Fun-filled Fiesta

NAVA RATNAS (l to r): Khatoon Baig, Nahid Siddiqui, Santosh Tyagi, Razia, Banoo Apa, Yusuf R, Geeta Latte, Bhaswati and Naseem Khan

Section of the dining hall

Bijoy Gupta presents roses

Like the sound of approaching thunder, a loud roar of laughter rose from the Garden today at 8:00 in the morning. Soon after, another followed. And another. And another… Wave after wave, the rumble continued – altogether nine times for each of the eight ladies and one man who were to jointly celebrate their birthdays today.
Only five of them were present – Banoo Apa, Razia Khan, Geeta Latte, Khatoon Baig and (the lone male) Yusuf Rassiwala. They were joined in the afternoon by the other four – Nahid Siddiqui, Bhaswati Bose, Naseem Khan and Santosh Tyagi – at Kailash Parbat, a fine dining speciality vegan restaurant for what was to be a memorable, fun-filled birthday fiesta.

Diners gather around the long table

Bijoy Gupta gifted the hosts with a red rose each to the accompaniment of Karun Sharma reciting a witty couplet (in the form of a riddle) for every recipient. It was totally unrehearsed.

Siba Prasad Maitra

Apart from the element of novelty, it had a dash of drama that left everyone in splits. (And they included other diners in the restaurant as well). It is not for nothing that Karun is fast being recognized by the sobriquet, ‘Ludhianvi’ tagged to his name.
But this was one part of the story.

Male section? Do not disturb!

The other important part was the cake cutting ceremony with Banoo Apa overseeing the time-honored ritual. A table was specially brought upfront on request by the restaurant management for this purpose. And probably, for the first time in human history, a candle on top of a cake was blown off nine times and lit eight times in quick succession.

Prima donnas!

Only then was the cake quickly diced and consumed by 24 eager mouths.
As for the food on offer, the restaurant measured up to its reputation as one of the best in town in vegan fare. Some had to deal with a problem of plenty, but that too was expected. An extra bowl of falooda, which was not part of the regular buffet menu, was also served. In all this, we missed some friends who could not make it – Kiran Prakash, Bihari Milwani, Qadeer Bano, Pushpa Gupta and Nasir Putani Shah.
Karuna Waghmare cut short her stay with her daughter in Powai to be with us on this big day. Most important, Siba Prasad Maitra was there in spite of his plastered foot and doctors’ orders to take it easy till the fracture heals. And of course, there was Dev Das as well, photographing the event for posterity, together with his sister Geeta Latte. Full credit to both of them for sharing some of the accompanying pictures.
In the end, it felt like Sunday!

Whose turn is it to blow the candle?

Singing and dancing continues

Dilip Babani:
Very nice party at Kailash Parbat. Nice food, falooda , gulab jamun and of course, very nice birthday cake ordered by Banoo Apa. May god bless all nine Big Laaf members. Very nice photos. Also roses presented by Mr Gupta. Very nice commentary by Mr Karun Sharma. A very, very nice party.
Geeta Latte:
It was a beautiful party. Each moment was worth remembering forever. I thank every single host (including myself!) for making the event such a wonderful experience.