Dipping Attendance

Shekhawat's rail gaadi... THE SHOW MUST GO ON! 

Daily attendance continues to hover in the region of 12 to 15 during the exercises. Absentees would always be forthcoming with ready excuses, but what is quite evident this summer is the tendency to oversleep in the mornings. There is a general reluctance to step out of the air-conditioned comfort of a bedroom and brave the sultry weather outside.
“Why doesn’t Shekhawat start collecting money just like that?” Bijoy Gupta opined a few days back. “The reason for collecting money does not matter. What matters is our eagerness to pay him. This is the specialty of our Big Laaf club. Shekhawat has only to make an announcement and however flimsy the reason, everyone would land up the Garden to pay up. That way we can be assured

Gate meeting with Arun Patil (l)

of 100 per cent turn out.”
Gupta has himself stopped coming of late as he has discovered that rather than the morning, it is “more comfortable” in the evening to step out of home. But he unwittingly raised a pertinent point. In the absence of an engaging activity that affords some recreation/ entertainment, there is nothing compelling enough to draw people to the Garden these days.
For example, Santosh Tyagi has stopped coming to exercise, but the moment she was told that plans are on for a movie outing (most probably, Raazi), she promised to resume her Garden routine. Likewise, many are still hoping for a day picnic, in spite of the oppressive weather. There are other options too, but that will all happen after the new managing committee takes office.
Meanwhile, Nahid Khan packed her bags and has left for Lucknow today. Karuna Waghmare is threatening to go to Canada on a holiday. Qadeer Bano has guests at home. So does Rukhsana Khan… And then, there’s the month of Ramzaan beginning next week when attendance will drop further. But then, as they say, the show must go on.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
AC bedrooms are certainly cozy and provide enough excuse to oversleep. However, this is at the cost of many health benefits. One should be dauntless and exploit every occasion to be in the Garden. Early morning oxygen is free of cost. You will not get it in the late hours or in the evenings. Keep coming and laughing.