Birthday Break

Hearty brunch at Shreejee's, courtesy Zarina Khan 

Amid all the buzz and bandobast for the Thursday function (ref post of February 28), Zarina Khan today provided a welcome diversion by treating us to brunch at the nearby Shreejee’s restaurant in Oshiwara. It was her birthday.
Earlier in the morning, we sang the birthday song in the Garden and raised an extra laugh for Zarina, as per Big Laaf tradition. Her so-called ‘amma’, Bhaswati Bose gave her the birthday calendar (along with her blessings) on behalf of the Club.
Zarina had brought some choco-bars with her for those in a hurry and unable to make it to Shreejee’s. What struck us though was the way she is clocking time till she celebrates her 70th birthday in another two years. This would make her eligible for a special crystal glass trophy, the memento given by

Zarina receives calendar from Bhaswati Amma

the Club to those making it to their platinum jubilee.

Happy Birthday, Zarina Khan

“I am not going anywhere till I get the trophy,” Zarina said airily. “Trophy le ke hi chhodungi.”
As mementos go, trust Bihari Milwani to come up with a surprise when he announced that he had something special for the Boses. “They have completed 16 years and eight months of marriage today,” he revealed. “This means exactly 200 months of togetherness.”
On the face of it, arriving at this figure is no big deal – at least for someone hardwired like Milwani. As Kiran Prakash remarked, this is child’s play for him. “Not for everybody, but with Milwani this is a relatively simple calculation,” he pointed out.

Bihari Milwani (l) gifts memento to the Boses 

More than the method of computation, what most of us are missing out is the manner Milwani keeps track of the lives of not just one or two members, but of everybody in the Club. He knows precisely their birthdays, marriage days and who knows, even their death days also!
Of greater significance is the way he prepares himself for these landmark moments. It wasn’t yesterday that he learned that the Boses were completing 200 months of marriage. He knew this much earlier, bided his time, prepared the memento quietly and presented it today.
Milwani must be having mementos (meant for different occasions) in store for others also -- just that they themselves may not know what makes them to be so deserving. Hats off to this man, if he can actually be called one.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
Milwani is a magician. He is very fast in figure work. He is amazingly accurate and bewildering. Hats off to him. May he live long and continue to keep us amused. Also, Happy birthday to Zarina. She said that trophy le ke hi chhodungi. I wish the Boses a very happy and long married life. May they celebrate many centuries.

Karishma Milwani:
Dad only remembers the milestones of lovely people like you all.

Nisha:
Well done, Dad!!!