Called Off

It was Shekhawat's 60th wedding anniversary. Bihari Milwani (ext rt) gifts him a memento. 

Shekhawat treats us to idli-vada while the meeting on the Gir trip was on 

The Gir Forest trip, scheduled for March 18 to 22 (ref previous posts) has been called off. This decision was forced upon us following the state government's announcement yesterday shutting down all schools, malls, cinema halls, marriage parties, gyms, public gatherings, etc. so as to contain the corona virus epidemic.
Although inter-city train travel has not been disallowed, by invoking the draconian Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 last evening (in addition to the existing Disaster Management Act) the government has made our position particularly untenable during the journey to and from the nearest railhead to Gir, i.e. Junagadh Station.
This piece of legislation empowers a government official, including ticket checkers and RPF cops to detrain any (or all) of us at any station on mere suspicion of being infected. It shall then be the duty of the station master to despatch the ‘suspect’ to the nearest civic hospital for a mandatory check-up and possible quarantine for 14 days.
This is over and above the actual risk of contracting the virus from co-passengers during travel or being faced with a lockdown in the city upon return or even the train getting cancelled either way. The uncertainties weighed heavily upon us as also the very real possibility of forfeiting the entire amount paid in advance for our stay, transport and jungle safari should we now cancel the trip.
Matters were brought to a logical head by Kiran Prakash who, in a rare outburst, exhorted everyone to pay heed to their health rather than being hung up on the money they would stand to lose by cancelling the trip. Yusuf Rassiwala and Zarina Khan revealed how their folks at home also had misgivings on the trip in present circumstances. Even Shekhawat insisted on scrapping the trip forthwith.
Finally, a consensus was reached. It was decided to postpone the trip, preferably to October, by which time the corona scare is likely to subside. Much would of course, depend on whether the resort hosting us at Gir is amenable to our request (and terms). But it is well worth a try. The idea is to salvage whatever possible from a no-go situation.
Meanwhile, everyone has been told to cancel their railway bookings immediately.

Karun Sharma:
* Better safe than never. Our family is able to take the correct action as they are not emotionally attached to mazaa, but to safety. I was told the snacks were in celebration of Shekhawat's 60th wedding anniversary. May he live long with love and togetherness.
* The calendar gifted by Milwani-ji was unique and said many things. He is an asset to Big Laaf. Banke Bihari Lal Ki Jai.