New Club?

Bijoy Kumar Gupta

Not many are blessed with the presence of mind and facility of the (Hindi) language that Bijoy Kumar Gupta commands. He can badmouth anyone in a dozen different ways and the person would still feel grateful and laugh with him. His choice of words makes all the difference.
This morning though, Gupta did not target Shekhawat, his good old bête noire. Instead, he floated a rumour which surprisingly, the latter was to take seriously for a while.
“What are you doing here?” Gupta asked no one in particular.

A colorful Wednesday morning

“I hear a new school (read ‘laughter club’) is being opened in this Garden and they shall be offering Rs1,000 to every person who joins. And here we are charged Rs600 to retain our membership. We must be fools to be paying whereas we should actually be earning a lot of money!”
Shekhawat’s ears perked up. He broke out of the exercises and mumbled into Gupta’s ears. “I am not mad,” Gupta jerked away instantly. “Better you come with me.

Jackfruit treat from Jaishri Satpute

You will not only get your thousand rupees but who knows, a new set of saalis and girlfriends…”
By then everyone had pretty much guessed that Gupta was pulling Shekhawat’s leg. Some joked about 'dual membership’ – the idea being to shuttle between two clubs and just making sure to be where the party was every day. The suggestion amounted to putting Shekhawat’s loyalty to test.
Meanwhile, the Club appears to have outgrown the practice of wearing uniforms as a number of members today rejected the imposition of having to wear green on Wednesdays. Apparently a decision to this effect was taken by the managing committee last week. So Kiran Prakash basked in a beautiful sunny tee and dark trousers (“copyrighting Mumbai’s black-and yellow taxi”) while Kajal Babani preened around in smart zebra stripes and other ladies displayed a variety of checks and vibrant prints, reflecting the cheerful mood of the morning. Men mostly kept to regulation whites.
“Change is the only constant in life,” observed Siba Prasad Maitra philosophically. “Nobody can resist change.”
Kiran Prakash:
In fact, when I was equated to Mumbai's 'kaali-peeli taxi' I volunteered to ferry people to Juhu beach after the exercises. But no one came forward. Better luck next time. We have had enough of this dress code. Let us now breathe freely. Let PRESIDENT come back from her holiday. We will then settle this issue for ever.