No Kidding

Shekhawat-Gupta bury the hatchet

Shekhawat’s ‘joy train’ is turning out to be a deadly serious affair. What began as a frivolous caper (ref post of May 25) is now de rigueur for the Club, marking the conclusion of the free-hand exercises every day. So serious is Shekhawat about it that without fail, he has been leading the train as its ‘engine driver’ and brooks no interference or disruption in this routine.

Happy Birthday Khatoon Baig

Even when he was at Mahabaleshwar, he had the train running. The one time Bijoy Gupta tried to upstage him (ref post of May 23) had led to an ugly spat between the two, prompting Kiran Prakash to ‘appoint’ a guard (armed with a green flag) as a preemptive measure. Shekhawat also acquired a plastic whistle to establish that no one else can be the boss of the train.
Today, once again, he flew off the handle when Gupta threatened to chuck his whistle in the gutter behind the Garden. It was a joke, at best an idle tease. But Shekhawat believed that Gupta would actually carry out the threat and went hammer and tongs at him. “Let me see you touch this whistle,” he shouted.

Khatoon receives her calendar

“This is not the first time you are threatening to throw the whistle in the gutter. You have said it time and again earlier. If you have the guts, take this whistle and throw it in the gutter!”
A crowd gathered as Gupta squirmed. Nobody expected Shekhawat to blow his top over a stupid plastic whistle. But the truth, as it turned out, lay elsewhere.

Monthi celebrates son's birthday 

Razia Khan had cheekily overtaken Shekhawat to become the ‘engine driver’ today and in her infinite wisdom, apologized. That did it. Shekhawat turned even more furious, shaking with rage… till Srichand Arora had to intervene and deliver his sermon from the Mount: “When you play the fool with others, you should also have the appetite for people to take liberties with you!” Somehow, this made sense to Shekhawat and a truce was declared. Gupta emerged sheepishly from behind the crowd and joined hands with Shekhawat for the famous ‘galloping dance’ – a ritual that goes back to late Bapu Rane’s time. Peace restored, everybody milled around Khatoon Baig to celebrate her birthday with samosas and barfi.
Monthi Serrao also celebrated her younger son, Ryan’s birthday today, with chocolates.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Birthdays are always special because they help to see how far you have come and how far you still have to go. Wishing you wisdom for the rest of your life, Mrs Khatoon Baig.