Friday, March 12, 2010

Dude, Have You Seen My Humour?

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My precious cousin let me know over a cup of coffee and a computer screen that she was missing my funny posts. I thought she wanted to say that I was a silly, intellectually superficial, ditzy female and I had no business writing on grave matters and that I totally sucked at serious writing. Big time. But I guess she chose to be diplomatic. Our family is rather big on 'Respect- your- elders- and- hold- your- wayward- tongue' stuff. So there.

She was not the only one. Some of you had subtly let me know the same thing. So since then I'd been searching for my long lost sense of humour. I have actually forgotten when I saw it last. Probably it was when I inadvertently caught a few scenes of Rahul Dulhaniya Blah Blah Blah. But later I realized the show had actually made me angry. Or perhaps it was when I watched the Parliament in action and some goons tore the papers and tried to uproot the mics in the Rajya Sabha. It was straight out of a badly written hilarious soap opera but wait, it was more disgusting than funny. Was it when my 14 year old daughter let me know that she wanted to have a tattoo? Uh-huh. That time I was trying to save myself from a cardiac arrest and some trauma to the  brain. Who cared about the elusive sense of humour? Wait,  I got it. I saw it last just two nights back. It was  when my husband brought home a friend for dinner and let me know our guest would be staying the night. Wasn't the situation outrageously funny? Here I was, dashing around the house trying to clean it up, changing the sheets and cleaning the pot, making dinner, helping my daughter prepare for her Hindi exam the next day (God help) and teaching the other one some much needed table manners. The situation decidedly smacked of hilarity. But then I lost it.

I really valued my sense of humour. It was one of the few things my father gave me. Apart from a good education of course. He gave my brother his house and his car, he gave my mother happiness and exasperation and he gave me his sense of humour. A fair man, my dad. So you see, my humour is practically a family heirloom. In the good old days of no television, my family would sit in one room and my father would crack us up with his pathetic puns. We did not have much money, but we had a lot of fun. Of course my daughters these days enjoy the fun as well as the money...sigh, what can I say, the world is foolish at times. 

But currently I am desperate. So desperate that I have started reading romance novels and watching a serial named  Bidai- babul -ke ghar -se- tere -ghar- tak- par -pyar- to- ho- gaya- kam-do-hanso-ke jode- mein. Or whatever. I am yet to figure out who is getting married to whom and what do the men do in the serial but I know I will eventually solve all the mysteries. And in the process find my  humour again. About the serial, I have already figured out the more outlandish the bindi, the more chances of the female to be the vamp. Now I just have to figure out where my funny bone disappeared.

So, if any of you happen to find my humour wandering about on the streets of Mumbai, hold on to it tight and inform me immediately. If not for mine than for my friends' and cousin's sake.

 I think they need my father's gift more than  than I do.

44 comments:

The Panorama said...

Hey Aparna,
I enjoy your posts, even the serious ones.
Humour is not easy and esp. when one is bogged down with a lot of things, the last thing you think of is cracking jokes. But you know, it does help to crack jokes... even silly stupid ones!! Why not write a post on the serial that sounded so funny.
My father was also like you cracking jokes all the time and Like you, that's all he left me too. But it has helped me tide over difficult times too. But yes, sometimes my humours disappears too...but it always comes back so just wait ...

But most of all, take it easy. your humour is there inside you...it hasn't gone anywhere and it will burst forth one day when you least expect it. Keep laughing:)

Nona said...

:D

There is no need to file a "missing" complaint on your sense of humor. It has not wandered far away from your home!

Tattoo! :) Teenage can be entertaining for the parent's friends!

Don't let your brother and mother see this post as they might be jealous of the legacy your dad has given you. :)

And finally, you should seriously consider doing standup comedy because this post is a perfect script for it.

anamika said...

He he...Was this suppose to be a serious post Aparna...:D??

Vinita Apte said...

heheh loved this post with all its dry humor :)

I am guessing by the comments that most people have missed the mark and think this was a serious post.

(Inwardly praying, oh god let me not be wrong, I thought the post was super duper hilarious)

Anuradha Shankar said...

hey, your sense of humour is going nowhere..... can absolutely identify with u here too.... the only thing is, in an attempt to remain sane and safegaurd my sense of humor, i have absolutely given up on TV... and almost on the newspaper too....but your posts, serious or humorous, both give me so much of pleasure to read....so to hell with what others want.. go ahead and write what u want to...

kirti said...

HI Aparna,
your this post suggests that your wandering sense of humour is back home and with a better commitment to stay back.
I loved the post so much and kept smiling while wading through the paragraph after paragraph .
Treasure the family heirloom and pass it on to your daughters(its a tradition to be cherished and respected).

ani_aset said...

