Day 1426

Pic of the Week

FESTIVE FATIGUE!!!

Harish Wadhwa:
Waah, kya baat hai! It was a wonderful, relaxing moment to stretch out in the Durga-Maa pandal. Would'nt mind repeating the act at another wonderful location if I get the chance.
Jagmohan Papneja:
I hope the activities of people in the photo are really in keeping with the sanctity of a holy place and according to Hindu tradition and rites.

Festive Spirit

'What is the because of these sweets?'

We are not done with the Dussehra celebrations yet. Lt Col (retd) Angad Singh kept the festive spirit alive by surprising us with a box of barfis soon after the exercises today. He was away for about a month and so this was another way to register his return to the Club. But since there were no dearth of mischief makers around, some unimaginably far-fetched reasons were attributed to the barfi treat.
A gentleman officer by nature, Singh finally put all speculation to rest by conceding that it was his birthday today.

The Grovers: Son and Papa

That was to spark off another round of speculation on whether or not we would be in for a bigger treat on his “actual birthday”. The good part though is that Singh has decided to make Mumbai his home and will not have to shuttle up and down Mohali henceforth. This will also enable him to be close to his son who stays in Oshiwara.
The other big surprise of the morning was Ved Prakash Grover’s son, Dharmender showing up unannounced in the Garden to wish us all a Happy Dussehra. The last we had seen him was on June 2013 when he hosted a big party for the Club on the occasion of his father’s 75th birthday. So it was a happy reunion of sorts, made doubly rewarding when he gamely joined us for the free-hand exercises.
However, the most endearing sight for all was when father and son stood apart, sharing a cell phone and some private moments together. They make a very pretty picture.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Lt Col Angad Singh is going to stay in Mumbai permanently. We are sure that with his past experience, he would like to join our club on a regular basis. We would be happy to share the formalities that are required to be completed in becoming a regular member with a nominal yearly subscription.
Harish Wadhwa:
All days whenever the sweets and goodies are distributed are festive and auspicious days. Dussehera is just one of them. The festive spirit continuous for us throughout the year.

Dussehra 2014

HAPPY DUSSEHRA FROM SANTOSH TYAGI

Today’s the day when the ten-headed demon king Ravan’s all 10 brains were blown to bits by Lord Ram. In a feminist reinforcement of the same ‘good prevailing over evil’ myth, buffalo demon Mahishasur was annihilated by a beautiful, smiling ten-armed Durga astride a ferocious lion. Coincidentally, on the very same day, Durga returns to her husband, Lord Shiva after her ten-day annual vacation on earth.

Bhaswati distributes barfi prasad

This is also the day when Kautsa fulfilled his promise of guru dakshina to sage Vararantu.
But for us, this was the day when Santosh Tyagi treated us to the most delectable prasad imaginable – shira and boiled gram, to be washed down with cups of flavored tea. Earlier, Bhaswati Bose distributed barfis (also prasad) after offering puja yesterday. But it was Santosh’s shira-gram prasad that had left a lingering aftertaste, such that many could not resist the temptation of second and third helpings.

Hot flavoured tea for everybody

Why is Shekhawat not shaking hands?

It has to be said that if Dussehra is about celebrating the Mother Goddess, we could not have had a better celebration. We are indeed blessed to have someone like Santosh among us who gets up at 2:30 in the night to prepare the shira-gram to absolute perfection and feed us first thing in the morning with such motherly care and affection. Along with the delicacy, she had brought paper cups, spoons, tissue and bottled drinking water, all neatly packed in her bag. Which woman in today’s times would do so much – that too for people wholly unrelated to her?
Incidentally, today was also the day when Shekhawat had to say his goodbyes before he catches the evening train to Jaipur. For some strange reason, he took offence to some ladies addressing him as “bhaiyya” (brother) and it took Razia to say “darling” to turn him completely ecstatic. He hopped and clapped like a child. But his joy was shortlived because Fehmida Khan was soon to erupt out of nowhere and while wishing him a happy and safe journey, called him “daddy”.
Happy Dussehra everybody!
Jagmohan Papneja
An auspicious day indeed, celebrated with the distribution of sweets and prasad. It marks the victory of good over bad. May this day clear all the hurdles of your life and set a new era of well-being. Happy Dussehra!

