The unending caravan of daily celebrations took us to Garden No 2 this morning. Instead of exercising on home ground, we trooped in to take part in the laughter exercises of our neighbors across the road, courtesy
Hem Chand Jain. His grandson had got married in Delhi recently and he wanted us to rejoice with him and his friends.
Srichand Arora gracefully accepted his invite on our behalf and to our pleasant surprise, a lavish spread had already been laid out to mark the grand meet of members of both the laughter clubs.
To many of us, the laughter exercises of our neighbors came as eye-openers. We do not mimic the Charlie Chaplin waddle, or the act of pouring
lassi, hold our ears for no reason or say, shoot an invisible arrow or slap our thighs while trying to walk awkwardly...
Whatever the benefits of these comical acts, they surely raised many laughs among first-timers – more so, when they failed to catch up with the breathless pace of our hosts.
No wonder, an exasperated
Nahid Khan dared us to emulate the exercises by ourselves in our Garden. She would rather we remain content doing our own thing, including the rigorous free-hand exercises and go home happily.
We also discovered that they too have a jokes' session like us to sign off the exercises.
Kishor Babani pitched in from our side with his HDFC joke.
Hari Naraiyani did not exercise, but wandered around, shaking hands with old friends.
Yusuf Rassiwala looked a past master with the new set of exercises, as were
Hari Singh Shekhawat, Razia Khan and
Santosh Tyagi. The best part was the lusty rap number sung at the end by an elderly gentleman. “Oh my dear, come on near…” he intoned, while everyone else clapped along in unison. Perhaps we too must try this after our exercises with
Harish Wadhwa leading a male chorus… or should it be
Sitaram Hivarkar?
Renu Babani's PICS-SPEAK:
* "We can adjust wherever we go. A group that is able to join in and be a part of the crowd!"
[P.S.: Yes, it was interesting to watch some new exercises which were really different. Thank you, the members of Garden No 2 for inviting us and making us feel welcome.]
Harish Wadhwa:
Unke paas nayee exercises hain toh kya hua?
Unki exercises hamse tez hain toh kya hua?
Unke paas bhi jokes aur shayari hai to kya hua?
Hamare paas apna blog aur Ganju-Panju hai.
Hamare paas baatein, baatein aur zyada baatein hai.
Hamare paas Badmaash Company hai.
Hamare paas dilwale log hain. Balle Balle!!!
Srichand Arora:
* I agree, some of their exercises are really good. So let us discuss with our group in the Garden and if all agree, we may try out some of them. But then, we might have to reduce all our repeat actions in order to provide time for the new laughter exercises. I agree with our Harish-ji also, that
hamare paas toh bahut kuchh hai.
* I am really thankful to all in
Garden 2 for the warm welcome extended to
Big Laaf members. Thanks a lot, Mr Jain especially.
Harish Wadhwa adds:
Arora-ji, let us include some of their exercises in our routine. It will make things more interesting and quick!
The unending caravan of daily celebrations took us to Garden No 2 this morning. Instead of exercising on home ground, we trooped in to take part in the laughter exercises of our neighbors across the road, courtesy Hem Chand Jain. His grandson had got married in Delhi recently and he wanted us to rejoice with him and his friends. Srichand Arora gracefully accepted his invite on our behalf and to our pleasant surprise, a lavish spread had already been laid out to mark the grand meet of members of both the laughter clubs.
No wonder, an exasperated Nahid Khan dared us to emulate the exercises by ourselves in our Garden. She would rather we remain content doing our own thing, including the rigorous free-hand exercises and go home happily.
Our worst fears were confirmed today. For after the club’s Holi festivities yesterday morning and all members having dispersed, some people hung around in the Garden for what was to be an extended, but private celebration of sorts. 
The watchman of the Garden had also warned the men several times. An eyewitness, who took refuge in a chemist’s shop (munching a chocolate to evade suspicion) recounted that it was nothing but false bravado that had landed the revelers in a soup. The same men who bragged about their ‘connections’ with the cops were the first to run helter-skelter for their lives. And funnily, they were the ones today taking a moral high ground, pointing fingers at those caught with their hands in the cookie jar!
The long-awaited 'Kanji Day' for the Club finally dawned this morning. But it had to leave us with a tinge of guilt. For Santosh Tyagi, the lady who near-institutionalized the consumption of this tangy carrot-beetroot drink on Holi-eve, has not been keeping well (left pic) of late. A debilitating attack of viral fever had forced her to remain home-bound during the past few days. She almost did not come today, but had made appropriate arrangements in advance with the Babanis for carrying the heavy kanji bottles to the Garden… just in case.
Now, everybody knows that nobody makes kanji better than Santosh Tyagi and sure enough, they are all there – nearly 40 of them descending out of nowhere. Even Neelam Garg and Kiran Arora were there. Anticipating the heavy turnout, Santosh carried an extra bottle with her when she came in briefly towards the end of the exercises. Her foresight paid off and she did not run short, even after some people had shamelessly gobbled down several glasses like there was no tomorrow. If at all the lady could have any regret, it was for the absence of her biggest fan, Harish Wadhwa. She made Shekhawat call him specially on the phone, only to be told that he was sitting in Kolkata on work. Serves him right! Harish’s loss was our gain.
