Two Announcements

Shekhawat breaks the news on Yusuf Rassiwala's party  

Hari Singh Shekhawat had two announcements to make today. But he was in no hurry. “I will not say anything now,” he said upon entering the Garden. “But you will be happy to hear about two pieces of very good news. Just wait after the exercises.”
Having raised everybody’s curiosity, the exercises were conducted in perfect harmony, but for a brief disruption due to rain. It was not supposed to rain, but since Maliika Kagzi had predicted so at the beginning, we were treated to a mild shower. At that point, Banoo Apa’s music system was playing ‘Babuji dheerey chalna…’ – the 1954 anthem from Aar Paar. Let alone run for cover, everyone broke into an impromptu jig with Shekhawat and Razia Khan in the lead. With colorful umbrellas bobbing up and down to the infectious beat and Banoo Apa lip-syncing to Geeta Dutt’s sensuous lyrics, this was one rain dance that can never be enacted again.

Dancing in the rain

It was wild and spontaneous. But still, nobody had quite forgotten Shekhawat’s promise.
So immediately after the exercises, Yusuf Rassiwala was summoned and Shekhawat made the first announcement. “With great pleasure I wish to inform you that the heavens have turned a benevolent eye on Yusuf-bhai and his family,” he began dramatically. “This is the beginning only. I am sure the family will be showered with much more money in future…”
He was not getting to the point. So Yusuf intervened: “Two of my grandchildren have made their mark as actors. The elder one was already acting in movies, as you all know. Now the younger one has made her debut in a tele-serial, Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani, currently aired on Zee TV. Now she is shooting for another serial also, Akash Ganga. The response to both have been very good. So I would like to invite you all home to bless the kids. We shall have a small party in the evening of August 16, Sunday. Please do come, all of you.”
And what about the second announcement? True to style, Shekhawat blurted out, “I forgot. The second announcement is that I have forgotten.”