Brollys Are Back

Exercises in progress as the heavens threaten to open up

After an extended dry spell during the mornings, the umbrellas were out today. Luckily it did not rain while the exercises were on. But dark clouds hovered over the Garden and with a pre-dawn downpour just behind us, we were compelled to shift location back to the dry, cemented area outside the China Hut. Nobody wanted to take chances with the rain gods.
One of the biggest casualties of a rain-soaked morning is attendance. Half the regulars, especially men, do not turn up. But a bigger let-down is the way this can work as a dampener on our spirits.

Nahid Kan narrates a joke

Even Shekhawat looked out of sorts today, much as three of his four ‘fabled’ saalis gave him company during the exercises. This is rather unusual and should have occasioned a celebration in normal circumstances. But Shekhawat was restrained and kept his exuberance at low key.
At one point, members tried to cheer him by declaring that today ought to be observed as Shekhawat’s Saali Day. But that hardly made any difference to him.
The same was true of all others. Everybody soldiered on silently through the exercises as though it was a chore to be completed at the earliest. No wonder, the exercises were all over before time.
Nahid Khan though, made a feeble bid at infusing some humour towards the end. She narrated a joke in her typical dead pan style, but there was hardly an audience for her today. Most members seemed to be in an extraordinary hurry to leave for home.
Indeed, rains can make the mood gloomy, more so, when there were only a dozen-odd present. And yet, once the monsoon is over, we shall be yearning for these very rains. This is human nature.