Busy Days Ahead

Tying up loose ends for the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani trip

The next five days promise to be action-packed as two important deadlines for the Club are coming to a close: one, the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani trip takes off on May 19 with twenty members on board; and two, the results of the current edition of Pehchaan Kaun are to be declared on May 16. A few other activities are also lined up around these events, but those are of little consequence at the moment.
For the three-day trip beginning next Tuesday, the chartered bus is supposed to leave the Garden at 6:00 a.m., in time for the group to catch up with lunch at Mahabaleshwar.

Second thoughts on Pehchaan Kaun

The hotel, in which they are booked, will be providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the period of stay while local travel is being organised by the tour operator providing the bus service. This will also include the trip to Panchgani as well as other scenic spots in the twin hill stations.
Like the previous trip to Gangtok-Darjeeling, Monthi Serrao and Bhaswati Bose are jointly coordinating the schedules for this outing under the supervision of Shekhawat. According to them, bookings have already been finalised but as always, they are having to deal with last-minute drop-outs, additions and substitutions. Despite being an old hand in such matters, Shekhawat is now at his wits’ end in making jodis (since accommodation is on a twin-sharing basis) and having to adjust to ‘special requests’ from group members. This will continue till the time of departure.
Meanwhile, excitement is mounting over the Pehchaan Kaun-12 guessing game as many are now intent upon revising the entries submitted initially. So far there are 20 contenders in the fray for the crystal trophy – but this is only after an inordinately long extension of 10 days to the deadline was allowed last Thursday (ref post of May 7).
The odd part is that many ladies have turned bold enough at asking men to remove their shoes in order to spot the tell-tale scar mark near the ankle. Today Santosh Tyagi tried her luck at getting Sitaram Hivarkar to take off his shoes. The more he refused the more she persisted. Now Santosh needs no further confirmation that Sitaram Hivarkar is her ‘mystery man’ with the funny cap.

Worst is Over

Arun Patil in hospital

Arun Patil is done with the amputation of his right foot (see post of May 9). Last evening, under the supervision of his diabetologist, Dr Prabhakar Shetty, the gangrenous foot was severed from his body in a procedure that lasted three-and-half hours. Apart from close friends, his wife and son were present with him at the hospital.
“The operation is successful,” Arun reported on phone this morning. “It was done under local anesthesia but it was still extremely painful. I felt like a huge stone had been placed over my leg. The pain has subsided though. I am fine right now and by the evening, I suppose the pain should go away completely. But last night was hell!”
Arun has taken it bravely. He wasn’t exactly cheerful, but sounded relieved and conditioned to facing the future with confidence and courage.

Jagmohan Papneja (left) celebrates being voted SCB secretary

In fact, he made light of his severed foot, soaked in blood and pus, being wrapped in old newspapers by his friends (in front of his eyes) and taken out of the hospital, to be incinerated in a cremation ground close-by.

Arora foils Gupta's summer vacation hopes

And here in the Garden, this morning, we were playing the fool, discussing everything under the sun – from the earthquake in Nepal to Shekhawat wanting to throw another luddoo treat for yet another saali to finalizing the manifest for the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani trip beginning May 19… Jagmohan Papneja celebrated being elected secretary of Senior Citizen’s Brotherhood in the neighboring Garden. He distributed barfis, courtesy his 86-year-old friend, Hem Chand Jain.
The only serious subject of discussion was a proposal to suspend exercises during the summer months because of the incredible heat. “We should have summer vacation as they have in schools,” suggested Bijoy Gupta. His fervent pleas were lost on Srichand Arora (who was conducting the exercises) till Gupta got close and shouted into his ears. Short of spanking Gupta back for his audacity, Arora advised him to come sucking his thumb like a schoolboy from tomorrow morning and then, maybe, his proposal could be considered.
That put paid to all hopes of any summer vacation.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
I wish Arun-ji speedy recovery. He needs to be more careful about his health. This is a timely warning to our senior brethren to be careful about their sweet tooth. Congrats to Papneja for his election as secretary of SCB.
Bihari Milwani:
Listen to Shekhawat's suggestion: Beat the heat by doing the exercises in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani during summer. He can arrange a very good package.

Devil’s Workshop

Relaxed morning... with low attendance

An idle mind, they say, is a devil’s workshop. And many idle minds make a devil’s factory. So we should be perfectly justified in randomly celebrating birthdays, organising picnics, holding Pehchaan Kaun contests, rehearsing for some cultural evening and so on, if this should keep the devil at bay.
But today was a dull day as not many had turned up for the exercises. The devil predictably came into play, this time at framing new rules for the Club. Siba Prasad Maitra had forgotten to wear his cap to the Garden and promptly Srichand Arora pounced upon him, eager to extract a penalty. Shekhawat merrily clapped “Gandi Baat, Gandi Baat” to shame Maitra. But that was obviously not good enough for Arora, now that everyone had been given a new cap. He needed to make an example of Maitra and gave him the option: “For not wearing the cap, you have to either pay for a new cap (Rs100) or buy everybody tea (for Rs200-odd).” Peculiarly, Maitra opted for the latter.
The devil did not rest there. For minutes later the so-called 'cap rule' was brought to question.