Durga Puja 2014

Posing in front of the puja pandal in Garden No 2

As on every Durga Puja, this time too we set out on our annual pilgrimage across the road to the festival pandal in Garden No 2. Oddly enough, we were caught in the cusp of the ashtami and navami pujas – effectively two dates (by the almanac) overlapping on the same day. On top of that, it was Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary also today.

Mike Raths and Jonas Meir

In other words, we had a triple bounty of celebrations today.
But the bigger high of the day was when two young men from Switzerland sought us out in the Garden and requested permission to film us while we exercised. They introduced themselves as Mike Raths and Jonas Meir from Zweihund GmbH, Fribourg. Apparently they had heard about our Club and were keen to feature us in a film they were working on.

Filming in progress

It is a project “about the relationship between physical mobility and music” they explained.
There was no reason for us to disappoint them. But since they had arrived too early in the morning, Srichand Arora advised them to wait for some time till more members of our group arrived for the exercises. “Sit there,” he said, pointing at a bench. “But do not shit there!” That was enough to break the ice and after that it was one enjoyable freewheeling session of work and play for the Swiss duo. They had become so pally in such a short time that in the end we felt obliged to treat them to samosas – the only fresh snack item we could find so early morning. But they were happy. Before leaving, they thanked everyone profusely and said that they would like to visit us tomorrow also – just that their tickets are already booked for their next stint at Bangalore.
In the end, we had made two new friends.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Durga is an aspect of Parvati. Along with Goddess Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati, with Ganesha and Kartikeya (who are considered to be Durga's children) are housed in pandals and worshiped during the festival.

Missing Presence

'Pearl' of wisdom -- on the garden blackboard

He is 86, she 82. For years, they have been sleeping in separate bedrooms. Their children have long flown the nest. Lonely at home, the couple (like many elderly couples do) often joked with one another: “What will happen to you if I were to die first?”
The question ceased being a joke last night. For at 3:00 a.m., when he got up to answer nature’s call, he noticed the light in his wife’s bedroom, still on. He pushed open the door and froze. She was lying there on the bed, absolutely still, her body cold. She had passed away in the silence of the night.
The man frantically phoned his daughter in Bandra. There was no doctor in the building. This was no time to wake the neighbours. By the time the daughter arrived with medical help, rigor mortis had set in. The doctor declared that the lady had breathed her last at least three hours earlier.
Her body is yet to be cremated. The man is awaiting his son's arrival from the U.S. – hopefully by tonight. But this morning he did one strange thing. He came to the Garden for just five minutes and put the Thought of the Day on the blackboard – something he has been doing dutifully, without fail, every morning for several years.

Shekhawat talks of Darjeeling

Arora talks about Durga Puja

Today’s lines read: Birth is Joy, Death is Peace. It is the time in-between called Life which is full of Sorrows. As usual, he signed off. Moti.
Our first response on hearing this was to wish it away. Nobody wants to start the day with such disturbing news. But Shekhawat sounded a word a warning: “This is the future. This will happen everywhere, whenever children are away, leaving their old parents behind to die of neglect.” And yet he too was quick to change the subject by bringing up the Darjeeling trip scheduled next year and asking everyone to sign-up. Srichand Arora brought up the Durga Puja festivities across the road in Garden No 2 and proposed making a trip up there tomorrow after the exercises. And so, ironically enough, life goes on.
Harish Wadhwa:
My condolences to Mr Moti on the passing away of his wife. News like this makes you sad. It is indeed a reality of the 21st century lifestyle that stares at us even though we act dumb and choose not to accept. Anyway, we as helpless individuals can only sympathize. God bless them.
Jagmohan Papneja:
In the present circumstances, I truly believe Moti-ji should not stop writing his Thought of the Day on the blackboard. This will help him to move on in life. Our prayers are with him in days to come.