Sultry Spell

Sun blazes down relentlessly on the Garden

After the ‘monsoon mayhem’ of early June, the weather gods have swung to the other extreme – forcing on us an extended dry spell for the past fortnight. It is so sultry and sticky that every morning, during the exercises, we would be hoping and praying that the rains descend upon us once again. Our prayers were answered only partially today with a passing drizzle, but that was all. It had become even more sweltering after that.
Arora came up with a theory that the only way to invite the rains was to stop bringing umbrellas to the Garden. “That’s how nature works,” he said confidently. “When you come prepared for something, it will not happen. When you are not, nature is bound to catch you unawares.”
Significantly, most people had already stopped bringing their umbrellas – Shekhawat being an exception.

Santosh Tyagi

Gupta saw his opportunity and jumped at it. “Look, this man is the culprit,” he said pointing at Shekhawat and the big colorful umbrella he habitually brings to the Garden every day. “Because of him we are not having any rain. He is the man who gives us trouble.”
Shekhawat gave him an indulgent smile. “The day he gets into trouble, there will be no one to bail him out,” Arora chided.
“Don’t worry about me,” Shekhawat grinned. “There are many people to bail me.”
“He is talking about his saalis,” Nahid Khan intervened and everyone instantly clammed up.
Meanwhile news filters in on Santosh Tyagi’s continued absence for over a week. It seems she has lost her gold chain to chain snatchers last week while making it down a deserted stretch from her home early morning. The exact details of the incident are not known yet. But since then, Santosh has lost the confidence to step out of doors on her own. “The chain holds immense sentimental value to me,” Santosh confided in a friend. “My father gifted it to me 35 years back.”
Some clarity on this would emerge when Santosh comes to the Garden next – hopefully this Saturday, as promised on phone.