Shekhawat and Maitra take a dig at each other

Banoo Apa, Khatoon Baig and Monthi Serrao (among others) began to complain of the sweltering heat and demanded fans be installed in the Garden for the exercises. During the discussions that followed, a solution was found in the form of giving everyone a battery-operated fan to be strapped individually on the head while exercising. We might effectively look like human helicopters but that was found more acceptable than having to wear caps. “Cap cancelled!” Banoo Apa decreed.
That was not all. Shekhawat pushed for yet another new rule when he realised that almost every second person in the group suffered from some ailment – backache, knee trouble, diabetes, arthritis… “What nonsense is this?” he exclaimed. “In future, we should have a fitness test before making anybody member.” “Yes, make him run five rounds of the Garden,” advised Arora. “If he cannot run, let loose a dog behind him.”
Now imagine someone, in all innocence wanting to join the Club and you subject him to five grueling laps round the Garden with a ferocious, mad dog snapping at his heels! If this is not the devil at work, what is?
Bihari Milwani:
If you are feeling hot, wear shorts. But do not miss the top (cap).
Harish Wadhwa:
Well, we should get some caps made with built-in fans. Good idea, isn't it? All what is happening is no madness but a heart-to-heart talk. After all the suggestion of making anyone run, by a chasing dog, has to come from somewhere deep within -- the devilish thought of making anyone run.

Mother’s Love

Mallika holds her daughter's framed photo

Yesterday was Mothers’ Day. We witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of love everywhere towards mothers. Mothers were feted, entreated, invoked, glorified, beseeched, deified… because that’s the proper thing for children to do on occasion. And as usual, all of that was gone with the wind by the end of the day.
But a mother’s love endures. It survives even the life of a child and is always in silence. We were witness to this phenomenon this morning when someone presented Mallika Kagzi a framed photograph of her daughter who is no more. Followers of this blog may recall Mallika, tears streaming down her face, ‘celebrating’ the girl’s last birthday posthumously (ref post November 5, 2014).

Kajal Babani (in green) celebrates wedding anniversary

That was when we learnt how the 19-year-old, newly married, met with an untimely death in her husband’s place under mysterious circumstances.
Last week Mallika was spotted with an old, faded photograph of her daughter – obviously cut from a larger photograph. It was a shoddy job. But it was also obvious that there was no other copy of that picture. So Srichand Arora held it against the sun and a picture of the picture was clicked. Then through a fairly intricate process of digital restoration, the picture was cleaned, color-corrected and enlarged before being mounted on a beautiful frame. Mallika never asked for it. So when it was presented to her early morning today, she became speechless. She gathered herself quietly with the framed photograph in hand, lost in thought and looking longingly at her daughter’s face for well beyond 20 minutes... she even skipped the first half of the exercises.

Mohar Singh

Bihari Milwani leaves for LA today

We let her be. Nobody can fathom what goes through a mother’s mind in such moments.
Meanwhile, we were informed of another distressful case of diabetes in our midst. We were so taken in by Arun Patil (ref post of May 9) last week that we did not notice that Mohar Singh too had stopped reporting for the exercises. Turns out that he lost consciousness at home as his blood sugar level suddenly shot up to an alarming 600 mg/dL and he had to be admitted to Aasna Nursing Home, Four Bungalows (near Versova Telephone Exchange). He was discharged after 15 days, last Friday. Things are supposed to be under control now, but Mohar Singh is a shattered man – a shadow of his former self. Let us pray for his speedy recovery.
Bihari Milwani:
Kajal celebrated her wedding anniversary today. When is Dilip celebrating his anniversary?
Harish Wadhwa:
* Get well soon, Arun Patil and Mohan Singh. All my prayers for your quick recovery.
* I guess this must be a Silver Jubilee wedding anniversary. Don't worry Dilip-bhai and Kajal-ji, I am told life is smooth after the 25th anniversary only (LOL). Eh, have a great time and wonderful years ahead of togetherness.
* Congratulations for the blog crossing the 400,000-viewership milestone. Hats off to the dedication and good writing.
Srichand Arora:
WOW! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL BIG LAAF MEMBERS. THE BLOG HAS CROSSED 400 THOUSAND VIEWERSHIP. THIS ACHIEVEMENT IS POSSIBLE ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BLOG MONSTER. CONGRATULATIONS, ONCE AGAIN.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
* It is good to know that Big Laaf has crossed 4 lakh viewers. Big congratulations to all members of and especially for the good coverage provided.
* Mom is the best gift given by the Almighty. She provides shade during rainy days and blessings during hey days.
* It is distressing to learn that diabetes is taking a toll on our members. It is time to take precautions. I wish speedy recovery to those affected and good health for everyone.

Day 1643

Pic of the Week

Who says green cannot be a 'warm' colour?

"Happy Mothers' Day and Grand Mothers' Day!" -- Bihari Milwani

"Wishing all the ladies of Big Laaf a very Happy Mothers' Day. We all know that since God could not reach everywhere, he made mother." --Srichand Arora

"Happy Mothers' Day. Congratulations to the blog getting to the landmark figure of 4 lakh hits. This speaks of the quality and content of reporting." --Kiran Prakash

"They are not Mother and Daughter. But the warmth of bonding they share comes out just as strongly in the photograph". --Bhaswati Bose

"Everybody has the BEST MOTHER in the world, but nobody has the BEST WIFE (LOL). Therefore we celebrate Mother's Day." --Harish Wadhwa