DAY 2069

Pic of the Week

CHILDREN AT PLAY

Women playing kabaddi... but unfortunately, no admirers! --Bihari Milwani

Comedy of Error

MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Bijoy Gupta with Rishi

Never before has Bijoy Gupta been so zapped out of his wits the way we saw him today. Known to be a cool dude, he was done with his exercises and trying to get some shuteye on a Garden bench when Kiran Prakash, out of the blue, woke him from his reverie. Gupta raised his eyes drowsily and in a flash he was on his feet, as though struck by lightning.

Niloufer and Yusuf Rassiwala

Horrified, he blinked disbelievingly at a cute little baby clambering up Kiran Prakash’s chest.
Bent double, the otherwise supremely confident ‘Smart Alec’ of the Club peered intently at the child’s face, not knowing what to make of it. One thing was certain: He had seen this child before – or at least, someone resembling this one. And yet, he could not ask where this baby came from. The way it nuzzled and smiled cheerfully, Gupta could only conclude that Kiran Prakash held a proprietorial right over the child, presumably as its grand-pop.
But the trouble was that Gupta had a similar-looking baby at home – his U.K.-based son’s five-month-old boy, named Rishi.

Happy Birthday, Niloufer Rassiwala!

The son’s family is presently here on holiday and the baby, he had last seen was fast asleep with its mother at home. Confused as ever, Gupta was about to return to his reverie on the bench when he noticed his wife, Pushpa walking into the Garden. He added two and two and was on his feet in a trice to claim the baby. This had to be his Rishi!
Later, Kiran Prakash was to narrate that on his way to the Garden, he met Pushpa with the baby at the Gate. In order to pull a fast one on Gupta,

Many Happy Returns!

he carried the baby in his arms and instructed Pushpa to follow him after a while. He would have driven Gupta mad had it not been for Pushpa showing up a little too soon and effectively, letting the cat out of the bag!
Still, the most memorable moment for us shall be the way Gupta looked horror struck at the child on Kiran Prakash’s arms, not knowing it was Rishi. It was a sight to behold – something that was to be a recurring subject of much hilarity during Niloufer Rassiwala’s birthday bash that followed. Her husband, Yusuf Rassiwala had organized a feast fit for a king with Dilip Babani, as always, helping out at bringing in the stuff early morning. For once, there were nearly 15 items on the table – ranging from salties to sweets -- all laid out neatly in paper plates to be washed down by Banoo Apa’s tea.
But then, more than the variety (and quantity) of eats, the warmth and personal attention the Rassiwalas are known to display towards every guest was something we shall always cherish.

Feast fit for a king!

Dilip Babani:
Very nice party. Thanks Yusuf-bhai!
Bihari Milwani:
Thank God! Gupta-ji could at least recognise his wife. Otherwise one can't imagine what would have happened!!!

Bad for Health?

Bijoy Gupta (right) blames Shekhawat

If yesterday belonged to Swati Panjabi, today it was Bijoy Gupta’s day. He cropped up in the Garden after a fortnight and straightaway blamed Shekhawat for his absence. “So long as he was away in Rajasthan, I was coming for the exercises every day,” he said. “The day he returned, I fell ill!”
The way he made this statement, straightfaced and with total conviction, took Shekhawat off-guard and he too burst out laughing. But Gupta remained dead serious. He firmly believes that Shekhawat is an ardent follower of the discredited godman Asaram Bapu (earlier, it used to be Radhe Ma) and has mastered black magic tricks that no one else knows. “Don’t you anybody follow him,” Gupta warned. “He will lead you straight to jail.”
Today he took another dig at Shekhawat, poking fun for his inability to retain any of his four so-called saalis. “They have all abandoned you,” he teased, clapping gleefully.

