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Winter Gup-Shup

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By Col Nirmal Mahajan (Retd)

I love winters, whereas many others abhor it. I, for one,
eagerly wait for winters to set in, as I enjoy the warmth of a quilt, having tea with pakoras, and wearing colourful winter woolen clothing. If possible, go for Ice Skating, Skiing, or enjoying the snowfall. During my Army days, I was lucky to be posted to snow affected area of Kiari, Karu, Leh, Srinagar-Kashmir and Joshimath in our state of Uttarakhand.
Another very enjoyable aspect of winter is the bonfire. Nothing like a few friends sitting around a nicely lit bonfire and having ‘Mungfali & Revri’ and further brightening the evening a bit later with cognac and steaming hot Tunda Kebabs.
With this these aspects in view, on 20 January, we at the Upper Crest Avenue, decided to hold a warm ‘Winter Gup-Shup Session‘ at member Raj Kumar Tyagi’s mansion, which has a sprawling lawn. Fifty of our society members and families joined this very entertaining, fun-filled evening with a live band in attendance, belting out lovely old numbers of Kishore Kumar and Mohd Rafi. It forced everyone to come on to the dance floor and boogie to old numbers like ‘Badan Pe Sitaare lapetey hue’. The spark of our colony, Rajesh Vasu, ensured the maximum number of people joined in the merry making. Steaming hot snacks, especially fried fish, tandoori paneer, served by caterer Naqvi were relished by one and all.
Colonel SP Goyal had especially come from Delhi and he enlivened the evening and entertained one and all with his Shair-o-Shayari, appreciated by all. Madhu Sethi and Promila Mahajan also joined the crooner to sing some popular numbers like ‘Ajeeb Dastaan hai yeh’. The bonfire was a big hit and everyone enjoyed the warmth on a severely cold January night. Youngsters like Ritesh Sapra, Ashish Jain, Ankit, Anubhav, Saurabh actively participated in the session. Everyone went home with a pack of sweet, succulent jaggery. Amidst a standing ovation, Promila Mahajan, on behalf of UCA, presented the host Tyagi couple a small gift as a token of affection.
Such get-togethers, held regularly in residential colonies, enhance fellow feeling, esprit-de-corps, camaraderie, bonhomie and go a long way to increasing healthy bonding between the residents. Together, Hum Hongey Kaamyaab, both, in Khushi and Gam.