Rotational Formula

We cut a sorry picture today

We found ourselves in a piquant situation today. The weather was pleasant – the temperature in the region of 22 degrees, the air crisp and the skies clear… Yet, there was nobody (barring two) to get the exercises started. Yusuf Rassiwala, Nahid Khan, Karun Sharma, Rukhsana Khan and others who have been reporting to the Garden religiously before 7:00 a.m. had taken the day off.
Still, we waited patiently for nearly half an hour. Just as we were about to call off the exercises and disperse for the day, Bhaswati Bose walked in.

Qadir Bano distributes sweets

Then came Bijoy Gupta, followed by Qadeer Bano, Sayeeda Sayed, Banoo Apa and Naheed Siddiqui in quick succession. We had no option but to hold the exercises, but in a curtailed form.

Banoo Apa (l) distributes chikkis

By 8:00 a.m. we were done.
Thereafter Shekhawat, who was unusually quiet and did not give away a single flower to any late-comer today, dropped a bombshell. He declared that he was quitting the Club and would much rather exercise in the “other” Garden on his own. “I see no reason coming here when you are least interested in exercising,” he explained haltingly. “No matter what I say and how much I plead with you, you

Shekhawat threatens to quit the Club

are determined to show up late every day. This is not okay.”
Gupta was the only one to promptly promise that he would be punctual from tomorrow. All the others (ladies mainly) grudgingly agreed citing excuses like domestic compulsions, medical issues, effect of sleeping pills, etc. “In the military, the first thing we were taught was punctuality,” Shekhawat reminded them, before drifting away on his daily routine while in the Indian Navy.
Finally, in the course of discussions, it was decided that rather than allowing Shekhawat to precipitate matters, we should strike a middle ground. Since a minimum of five were required to flag off the exercises every morning and that the presence of three members can be taken for granted, we might as well identify two people every week to make do the deficit. They will compulsorily have to report by 7:00 a.m. regardless of all others.
Saeeda and Qadir Bano volunteered for the next five days and for next week, it would be the turn of Bhaswati and Naheed Siddiqui. Thereafter two other names will be picked… and so on, till everybody exhausts their turn and the routine is repeated. Shekhawat found this ‘rotational formula’ acceptable, but not before Gupta made a caustic remark: “When I saw from the gate that nobody was exercising today, my first thought was, ‘Arrey, koi tapak gaya’!”