Day 1750

           FAREWELL, DEAR FRIEND...

This slide-show says it all: Kishor-bhai laughing, cracking jokes, always cheerful... That's how we want to remember him - one who spread cheer and laughter with his amiable nature and terrific sense of humour. --Bhaswati Bose

A realization that we are all so vulnerable. And yet we talk of fights, religion, hatred, crime, wars... Think again. Renu, our deepest condolences. Very sorry to hear this news. --Harish Wadhwa

Alas dear Renu, please accept the deepest condolences from our entire group in Big Laaf. We are with you at this time of sorrow. May God bless you and give you the courage to face this difficult time. Kishor-bhai will be missed for ever. --Srichand Arora

He was a jewel of a person, full of life, extremely witty and always helpful. We shall be missing him. May his soul rest in peace. --Monthi Serrao

Kishor Is No More

KISHOR BABANI (1957 - 2015)

Kishor Babani has left us for ever. A former member of the Club, he had gone to attend a family wedding in Canada where he suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

Kajal Babani (centre) informs us on the worst 

Two-minute silence in memory of the departed soul

Within moments he slipped into a coma. In spite of the best medical facilities at hand, he failed to come around.
Late evening yesterday (India time), he breathed his last. He was only 58.
Kishor is survived by his mother, wife and two children – a son and a daughter, both settled in Canada.
Yesterday his sister-in-law, Kajal (brother Dilip Babani’s wife) tearfully broke the news in the Garden while we were at our exercises. Kishor was on ventilator then. We abandoned the exercises and joined our hands in prayer. This news was deliberately not carried in yesterday's blog post in the fervent hope that our prayer would be answered and Kishor would recover. But that was not to be.
Throughout yesterday, Dilip patiently updated us on developments at the hospital. However, it had become increasingly clear that he was losing hope on his brother's recovery because “all his vital organs had stopped functioning”.
Late evening, at 9:00 pm, Kajal informed via SMS: “No hope now. Will do MRI. They have signed the papers as not to rescue him.” And this morning, she visited the Garden to tell us that it was all over. Her ‘bhaiyya’ is no more.
To us all in the Club, Kishor will best be remembered for his amiable nature and penchant for jokes. A jolly good friend, he was the only one who could not only raise a laugh, but also laugh at himself – a rare quality in human beings. It speaks of a certain generosity of spirit -- of nobility and grace, large-heartedness, compassion and an ever-caring attitude. Kishor Babani had them all.
May his soul rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers go to the family members in this hour of grief. We trust they are able to bear this loss with courage and fortitude.
Harish Wadhwa:
I am shocked to learn of the demise of our friend and colleague, Kishor. A gentleman at heart, who had a penchant for jokes and humour, is just gone! I can't believe it. My deepest condolences to Renu, Dilip, Kajal and family to bear this big loss. Losing a dear one makes me weep within. Kishor, R.I.P.
Renu Babani:
Thanks so much to all of you for your moral support and beautiful memories on the Sunday blog (next post). Kishor will be remembered as the 'gentleman always smiling' with everyone he met. His jokes made everybody laugh and he enjoyed life to the fullest. However, at the end of the day it is what He wills. We are mere mortals and He holds the reins. He brought us to this life and when the time comes, He calls us to return to our true home.
The kids and I are doing well surrounded by immediate family and that is a huge support in itself. Time will heal the pain and sorrow as death is never easy, especially when it's a loved one. In honour of him, considering it would have been his birthday on the 12th, let us celebrate that day by singing Happy Birthday, Kishor knowing he would love it. Thanks again and God Bless.

Palace Coup

Bijoy Gupta

Hari Singh Shekhawat

Yesterday, Kiran Prakash left on a short trip to Patna. Tomorrow, Teja Singh Bhambra will leave for a long sabbatical in Faridabad, his home town. In between, Shekhawat left for Rajasthan by train and as you read this, he should be resting in his ancestral home in a village near Jaipur. He is expected to return towards the end of this month.
Shekhawat’s absence from the Garden was no doubt felt, but in a strange sort of way. The spot he has always occupied in the circle during the exercises was left vacant, not as a mark of respect, but to signify what many chose to designate as Lover’s Spot. If there was anyone eager to fill that spot, it was Shekhawat’s arch rival and bete noire, Bijoy Gupta. And eventually, he did succeed.
Before leaving yesterday, Shekhawat laid down three strictures, the intent of which was not hidden from anybody. One, nobody should attempt to take his place during the exercises. Two, nobody must play proxy to his four saalis, no matter how compelling the circumstances may be.

