Kinky Capers

Shekhawat shakes hands with Vijay Bhai (l) for the eighth time 

Vijay Jakhia is a dignified, much adored man in the Garden. Perennially dressed in spotless white, this tall and genial septuagenarian turns up at daybreak and makes it a point to greet everyone, man and woman, along the walking track. This has been his routine for the past 10 years, if not more.
Today, for some peculiar reason, Shekhawat decided to put the fear of god

Karuna Waghmare

in Vijay Bhai (as he is popularly known). After every round of the Garden, Shekhawat would run up to him and shake his hands. Till the third round, he took this in his stride. But when Shekhawat persisted – even breaking out of the exercise circle to shake his hands – Vijay Bhai looked alarmed.
‘Why is he behaving like this today?’ he exclaimed, still trying to smile. ‘Why is he after me?’
After the eighth momentous handshake, a terrified

Khatoon Baig

Vijay Bhai changed tack and settled on a bench at a distance. ‘Do you know why I am doing this?’ Shekhawat gloated. ‘He greets me daily with folded hands, but

Yusuf Rassiwala reminds everybody on the forthcoming AGM

with others, including women, he does not stop with a namaste. He bends down and actually shakes their hands!’
Shekhawat is elder to Vijay Bhai and obviously, knows him well enough to take liberties in jest. But then, it is also a fact that such kinky behavior betrays a level of senility that many of us have unconsciously been slipping into. How else would you explain, Karuna Waghmare abruptly breaking into a film song or addressing Arun Patil as ‘Bondhu’ for no reason?
There are many, when left alone, can be seen muttering to themselves. Instances of memory lapse are common. Khatoon Baig, an otherwise quiet and reticent person, often lashes out at Shekhawat without provocation. Today she admonished Naheed Siddiqui for turning up late, only to ‘pull her ears’. It sounded hilarious coming from one not known to be so expressive.
Viewed differently, the Club is perhaps the only place for them to turn self-assertive and let their hair down – to the point of being ridiculous.

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
It is only in the Big Laaf club that members take liberties, unheard of earlier. Good. Keep enjoying.