Monsoon Madness

It hasn't started raining yet

Look at the picture on the left. Exercises are on and there is one man in the middle holding an umbrella. It isn’t even raining yet. This man is an armed forces veteran – a retired officer of the Indian Navy. But like the legendary village chief Vitalstatistix (of Asterix comics) this man is afraid of the sky falling on his head!
You guessed it right. He is indeed our very own Shekhawat.
Bijoy Gupta, his friend, has a pet theory: “Between seven and eight every morning, Shekhawat loses his head.

Nahid Khan is all smiles

A dusht atma (mischievous spirit) enters his body and makes him do things he is not even aware of. Once out of the Garden, he gets back to his senses and behaves like a normal human being.”
But then, why accuse Shekhawat only for wayward behaviour? The monsoon has a way of getting the worst out of us as the picture on the right illustrates. It had rained eventually today morning and as always, we rushed into the China Hut for shelter – except for one lady.
Nahid Khan stayed put in the Garden, getting drenched to the skin, all by herself.

Arun Patil

She couldn’t care what anybody thought of her sitting all alone, without an umbrella, on a bench as it poured cats and dogs. Only after we were more than three-fourths through with the exercises, she joined us. Oddly enough, she had an umbrella upon her now!
Another instance: A portly woman (not a member) had skidded on the slimy pathway and sprained her ankle. Still, she wanted to exercise while we were in the China Hut. And of all the people, Arun (Disciplinarian) Patil rushed to her aid and insisted on massaging her foot. She allowed him... all this, while the exercises were on.
When the massage did not help, Arun made her turn around and began pressing her neck and shoulder with renewed vigor. It was a superb sight, straight out of National Geographic, but cannot be photographed. Only when other ladies like Zareena Khan started wondering aloud if all this was serving any purpose did Arun get a hold on himself and stop.
So why blame Shekhawat alone? The monkey in the air can possess anybody, anytime during the monsoon.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
We certainly have many crazy people among us. But they also help to keep us laughing -- the main motto of our club. Keep it up, good show.