"my father would crack us up with his pathetic puns. We did not have much money, but we had a lot of fun" damn aparna kya ho gaya hai :P tum theek to ho?

Nupur said...

Apt humour at in the right manner A :) Hey what if your humour,while wandering,has reached here at Indore :P I'll hold it tight and keep it with me only :)))

You always write sensible and to the point..I find your posts intelligent and a mix of every emotion that all us readers need to read !!

Whoa..Ishita wants tattoo ? don't tell me a permanent one ? really ?brave girl !

HUGS Aparna :)

Unknown said...

Apt humour at the right place! I can empathize with you. I enjoy your posts, including the serious ones. I understand that humour is not something that comes up so easily and is certainly not easy when one is bogged down with pre-occupied things. A tiny piece of advice: just take it easy. Your humour will return back to you. Watch Hrishida's movies to keep laughing :D.

Urmi said...

Very nice, interesting and humourous post. I liked it very much.

Tomz said...

A very nice post, kept ur old good style,

Aparna said...

Hi Saroj,thank you so much. You always encourage me with your words. You are right, our humour keeps us going, specially when the going gets tough. Cheers.

Nona, Remember I'll be the one laughing when your daughter turns a teen. She is already showing great promise!

Anamika, what can I say :D

Lazy Pineapple, Thanks for all those nice words. I hope other people get the humour too:)

Anu, I rarely watch TV, but some of the shows are so outlandish that they really make me laugh.

Kirti, thank you. I hope my daughters turn out to be funny. There's nothing like laughing, specially when life treats you unfairly.

Ani, kya dude? Mai theek nahi lag rahi hoon kya?

Nu, you have my permission to keep my wandering funny bone:D
And Ishita really wants a tattoo, those permanent ones!

Akshay, thank you for your words and suggestions.

Babli, thank you.

Tomz, thanks.

Sumandebray said...

All of us have some sense about humour and all have their own taste.... or is it Type?
All iz well as long as the frequency is tuned into is matching!

sujata sengupta said...

why didnt you link me to your post when you said cousin?????? I am losing my sense of humour completely on this one!! And why didnt you mention that my chats with you makes your sense of humour come alive like nothing else?? Now i have a good mind to post our chats on Italy and grocery shopping!!

Ishita wants a tatoo? I want one too!!

Sakshi said...

First ROFL at the above comment and its angry writer!!! You should have definitely linked her...Cousin hai tho kya hua? Blog duniya main everyone should be given due credit *sujata are you smiling at me?*

Am I glad you made a funny post?? Gosh this is exactly what I needed to cope up with all the stress I am going through after finding out that I will never see a drop of snow in this part of the world :(.

Ishita needs a Tattoo? Stop her, bind her up with a rope, threaten her or do whatever it takes...sigh!! I am getting panicky already thinking of what I will do when my boy grows taller than me.

You watch serials and Rahul to boot? No wonder your humour eloped with my joy to some snowy mountains in Massachusetts :(

PS: This post seriously cracked me up!!

Kavi said...

So much for humour !!?!

The file is not missing !I think its already been found !

:)

Smita said...

I'll hold onto it for my sake because am also there amongst the long list of ppl who are missing ur sense of humor :)

But seriously aren't thsoe serials crappy but yet funny :) That yeh rishta kya kehlata has been celebrating holi for last one week :D

Anonymous said...

Nice post! I enjoy your posts, humourous or otherwise. There's always something to think about.

Good luck for the parenting! Now that my children are grown-up, I often wonder how I survived their teen years. But don't worry, you'll instinctively know how to react to tattoos, etc. :)

Onkar said...

Lovely post. I found it quite satirical.

The Holy Lama said...

The case of missing humour.
Holmes: And what was that Aparna said she felt with a sudden guest at home.

Dr. Watson: Hilarious

Holmes: Come on, let's go

Dr.Watson: Why? where?

Holmes: The case is solved.

Knocks on Aparna's door

Ah, my lady. We found your humour.

Aparna: Oh, really. Where?

Holmes taps on her head.Right here.

Aparna: So, it is.

Dr. Watson on way back: How did you do it.

Elementary, Watson.

Haddock said...

will certainly keep my eyes open and on the lookout.

aMus said...

:) :):)guess the good ol humour is back...

when the kids drive me up the wall, I read calvin and then I realise what might have been too :)

enjoyed reading this post, Aparna

a tattoo? gosh my son's 12, wonder wht he'll come up with? :(

Aparna said...

Hi Suman, nobody was able to tune into my frequency for the last few weeks :(

Hi Sujata, I thought of linking, but then thought what if some weirdos went to your blog from mine? So you see I had all the right intention and was just protecting my lil sister:)And what is this about Italy? I though we were going to France?

