Christmas 2018

Playing Santa: Kiran Prakash

It was a morning of glorious goof-ups. Someone forgets his house keys, only to find them later. Another forgets the sequence of exercises. A third laughs out of turn and abruptly shuts up when corrected. A fourth forgets what date it was today.
This had to happen all at once on the same morning. And while we were left wondering whether our brain exercise (of tongue wagging) was working in reverse gear, Kiran Prakash abruptly

Father Christmas visits us at the Garden today

took to his heels and without uttering a word, headed towards the Garden gate.
In keeping with the joyous mood of the morning, we surmised he must have remembered something that he had forgotten. When he did not return after a while, Nahid Khan declared authoritatively that Kiran Prakash had driven off to his house in Malad. But Banoo Apa and Bhaswati Bose, the eternal optimists, speculated wishfully that he would turn up and surprise us with a cake!
Meanwhile, Siba Prasad Maitra floated an amusing story of cops impounding Kiran Prakash’s car and towing it away. “They do this regularly during festival time, just to make an extra buck. Kiran Prakash must have sensed this and gone to retrieve his car. If he is lucky, he’ll get it back for Rs200. Otherwise he shall have to pay Rs350,” Maitra reasoned.
Against this backdrop of wild conjecture and suspense, a smiling Kiran Prakash materialized after the exercises, dressed in red – a lovely Santa Claus cap perched on his head and holding a matching red bag bulging with goodies. He held out fistfuls of toffees for everyone and much to our amazement and infinite delight, there was a Christmas cake as well! Could there be a better way to celebrate the yuletide spirit?
Merry Christmas to All!

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Hurrah, it's X-mas time! Enjoy in the true spirit of oneness while we celebrate all festivals with equal fervor. This reflects unity in diversity -- a trait found in the armed forces only. It is unique to our Club also. Congrats!!! Long live Kiran Prakash and the likes of him.