Theatre of the Absurd

A goat to break the Alibaug jinx

Banoo Apa wants to get hold of a black goat urgently. “This is the only way to counter the ill-effects of the evil eye cast on our Club,” she opined today. “We need to somehow break the jinx over the Alibaug picnic.”
Other ladies were more specific and named Bijoy Gupta for his evil eye

Banoo Apa distributes vada pao in the Garden

that has rendered the picnic a non-starter. They haven’t forgiven him for backing out of the trip (ref post of January 6) and for his “badduah” from which they are yet to recover.
Gupta of course, is least bothered and brushes aside the ladies' accusations. “How am I responsible for your failures?” he laughs. “You people must have done something wrong and now you are paying the price for it.”
The first attempt to Alibaug was made for January 8 when Bharat Bandh got into the

Laxmi Hadimani

way (ref post of January 7). Another attempt was made for today and quietly, unknown to many, the ladies regrouped yesterday to plan out the trip.
What they did not reckon though, was that the hotel booking made for Jaunary 8 was no longer valid. This being the week-end, the rooms (barring a couple of them) were all sold out. And the closest other hotel available was a good

Bijoy Gupta informs of his Alibaug property

11 kms away -- nowhere near any beach.
So in the course of the day, a joint decision was taken over the phone to call off the trip once again – just that it slipped Laxmi Hadiman’s mind. (Apparently, she was fast asleep in the afternoon yesterday when Nahid Khan woke her to convey the news.) This morning Laxmi was all packed and dressed, but with nowhere to go.
A similar faux pas was reported by Fahmida Khan as she waited in vain for a taxi to pick her up early morning. Banoo Apa, who ordered vada-pao for the boat ride to Alibaug, had to consume them with us in the Garden.
Amid all this, Bijoy Gupta informed that he owns a farmhouse in Alibaug and would be glad to host the Club there. He is in physical possession of the property, but due to financial constraints, has not been able to maintain it. “If you tell me in advance, I will get the place cleaned up and make it habitable,” he said. “Once you are there, you will not want to leave.”
Zarina Khan stood at a distance, silently watching this theatre of the absurd.

Bihari Milwani:
Today is lunar eclipse. Hence the picnic suffered some more hiccups. Does Bijoy Gupta have a farm house in Lonavala too? We can plan a trip there as it is just a three-hour drive.