Hi Sakshi, if you bring up your son in Swargalok, he may end up asking for more than a tattoo. He might seek your permission for wearing a nose ring...

Hi Kavi, really? You found it? Can I have it back?

Hi Smita, true some serials are extremely funny.

Hi Manjujoglekar, I envy you your grown up children.

Hi Onkar, thank you.

Hi Holy lama, :D :D :D that was fantastic!

Hi Haddock, thank you. You will be doing me a favour.

Hi Suma,Your son is 12? Hmmm, I see some interesting things coming your way.

Blunt Edges said...

lol...if i found your sense of humor anywhere around bangalore, i would take it 2 blunt edges...it kinda survives on humor alone! ;)

BK Chowla, said...

Trust me, I enjoyed reading all your posts.They have been wonderful and very well meaning.

Anonymous said...

I really like your posts !!! Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but I like your way of writing.

LOL Aparna !!! Will surely let u know if I find the funny bone somewhere !!!!

Sharmila said...

Great to see you back Aparna! :-)

Sandhya said...

This itself is funny to read - self analysation, huh?!

Thank god I am out of the teen tantrums now.

You are an interesting writer and we can read anything you write, Aparna.

Waiting for more...even this kind of post is OK!

rayshma said...

i see ur sense of humor RIGHT there! as long as you found rahul ka swayamvar disgusting and not funny... i'm totally with you!

i totally enjoyed this post.. and now i'm off to catch up on the rest.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

I found your humour right under Sourav Ganguly's cap at the IPL matches. The poor dude was trying his best to hide among the few hairs remaining on Dada's balding pate. And Dada was doing his best to help him by constantly pulling his few strands to cover up his bald spots and your Mr. Humour. I cracked up when I saw him. Am couriering him (Mr. Humour, not Dada) over to you soon. He might come clutching a few more of Dada's remaining hair, though...

Anonymous said...

Hey aparna - first time on ur blog and loving it. The so called serious posts also have dash (actually whole lots) of humour in it!

Destiny's child... said...

Lol....I think you've already found it. And I am loving it :)

Meira said...

Maybe some of our humors decided to run away for a bit. Tired of being laughed at, me thinks. I've bribed, fed, and promised it anything it wants, yet it refuses to return :(

Ire said...

Woah! I never thought you have lost it! Maybe its hiding in your cupboard...you need a break maybe!

Dr. Tripat Mehta said...

lovely post...like ur thoughts and way of expressing ur words :)

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http://liberalflorence.blogspot.com/

Haddock said...

Keeping a look out for it.

Roshni said...

its difficult to see the humor in a situation when you are deeply embroiled in it! But you seem to be doing a good job, anyway!! Cleaning the pot!! hahahaha!!
Maybe you should tell your daughter that you and she can get matching tattoos! That might put her off!

Sorry to have been away from your blog for quite a while!

JD said...

lol.. good one Aparna. A tattoo is just a tattoo and not really that bad :-)

Take a brake (yes a break!!), and just cool off on a holiday spot. Your sense of humour is intact btw..

Aparna said...

Blunt edges, I kinda survive on humour too, same pinch :D

BK Chowla, thank you very much, your comments have always been encouraging.

umsreflections, thanks so much. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, that is so completely me!

Sharmila, thank you! It is great to be back.

Sandhya, my life is completely taken over by the teen tantrums. After this one, there is another one waiting in the wings :)

rayshma, thank you so much.

Sucharita, Dada is a rock star. But if I really want humour, all I need to see is Harsha Bhogle's new found hair. What do you think of that?

Dropzofjupiter, thank you so much.

destiny's child, my humour plays hide and seek with me sometimes :)

Meira, bribe mine too if you happen to find it, may be it will listen.

Nikita, I do need break, I really do.

Tripat Prerna, thank you so much.

Haddock, thank you :D

Roshni, a matching tattoo? Now that is seriously funny!

JD, thank you! I am seriously looking for a break.

Unknown said...

The joys and miseries of being a rich parent... Should I call you "a poor little rich mom" (a la Richie Rich)...

loved the post... Its nice to have a smart cuz who can call it like she sees it ... :-)

ZB said...

your humour is intact. You are more humorous when you come up with serious posts, and thats a huge compliment. People do all sorts of crappy things to sound funny, but here you are so naturally.

I doubt you can ever write a post without cracking few funny bones. Its a challenge. TC:)

Unknown said...

Humour is in your bones! I see it there!! LOL. I'm glad your father gave you this gift - so precious.

Chandrika Shubham said...

Interesting post! :) Enjoyed reading each and every line of it. :)

Arunima said...

:-) I found it wandering on the streets of Bangalore and not Mumbai, and I am not giving it to you. My blog also needs it.