Gloomy Haze

Shekhawat and Bijoy Gupta in a playful banter

Now that prospects for a February 10 picnic have faded out, a sense of uncertainty has settled over the Club. Adding to the air of gloom was a dense haze that hung over the Garden, cutting the sun out all morning. Weather reports suggest a drop in air quality levels coupled with ‘moisture incursion’. Whatever that means, it felt like being in the midst of a second winter.
Brightening the proceedings, Bijoy Gupta was back to picking

Geeta Latte (file photo)

a bone with Shekhawat for no reason. He revived his demand for a party for the “six crore worth flat he had got for free in a lottery” and announced that there shall be no celebratory ‘fourth laughter’ till Shekhawat treats everybody to breakfast at High Point restaurant!
Fact is there never was any lottery and that Shekhawat had already treated us for the new flat last month. (Gupta casually dismissed that as a “Bachchon ka Party”!) But Shekhawat foolishly walked into a trap by offering his flat to Gupta if he hosted a party at High Point. Gupta accepted the offer, but insisted he'd pay no more than Rs500 (the price of the lottery ticket, according to him), thus setting off a hilarious banter, much to the amusement of all present.
Meanwhile, news comes in on Geeta Latte who has stopped coming to the Garden for a week or so. Turns out she has been hospital hopping for a major dental condition that had almost cost her her front teeth. It seems she had once fallen chin down as a child and according to X Ray reports, cracked her lower jaw. With age, the pain is revisiting her and some orthodontists even suggested extracting four of the offending teeth. She is fortunately in able hands now and has settled for root canal treatment.
The protracted procedure has however, aggravated her pain, thus restricting her food intake and causing weakness. She informs that she would resume her Garden routine once she gathers the strength to do so. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Karun Sharma:
* I am all for the picnic, even if the number is reduced to half. It seems we are slowly sliding to a comfort zone which is extremely harmful. I earnestly ask friends to take courage and come for the picnic. High enthusiasm for picnic indicates high enthusiasm for life.
* We all are missing Geeta Latte badly. We pray she recovers fast and joins us at the earliest. I wish Geeta the strength to take on the painful time and show up in Garden.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Geeta is the baby of the Club. Her enthusiasm is hypnotic. She will soon overcome her dental problem and be able to rejoin the Club. The tit-bits between Bijoy Gupta and Shekhawat make for the 'salty biscuits' to be enjoyed daily! Keep enjoying. All the same, please go on a picnic - sooner the better.

Dilip Babani:
If big picnic is not possible we can go for a small picnic at Juhu Beach from 10:00 a.m. and come back by 5:00 pm. All arrangements can be made for full enjoyment. This is just a recommendation, it is up to members to decide. We all can go by autorikshaw. It will be a nice picnic in less money.

Geeta Latte:
Thank you so much, Karun-uncle and Angad-uncle 🙏🙏