Doomsday Evangelist

Shekhawat was in a foul mood today. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would have to face torrential rain with thunder and lightning at this time of the year. Naturally, attendance was abysmal. “No exercise today,” he declared

Shekhawat (ext  left) leads the way out of the Garden

angrily, pointing at the sky.
Nobody listened to him, which made him all the more angry. “Kalyug aa gaya!” he grumbled, reluctantly taking his position in the China Hut. “These unseasonal rains, what does it mean? Have we ever had rains in November? If it continues to rain like this, we will have to cancel the Juhu Beach party on Sunday. I am not going there!”
Nahid Khan pacified him saying that nobody can go against the will of nature. Shekhawat retorted by giving her a crash course on agrarian crisis and how farmers were suffering due to the rains. He himself has suffered huge losses as this year’s harvest in his village has been completely washed out.
“But what can be done?” he reasoned. “If somebody cheats you of your money, you can call the police, get him arrested. If some animal eats your crops, you can drive it away. If a thief takes away your crops, you can beat him up. But what do you do when nature plays havoc? Nature is neither man nor animal.”
Eventually Shekhawat calmed down, but not before announcing that Bombay will be entirely submerged in 30 years. “We shall all go under water,” he said. “Don’t you people read the papers? They say it will rain so much that water levels in the sea will rise and submerge the whole city by 2050. That will be the end of us!”

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Indra Devta has been extra generous this year. It is raining almost all over India, which is very unusual this time of the year. But then, what cannot be cured must be endured. Not only are the farmers suffering but also common citizens. We have to purchase onions with tears in our eyes. But keep laughing. Do not be gloomy. That is what we have learnt in the Club. There is always a silver lining around the cloud!