Evicted!

NEW LOCATION: The building in question is in the background

Today, the morning was chilly. Irritatingly chilly. Not a good day to stir out. But people had already reached the Garden – only to be presented with an ‘eviction notice’ in the person of a representative from Celebration Club, which holds administrative control of the Garden. Apparently, residents from an adjacent building had complained against our raising a ruckus every morning and disturbing their sleep. So we were asked to vacate our regular patch in the Garden and shift to the cemented area close to the China Hut.
“It would be nice if you people shift location today,” the representative told us. “Or else you may start your exercises after 9:00 a.m. No one will have any objection then.”
We know the residents of the adjacent building who have complained against us.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd)

About four years back, they had got into an ugly altercation with us for the same reason, but nothing came of it. One audacious young fellow had used such foul language, threatening to even ban our entry into the Garden, that we were compelled to advise him politely to go climb a tree... and branch out.
At that time, there was no cemented area outside the China Hut. The good thing about this space is that the surface is even and firm, unlike the grassy area we were exercising on till yesterday. There the ground is usually wet with the morning dew (or rainwater) and worse, the many potholes and jagged rocks jutting out could get anyone to trip over and sprain a leg. The added advantage is that we are now even closer to that building and with our increased numbers, how the residents would enjoy a more peaceful morning sleep is anybody’s guess. Yet, in their infinite wisdom they got this space “permanently” allotted to us and we can only wish them good luck.
Meanwhile, here’s a guessing game that got many of us to scratch our heads all morning: What is the age of this gentleman in the photograph alongside? He is Lt Col Angad Singh (retd). Jagmohan Papneja placed him at a conservative 65 years. Bijoy Gupta took it up to 70 years. In fact, everybody’s guesswork ranged between 60 and 70 years. The truth is (hold your breath)… he is 81!
Kiran Prakash:
Location takes a back seat as long as long as we get to meet every day, have a hearty laugh and exercise. I must admit this one hour every morning in the Garden has immensely benefited me, both mentally and physically. I wish Col Singh many more healthy and happy years. He is an inspiration to all of us.