had spotted a comely young lady walking around the Garden in a viridian green T-shirt. After observing her for three-four days, he summoned the courage to ask her upfront where she got the T-shirt from. The lady expectedly sent him on a wild goose chase to Malad and then Marks & Spencer, Westside, etc. till finally, last month, on a visit to Singapore, Arora managed to pick up four T-shirts in parrot green – the shade closest to viridian. On his return to Mumbai, he learnt that the same T-shirts were available at Dadar for a fraction of the price.
Today, he successfully got the Club to wear those T-shirts from Dadar and so overjoyed was he at the fruition of his efforts that he promptly announced a “grand party” the day everyone, without exception, wore green. Meanwhile Kiran Prakash, our new member-in-waiting, came up with a box of crunchy, mouth-melting biscuits to celebrate the occasion – Green Wednesday.
Srichand Arora:
No one but our Blog Monster could have converted William Blake's poem to its latest version on BIG LAAF. Superb and Fantastic. Hats off to you, dear!
Harish Wadhwa:
Saawan toh nahin, par thand ki ritu mein bhi sab hara hi hara dikh raha hai. Wah bhai Wah!