Jokes Apart

Those were cheerful days, in uniforms, when we used to fill our breaks with jokes. Someone would inevitably be heralded as the Star Performer Forever. These phrases would be made my me. Words always found their way into my life, as easily as they slipped out through the memory-lane. A headless, hearty laugh, is way more harmless than an apple, to keep a doctor away. Last evening, in yet another series of serious listening that I have now evolved into, I deviated for a minute minute. Yes, two times 'minute'. Because the first time it has been used as 'mainewt' and next as 'minit'. I digress, sorry. Having deviated (last evening's deviation, not the one now), mainly because of boredom -- oh grave things can be plain boring -- I wondered why I was bored. I wandered into various realms of reasoning and finally decided it was a good laugh I miss. No, our times lacked the joy of a good joke. Silly, even stupid, 'poor' as they classify it as, we used to look forward to it in a bid to outperform the Star Performer. She was always armed with Sardar jokes, and Santa-Banta, some filled with Madrassi accents, while others were just a matter of the punch line. And her memory to supply jokes was worth a landmine. She would begin and laughter would erupt. Yes, I realized (last evening), our times lack the value of an invaluable joke. That which would not need to rigorously undergo the skepticism of new-age critics and theorists, trying to 'read' if the joke was flavoured with insensitivity showered towards gender or race or class. I laughed in my head. Again, they 'read' and forgot the laugh. I returned solemnly to the serious conversation, confessing I missed out on the last minute of her words. Another thing, truth, such a straight faced weapon. I love it. 

It was night already and I did not like how my most respectful and way-more-energetic-than-me mother reminded me of the silver streak that sat stealing attention on my head. "Wedding season begins in some days. Colour it!" she gnarled and left me clueless with the character I was trying to build. I looked into the mirror, intently and resolutely laughed.

I found it! There was a joke!