Diwali 2015

BANOO APA... NOW

BANOO APA... THEN

Time was when Diwali was just another day at the Garden. We did our exercises, wished one another and dispersed for the day. At the most somebody distributed toffees or chocolates and on a good year, we even got a luddoo or two. That was all there used to be on what is arguably, the most extravagant of all religious festivals celebrated in India.
In the past three or four years, much has changed in the Club. We now celebrate Diwali in its true spirit – as indeed, all major festivals through the year. Shekhawat treated us to Vyanjan food boxes, though it was ostensibly to celebrate the announcement of OROP (One Rank, One Pension) armed forces’ veterans have been campaigning for long. The ta’i chi girls were there today also (ref yesterday post) and in a touching gesture, reciprocated with trayfuls of rosogolla-like, soft jelly sweets – evidently home-made. But the biggest event of the morning was the eagerly anticipated results of the 13th edition of the Pehchaan Kaun contest.

Bhaswati Bose declares the results of Pehchaan Kaun-13

As many as 30 members had participated this time, of which 25 were bang on at recognizing Banoo Apa from the photograph taken when she was 22 years (ref post of November 1).

With Prabha Kapoor

The remaining five went beating around the bush with names like Mallika Kagzi, Geeta Latte and Mumtaz Jahan pitched for good measure. A bigger challenge was to locate Banoo Apa’s place of birth and even bigger than that, was to name her mother tongue. The correct answers to them are Mumbai and Pashto respectively.

Shekhawat's Diwali treat

Ultimately PRABHA KAPOOR was to emerge the surprise winner -- the only one to get all the answers right.
For the first time in the 13 contests held so far, there was no dispute or acrimony as everybody accepted the result sportingly.

Kiran Prakash gets clobbered

Maybe, the presence of the Chinese girls was a reason and today, more than the initial warm-up exercise, the way some members eagerly offered their forearms to be beaten black and blue by the girls was a cause of much amusement.
It was horribly painful. And every time large blisters, a swelling or eruption showed up (attributed to toxins and

Chinese girls' Diwali treat

blockages in the body) we felt vindicated.
The only person to be declared ‘pure’ (with no blister and no noticeable body toxin) was Kiran Prakash. And at the other extreme was Shekhawat who wanted a repeat eruption of dark-blue blisters after yesterday’s experience (see post). So he proffered his other arm hoping some more blockages would show up. When 15 minutes of vigorous tapping and clobbering yielded nothing, Srichand Arora intervened quietly. “You are making a mistake,” he confided in the girl. “There are blockages on his face. Hit him there, HARD!”
WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE DIWALI.

Kiran Prakash:
Ask me how painful the process was in getting the label of 'purity'. And that was nothing when compared to the embarrassment of not being able to convey my agony to those Chinese girls. I had to keep a brave face and kept getting hammered, one by one -- not by two, not by three but four tough girls. And you are talking of the label of 'purity'? Spraying chili powder on my wounds?