Practical Jokes

Santosh Tyagi checks on the woman
lying under a tree on a bench 

Bijoy Gupta did not show up today. The only conclusion we could draw was that he had chickened out after Santosh Tyagi’s unexpected challenge yesterday (see post). Gupta does not usually take a day off. He is among the most regular and punctual members of the Club. So all conjecture on his failing to get hold of the ‘mythical boy’ was not completely off the mark.
Still, Siba Prasad Maitra attempted a face-saver by declaring during the exercises that he had spotted Gupta outside the Gate, apparently on the lookout for the young chap. “I saw him looking around frantically,” he informed amidst rousing laughter.
Clearly, Maitra was making a point: Gupta alone does not have a monopoly on cracking practical jokes. We all have a funny bone and are capable of pulling a fast one on others, once in a while. For instance, someone today inquired about a white cat seen lying immobile under a bush.

Siba Prasad Maitra (c) calls for a meeting tomorrow to
discuss plans on the Annual Function in December

It was the same stray Khatoon Baig used to get milk for till recently.
We were dreading the worst when Arun Patil came up with an instant answer: “Don’t worry, it is pregnant!”
True or false, nobody went up to check. But the explanation was comforting and more importantly, it established that nothing escapes Arun’s hawkish eyes and that he had a ready answer to everything. So his attention was immediately drawn towards a woman in the distance, lying immobile under a tree.
By association, we were expecting Arun to be once again dismissive and perhaps, even call her pregnant. But no such luck. Before he could open his mouth, everybody burst out laughing and Arun kept his counsel. Later, Santosh and Urmila Sinha went on to check the lonely, bundled figure in red under a tree. It seems there’s nothing to worry. All’s well that ends well.