Playing host to the flock of Shiv Sena MLAs for almost a week has taken its toll on the Matoshree Sports Club, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. Though the manicured lawns and spotless exteriors remained intact, it was a different story for the interiors of the club, according to its staff.
Littered with Bisleri bottles, tissue papers, Styrofoam cups and used paper plates, the rooms taken by the Sena looked more like those in a rickety highway motel than in a five-star suburban club. Blankets were strewn all over, bed-sheets bore stains of food and liquor and bathrooms were a watery mess.
It was a madhouse, said one of the clubs housekeeping personnel. He added, Every morning, all the rooms would be in this shape and we just wouldnt know where to start cleaning.
After catering to the whims of the MLAs for almost a week, the staff finally got a breather yesterday morning, when the elected representatives left in convoys for the Mantralaya to participate in the final act of the political drama.
A waiter at the bar, who spent many sleepless nights filling the MLAs orders, said, They behaved like they owned the place. They would settle near the bar and get so drunk that many of them had to be carried back to their rooms.
Another waiter at the club remarked, The amount of food they ate, one would think they lived to eat.
Though there was not much variation in their consumption pattern, they sure made up in quantity. Mornings, it was a breakfast of idli sambar and medu vadas. Meals would be a non-vegetarian affair, with chicken and fish being the preferred choice, revealed the waiter. He added, And when they were not eating, they were drinking at the bar.
While the Matoshree club staff bore the brunt, even regular members had a rough time while visiting. The whole place was very scary for my son, a member complained, I was getting him for his swimming classes, but the gun-toting security guards scared the daylights out of him. He refuses to come here any more.
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