Discussions over a Rajasthan tour

When Shekhawat insisted that nobody has left him and went on to name the ladies one by one, Gupta retorted, “But they are your sisters… Where are the saalis?” Shekhawat had no answer.
Meanwhile, plans are afoot for the next Club excursion, possibly in February, to Rajasthan. Yusuf Rassiwala took up the subject with Shekhawat, suggesting that like the recent Kerala trip, we should stick to a small, compact group of no more than 15 or 20 like-minded people. “Otherwise, it would be hard to manage,” he explained. “Let us also restrict ourselves to just two places within a span of five or six days, so that we are not rushed from place to place without rest.”
Bhaswati Bose suggested timing the trip with the Jaisalmer Golden Desert Festival (February 8 to 10, 2017) while also taking in Jodhpur, the nearest major railhead connecting Mumbai. The train travel idea found instant appeal with many confirming their participation on the spot. However, a final call would be taken once details of logistics, budget, hotel stay, etc. are worked out.
Bihari Milwani:
Now we will need Chimpanzee (Big Monkey) to settle the dispute of Two Tigers (Big Cats).

Lady of the Moment

Swati is at the far end of the circle

Every so often, the Club throws up a character, usually female, to break the drudgery of our daily routine and lift our spirits during the exercises. She is the one to add spice to the proceedings, provide the laughs and is the very personification of entertainment, without tax.
We've seen this happen, time and again, with Sunita Jajodia, Nafisa Sayyed, Mallika Kagzi, Karuna Waghmare... and now, the flavor of the season is Swati Panjabi. Quick on the uptake, energetic, brutally honest, sharp tongued and fleet-footed, she is arguably the fittest among us all. Her appearance belies her age and for all her crazy antics and blunt talk, she can also be incredibly kind and generous to a fault. Besides, she gives superb head massages to those brave enough to stick their necks out to her!
Swati’s present mission in life is to pick on those who defy standing orders not to eat and drink within the Garden's perimeter. In her endeavor to name and shame the guilty, she has made many enemies, but she couldn’t care a damn.

Swati Panjabi

And such is her nature that nobody dares to get on the wrong side of her. The best part is when she narrates these incidents with dramatic flourish for effect.
Now, it is not as though Swati is above all this. Given half a chance, she would set the Garden on fire with a grand feast for all Club members.

Swati in action today morning

Since she cannot do that, she has been periodically ‘threatening’ to invite us home for a big bash and had even got Shekhawat to offload some booze bottles at her place. Ultimately, it had taken a few magic words from Kiran Prakash to dissuade her from going ahead with her plans to host a mega party the day after tomorrow.
Today, an elderly gentleman in the Garden brought Swati a packet of Shrewsbury biscuits from Pune. She identified this benefactor as “Ek Aadmi” and went on to distribute the biscuits selectively. Those who were deprived pounced upon her. But she refused to oblige. Swati saw them having to eventually share broken pieces and crumbs and still, she did not relent. She gave them a piece of her mind instead and made her prejudices known even more (of course, in light vein), much to everyone’s amusement.
What can anybody say about such a person?

Nip in the Air

The weather has turned quite invigorating in the mornings

It is November and already there’s a nip in the air early morning. Usually it stays warm in Mumbai at this time of the year and it is not before December that we realize a dip in the mercury. Now, under a mellow sun and with a gentle breeze blowing across, exercising in the Garden has become quite enjoyable and consequently, attendance is picking up – the average turn-out being 20-plus every day.
Naseem Khan showed up after almost two months, carrying a box of ‘prasad’ from Ajmer Sharif. Her husband has been ailing for a long time and unknown to us, he was even hospitalized.

Naseem Khan

All this while she was nursing him back to health and upon his recovery, they visited the Ajmer shrine as a measure of thanksgiving. She returned to Mumbai last evening and this morning, she was at the Garden.
Najma Sayyed is also fast recovering (ref post of October 24) and is out of Criti Care Hospital. Her thigh bone (femoral shaft) had broken into two and after timely surgical intervention she could just about gather the strength to stand up (with support) before being discharged. Her sister Nadira says that a lot now depends on how she responds to physiotherapy – not to mention the confidence and will to be on her feet.
Meanwhile, Mallika Kagzi sends word that she is back from Surat where she had gone to attend the last rites of a close relative. Within three days of treatment for dengue (ref post of October 28) at Arogya Nidhi Hospital, news of the demise reached her and she had to rush pronto. Given her frail health, she needs to take extra precautions to prevent a relapse.