Warm send-off to Sardar Teja Singh Bhambra

And three, nobody but he holds the right to lead the ‘joy train’ at the end of the free-hand exercises.
Always the agent provocateur, Gupta walked in determined to violate all three conditions. Finding a yawning gap at Lover’s Spot, he stepped in without blinking an eye. “Wah, what a beautiful view you get from here!” he exclaimed. Razia Khan tried to dissuade him, saying that Shekhawat would be terribly annoyed. “When he learns about this, he would surely blow his top,” she warned.
But Gupta couldn’t care less. The so-called Lover’s Spot automatically put him in a position with Shekhawat’s saalis flanking him all through the exercises. He even did a little cameo of the 'peacock dance' with Razia. That was the second rule violated. And when Ved Prakash Grover, Jagmohan Papneja and Mohar Singh, among others, demanded a treat for having wrested Shekhawat’s “crown”, Gupta again turned a deaf ear. “He has staged a coup in the king’s absence,” Razia concluded bitterly.
What remains now is the third rule to be broken. Watch this space.

Overwhelming Response

It is raining currency notes with Shekhawat for the south-India tour 

Preparations for the south-India tour announced yesterday (ref post) gathered momentum today. As many as 23 members came forward this morning, advancing money to book their seats for the ten-day excursion of Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Hyderabad beginning November 24, 2015. Shekhawat had reckoned a 25-member troupe – stretchable to a maximum of 30.
Such an overwhelming response is unprecedented – even beyond Shekhawat’s wildest imagination. He is leaving today for his village in Rajasthan and would be back only at the end of this month (after an extensive pilgrimage to Haridwar, Rishikesh, etc). His plans were to sow the idea of the southern tour among members before leaving and then take it forward after returning. Little did he expect everybody to be so enthused as to advance money within 24 hours of his announcement.
“There are still about three months to go, but I have already made arrangements with the travel agent,” he informed. “Monthi (Serrao) and Bhaswati (Bose) were introduced to him yesterday.

Arun Patil fixes Banoo Apa's music system

Holy offerings from Monthi Serrao's novena

In my absence, these two ladies will coordinate between you and the agent for finalizing the flight bookings… I shall take over upon returning to Mumbai on September 25.”
Clearly, the reason for such widespread enthusiasm is the unbelievably cheap airfares on the Mumbai-Bangalore and Hyderabad-Mumbai sectors. Several members who have never been on any excursion in the past have confirmed their bookings. Some like Yusuf Rassiwala, Mumtaz Jahan and Santosh Tyagi, known to delay their confirmation till the eleventh hour, have also put in their money. Even Nahid Khan, who was planning to go by train as usual, has changed her mind. Such is the mad scramble for air tickets that the question of involving ‘outsiders’ (read non-members) this time around appears remote.
The upshot of all this is that many are bound to end up disappointed, especially after the cut-off figure of 30 is reached. Those taking time to decide may even have to contend with higher airfare – something that is beyond anybody’s control. And that could be a perfect recipe for bad blood within the Club.

Southern Tour

Shekhawat announces 'picnic plans' to a captive audience

Shekhawat today pulled out a new rabbit from his cap, announcing that the next excursion from the Club would be down south. It will be a ten-day tour, slated between end-November and early-December 2015 and would cover principally the cities of Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Hyderabad.
“The journey out of Mumbai to Bangalore and the return from Hyderabad to Mumbai would be by air,” he informed. “In between, there will be an overnight train journey from Bangalore to Hyderabad.

Arun Patil

The rest of the trip, including local sight-seeing and shopping shall be by chartered bus.”
Getting into details on costs, he explained what the Club was offering is a “tour package” that would cover travel, hotel stay on a twin-sharing basis, one-time daily meals (veg and non-veg) etc. “Those who do not want to travel by air may opt for train and avail of the senior citizens’ concession,” he said. “But I must also inform that we are getting air tickets for merely Rs2000, should we book right now.

Swati Punjabi celebrates her membership with a big treat

This early-bird advantage will not last long. So those who want to join in, please give your names at the earliest.”
Effectively, this puts to rest all speculation of a foreign tour any time soon. Even as this is the second trip down south (the earlier one being a 40-member contingent to Kerala between February 10 and 17, 2014), the clinching factor here is clearly the dirt cheap air tickets. But Shekhawat added that he would restrict the group to 30 members this time. “So all bookings would be made on a first-come, first-serve basis,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Swati Punjabi celebrated her 'joining the Club’ (ref yesterday’s post) with a big treat that included home-made dhokla, poha and pakoras. And Arun Patil kept his word on ‘surprising us’ (ref post of August 31) by showing up unannounced. The moment he appeared at the Gate, Srichand Arora left the exercises and ran up to escort him through the Garden. Arun came limping in with his prosthetic leg on (and a single crutch) to a spontaneous round of applause from all present, followed by an extra laugh at the end of the exercises.
Welcome back, Arun Patil!