Tasted Blood!

Banoo celebrates with halwa-chai

The collective euphoria and joie de vivre from Saturday evening’s function (ref yesterday’s post) spilled into the Garden this morning. Many came flashing WhatsApp messages, video recordings and photographs clicked on their mobiles while most others recounted the hilarious highpoints of the event – the unnoticed goof-ups, unplanned intrusions, the what-could-have beens and so on.
Monthi Serrao had lost her bunch of house keys in the China Hut that evening, but nobody paid any attention to her. Everyone was on an emotional high. At the instance of Mumtaz Jahan, a fourth laugh was raised for the success of the function.

Shekhawat sings his heart out: "Roop naya hai, Rang naya hai"

And Banoo Apa, as always, was there to celebrate the moment – this time with delectable home-made suji-ka-halwa and two large flasks of hot tea.
But the Club had already tasted blood. The feedback from the function is proving to be so heady that many members are demanding another event on a bigger scale – and with more time to prepare. At least two ladies, Nahid Khan and Mumtaz are insisting that we have a ticketed show of a play (obviously, to be staged by them) in a “commercial theatre”. Both are prepared with their scripts. It is almost as though they are ready for the big kill right away!
Meanwhile, Shekhawat sat at a distance, singing to himself, “Roop naya hai, Rang naya hai…” Those were the very lines given to him for the function, before Santosh Tyagi appropriated them. (That she too could not get to sing them, is another story). But Shekhawat couldn’t care less. He is happy that he has been able to find a new saali last Saturday. And it is for her ‘benefit’, that he is rehearsing anew.
Who that lady is, nobody knows. For some reason, Shekhawat is holding her identity close to his chest -- and heart.
Kiran Prakash:
The so-called Biryani Nite has certainly strengthened the bonding among members and generated a new feeling of belonging. This is the right time to lay down 'norms' for the smooth functioning of the Club. Over-enthusiasm sometimes leads to indiscipline, which we must avoid at any cost. The emotional bonding can be highly productive when it is governed within certain parameters.