Eye Opener

What on earth is Nahid Khan doing there, sitting in the middle?

We were today introduced to t’ai chi chu’an, thanks to Geeta Latte. She has been taking lessons in this ancient Chinese martial art form at the garden close by and would occasionally demonstrate what she had learnt for our members to see. Some like Yusuf Rassiwala and Bhaswati Bose were

Demonstration of 'meditation in motion'

Basic level ta'i chi

so impressed that they became her students and even started calling her 'Tai Chi'.
Today Geeta introduced us to her teacher, Wu Mei-Hua. A trained expert from Hong Kong, she was accompanied by Liang Wenyi, Liang Hui Quing and Xu Li Jun and together they put us through the paces of what this gentle, free-flowing ‘meditation in motion’ is about at a very basic level.
It was an eye-opener. Whoever knew there were so many ways of rubbing the palms, each having a direct effect on a body part (which we could actually feel) or that through simple exercises of stretching and changing postures, we could be activating not just our muscles but the flow of blood through our veins.
Shekhawat was supremely thrilled when Mei-Hua hammered on his forearm with her fists and detected some blocked blood vessels. Mumtaz Jahan too underwent the same treatment that revealed high levels of blood cholesterol. Srichand Arora now wants to also get his arm hammered by those Chinese women and has invited them tomorrow. In fact, he wants them to visit

Mallika packs the left-overs

us every morning at 7:30 even if it were to cost us our second laughter round.
In all this, we did not notice that Mallika Kagzi was quietly waiting for us at a distance with keema-pao and chai. Today was her daughter’s birthday. The girl is no more, but Mallika still observes her birthday on November 10 (ref post of same date last year). If only she had sounded us earlier, we would have deferred the t’ai chi lessons for another day. In the end, things had to be wrapped up in a hurry because everybody was getting late. All of us owe Mallika a huge apology for the food that had possibly gone waste. We do not deserve so much goodness from her.
Ajit Choudhary:
I missed the exotic Chinese exercises. Okay, I will learn from the members who undergo training. Really, it must have been a wonderful exposure for Big Laaf members.
Lt Col Angad Singh (from Mohali):
It is a healthy approach for club members to learn the new martial art form. This also proves that age is no bar to learning. Hope these members become proficient soon and spread the art among others as well. Mallika Kagzi has been a regular hostess for tea and snacks, almost on regular basis. It is heartening to note that she celebrates her daughter's birthday every year. May her daughter's soul rest in peace.
Geeta Latte:
Sorry Mallika aunty, I was not aware of the snacks this morning. Love you so very much.