Living Nightmare

IN THE BACK OF BEYOND: Female 'tour warriors' after breakfast at Bileshwarpura

An air of uncertainty hangs over members of the group that had set out for the Mt Abu-Udaipur tour (ref post of November 12) by the 9:55 pm train yesterday. Last heard, they were in the middle of nowhere – some place on the highway between Chhatral and Mehsana having breakfast en route this morning.
Obviously they got off the train and were now on the road far, far away from their destination. And thereby hangs a tale.
The trip began on a wrong footing. An Ola-Uber strike yesterday had caused great distress to many (mostly senior citizens) who had to cab it to Bandra Terminus with luggage. But more than the harassment and suffering was the utterly callous attitude of Indian Railways which almost scuttled the tour.
A text message in the afternoon informed ticket holders that the train from Mumbai had been 'diverted' from Vadodara and would not be touching Abu Road Station as scheduled. No indication why – just instructions to either take your refund (and effo) or disembark at the “nearest station”.

The Club wore a deserted look today morning

No mention where that station is or what the diverted route would be.
A frantic call on the Railway Help Line yielded an even bigger shock: The train had already left Mumbai at 9:55 a.m.! (Surprisingly, tickets did not indicate time of departure.) Scouring the Internet revealed that the train would leave on schedule at 9:55 pm, but it had indeed been diverted from Vadodara and would connect with Ajmer via Ratlam.
This threw up three options: (a) Getting down at Ratlam and taking the road to Mt Abu; (b) Go on to Ajmer and then undertake a nine-hour journey to Mt Abu; and (c) scrapping the trip altogether. After consultations (on phone) with all members, it was decided not to abandon the trip, but get down en masse at Vadodara and leave the rest to the Almighty above.
This was exactly how things panned out – except that a kind co-passenger, who overheard our members at Bandra station, offered the contact number of a transporter in Vadodra. A few phone calls later, when our 'tour warriors' got down at Vadodara around 2:30 a.m., a mini bus was waiting outside the station to take them to Mt Abu. The rest remains in the realms of mystery.

Born Again

Khatoon Baig (r) gives her blessings to the group setting out on the
Mt Abu-Udaipur tour this evening

Exercising regularly is all very good for the body and soul. Or so have we learnt over the years. But the contrary can also be true. Or so did we learn this morning when Khatoon Baig turned up looking unusually bright and upbeat, fresh as a daisy. “I feel like I am blessed with a new life,” she declared to a bevy of astonished admirers.
Khatoon did not come to the Garden to exercise for the past three months. “I had developed severe pain and swelling in my backbone and knees,” she explained. “I could not sit, stand or lie down. The doctors said it had something to do with wear and tear of the bones and put me on physiotherapy for 90 days.

Shekhawat (file photo)

That’s why I was away for so long.”
The last we saw of Khatoon was when she used to show up in the morning, already tired out and exhausted. We knew she had an acute asthma issue. Very often, she would break away from the exercises and doze off while seated on a bench. So when she stopped coming with the onset of monsoon, we assumed that the asthma had got the better of her.
“The asthma attacks and wheezing have disappeared miraculously,” Khatoon revealed flashing a radiant smile. “It is not as though I had to take special medicines. Of course, I still run out of breath whenever I exert myself too much. But the breathlessness is never as acute as earlier. As I said, I feel I am born again.”
In contrast, Shekhawat is showing signs of a relapse of the problem for which he had undergone a surgery in his chest barely two months back (ref post of September 18). Today he had to be escorted home midway through the exercises when he started wincing in pain and could not even remain seated properly. He was supposed to apply a certain lotion on the affected part before coming to the Garden, but had forgotten this morning.
The pain however, persisted through the day and now he is planning to meet his surgeon at the naval hospital in Colaba on Monday.

Tour Briefing

Preparatory meeting for the tour of Mt Abu and Udaipur 

A formal briefing was held this morning for those going on the Mount Abu-Udaipur tour from November 16 to 22, 2018. Altogether 16 people have signed up, of whom eight are members of the club. They include Banoo Apa, Santosh Tyagi, Kiran Prakash, Bhaswati Bose and the two Nahids – Khan and Siddiqui.
The group is scheduled to board the Amrapur-Aravali Express this Friday from Bandra Terminus and get off at Abu Road Railway Station the following day. Their return has been booked from Udaipur by the UDZ-BDTS Superfast Express, due to arrive at Bandra Terminus around 2:00 in the afternoon on November 22 (Thursday).
On the cards is a trip to the famous 11th century Dilwara Temples and Nakki Lake in Mount Abu – apart from the usual tourist magnets such as Guru Shikhar, Achalgarh Fort, Brahmakumari Ashram, Sunset Point and the fabled bazaars of Mount Abu.

Kajal and Dilip Babani treat us to goodies from their trip to Australia

At Udaipur, the group would be visiting the City Palace and Museum, Fatehsagar Lake, Nehru Garden, Maharana Pratap Smarak, Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandir, Sahelion Ki Bari and other sight-seeing spots. An evening of boating on the picturesque Lake Pichola is also listed in the itinerary.
In sum, the tour promises a happy diversion from the daily routine of Mumbai life, especially at a time when the weather in those parts of Rajasthan would be neither too hot nor too cold. Nevertheless, at the meeting this morning, members of the group were advised to be suitably equipped with light woolens – not to mention medication, ID proof, etc.
What however, matters most is the prospect of setting out together and bonding over unusual situations and extraordinary circumstances, none of which can be anticipated. If anything, this exposure raises the level of self-esteem and confidence, otherwise lacking in most people of a certain vintage. Their last trip was to the North East, between March 16 and 22 – exactly eight months back.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
What has happened to our stalwart, Shekhawat? Without him no tour is complete!

DAY 2704

Pic of the Week

A NEW GUEST COMES SWINGING INTO THE GARDEN

Sweet little one in red pants caught red-handed eating chocolate by the police wearing red dress. --Anonymous

Diwali Blast!

DIWALI FIESTA 2018

As expected, the club’s annual Diwali party was a big draw this morning. From Kajal and Dilip Babani (back from a trip to Australia) to Mrs Mohan Kanwar Shekhawat and Mrs Niloufer Rassiwala, everyone who was anyone in the Big Laaf family turned up.

Nahid Khan: resplendent in red

In effect, we had a major reunion of sorts. Even Bihari Milwali, who had gone missing from the Garden for weeks, took time out to grace the occasion.

Niloufer exchanges notes with Banoo Apa

And what a blast it had turned out to be!
Nahid Khan set the mood of the morning by showing up in a gorgeous crimson outfit (“It’s party time today!” she exclaimed cheerfully) and became the cynosure of all eyes as she stepped in the middle to conduct the exercises. Others were of course, in their regular work-a-day clothes. But Arun Patil tried matching up (with Nahid) and resorted to some attention-seeking ruses, only to end up as the principal entertainer during the exercises.
Arun had also organized the eats this morning with a former member, Vandana Kankanwar – sabu-dana khichdi, besan luddoos, samosa, bhajiya and chai. All these were home-made, thus saving us the ill-effects of the savories and sweets readily available in the market. So impressed were we by this wholesome fare that many could not resist pre-booking their birthday treats with Vandana, today itself.

Bihari Milwani:
Nahid Khan looks like the Statute of Big Laaf. Keep it up!