Running Joke

The cricket pitch coming up in the Garden has become a joke. With three sides netted (see background of pic) and the fourth opening directly into an open drain, people are wondering if anyone is really serious about the sport. We see empty trucks wheeling in and out every morning and a yellow road roller parked permanently on the pitch. Somebody had flicked its battery once and a watchman lost his job. Whoever came up with this brilliant idea must be having a terrific sense of humour!
The bigger joke though was on Srichand Arora (below left) today. Somehow, we don’t seem to have enough of him and no sooner had he stepped into the Garden than Santosh Tyagi went gunning at him. She pointed at a gentleman on a bench at a distance and informed Arora that it was his ‘jeeja-ji’ (sister’s husband) sitting out there. “Won’t you go wish him?” she demanded.
Now Arora has no sister of his own and the closest he recognizes any woman to be one is Geeta Sardhana (below right) because she ties a rakhee on him every year. How was he supposed to know who her husband is? (Or maybe, he should!) And here Santosh was pointing at a peaceful-looking gent who could get wild the second Arora approached him. After all how can anyone approach a stranger and straightaway address him as “Jeeja-ji”? Besides, Geeta was nowhere to be seen.
Knowing Santosh’s penchant for pranks (post of October 20), Arora pleaded with her to spare him. “Why do you want to get me beaten up early in the morning?” he implored with folded hands. Santosh assured him that for once, this was no joke and that the stranger was indeed his jeeja-ji in flesh and blood. Arora refused to believe her and when he noticed nobody siding with her, he became all the more adamant. He was convinced that Santosh was laying a trap for him.
Ultimately Geeta appeared on the scene and Arora realized Santosh was not pulling his leg this time. Like a good boy he went up and shook hands with the man – his newfound brother-in law.