Meherbai’s mandli always had intelligent, intellectual and meaningful conversations and discussions, based on the latest newspaper and TV headlines. Meherbai also encouraged the Mandli members to be active on social media platforms to keep up with the ongoings of the world. Today, they met at the posh, sprawling coffee shop of a suburban hotel.

Soli Saliboti: Khalaas!! My days of drinking beer, eating dhansak and having an afternoon siesta have gone with the wind! My big boss says we should work 90 hours a week, including Sundays!

Abbhan Aban: But Big Boss is on TV!

Soli Saliboti: Arrey! My big boss!

Henpecked Homiar: You mean your wife Viloo-vindaloo who makes you cook, clean the house and wash clothes on Sundays while she parties with her friends?

Soli Saliboti: No, no! I mean my office boss who’s a happy go lucky bachelor and doesn’t know what to do with his Sundays.

Rarto Rohan: Sundays are sooo boring! Nothing to do. Just eat and sleep!!

Hasti Hilla: I make Sundays into Fundays by visiting my friends and having outings while hubby sits at home just eating and sleeping!!

Soli Saliboti: Boss says, “How long can you stare at your wife?”

Meherwanji: It’s my wife and l shall stare at her as long as l like, as l’ve been doing for the last 59 years!! Even the poet says, “What is this life if full of care, you have no time to stand and stare!”

Khushru Khadhro: Yessss!! Poet-bawa was talking about work-life -balance, which your boss doesn’t have!!

Naju Malai-nu-Khaju: Your boss has no mental-balance if he talks like this, leave alone work -life balance!!

Rattan-Romeo: We should have an extra weekly holiday to stare at the neighbour’s wife also, like l stare at my next-door’s Freny-fatakri and second floor’s Manijeh-Marilyn-Monroe all the time!!

Abbhan Aban: There’s a special place for people who stare without any reason – it’s called madhouse!

Kersi-Kaju-Katli: Remember what Shakespeare from Bellard-pier said? “A man may stare and stare, and yet be a villain!”

Meherbai: Kersi -bawa, don’t make kachuber out of Shakespeare! The Bard was from Avon and not Ballard Pier!! And he said, “A man may smile and smile and yet a villain be!”

Ketayun-khadhri: Arrey ha!! Bellard Pier is for berry-pullao, just as Sunday is for dhansak!

Minoo Makori: Tell that boss that if you don’t keep staring at your own wife, someone else will stare at her and soon you’ll have a life without a wife, like the old Parsi-naatak song: ‘Goolaa mahri golam-gol, boot ney lagaari sole, Dinsha saathe thai gayi pol!’

Politician Putlibai: We live in a democracy. lndia is a free country and every husband has the right to stare at his wife as long as he wants, on any day of the week!!

Piroj-Pehelwan: The only time my wife stares at me is when she’s angry. Eva dora kakrave that l feel that she’ll burst anytime like a pressure -cooker!!

Manchersha-Madaari: You are the boss of your house and captain of your ship. Keep your wife under control!!

Piroj-Pehelwan: lt’s the other way around – the shoe is in the wrong foot since she’s the boss, major, colonel, general, captain, commander, admiral, and keeps me under control!

Vikaji Vaaghmaru: Aban, if you marry me, l shall stare at you for the rest of my life.

Abbhan Aban: You know since the last 10 years that my answer is NO!!

Meherbai: This discussion is becoming ridiculous. Love is not staring at each other, but rather, staring in the same direction and besides staring, couples can do so many productive things on a Sunday, like visiting art galleries, reading at book-shops, going for music and dance performances, window-shopping at Malls, watching the latest movies and plays, visiting friends, joining a work-shop…

Farida Fuvardi: Food! Food! Meherbai, you forgot to mention special Sunday food! I toh make lovely things for my jeebharu-husand and force-feed him, especially on Sundays!!

Meherbai: Very good Faridamai, no wonder your jeebharu is hale and hearty, fit and fine, with chaabuk jevi tabiyat after eating your home-made stuff!! Rustom Pehelwan jevi tandorosti chey!!

Homi Hypochondriac: Her jeebharu is ‘sickness no dushman’!

Meherbai: Touchwood everybody!

And on this note, the Mandli parted with kisi-kori, tata, byebye, take care and see you soon!!