Natural Wit

Monthi Serrao in full flow

On a dull day, if there is one person (apart from the usual suspects) who can enliven the surroundings, it has to be Monthi Serrao. She tries to keep a low profile and in any case, turns up late for the exercises. But for the time she is around, she would willy-nilly throw everybody into splits by her one-liners – much of which is unintended. For, she is actually a serious person and does not even realize how funny she can be.
Today, in the course of the exercises, at one point Arora directed everyone to hold their breath. “Saans roko,” he said, but Monthi heard “saas”, meaning mother-in-law. “Where is she?” she blurted out, looking around the Garden, agitated. Arora himself broke his breath and burst out laughing. Realising her folly, Monthi joined the laughter: “Sorry, I thought you saw your mother-in-law and wanted me to stop her!”
This was not the first time Monthi had heard wrong and spoken out of turn. Her bloopers are legendary, enough to fill a book. But how would you explain the incident she narrated this morning? Apparently, Monthi had gone to market yesterday to buy fish and picked up chicken first. She returned home and discovered she had left the chicken behind somewhere. “I had prepared the masala and was about to start cooking, when I found there was no chicken,” she recounted with dramatic flourish. “What to do? The cost of petrol in driving back and forth would be more than the cost of the chicken…”
What happened was inconsequential. It was her way of describing the incident that had us all laughing our heads off.
Bihari Milwani:
Why do ladies only think of mother-in-law when someone says 'saans'? Why can't they think of tomato/ chilli sauce?
Harish Wadhwa:
It's simple, Milwani-ji. Tasty food, like sauce, is easily forgotten. The bitter ones leave a lasting aftertaste.