Skip to main content

Flipping Pages, Flipping Fates, My Tippan Moment

 

My call was gladly received by my sister, who was in the midst of a monotonous job of setting a question paper for her students. She needed a distraction, and I willingly obliged. These days, we enjoy our telephone conversations more than usual. The reason is that we dwell upon the stories from the past that have been handed down to us from our previous generations.

They are not stories of valor passed down the generations in musical forms to infuse courage. They seem like tall stories stretched by imagination, not only to us but also to innocent bystanders. These have become so believable to us by being repeated many times during our family reunions. The stomach-churning laughter they induce keeps those anecdotes so lively until today.

Tippan Chacha (uncle) was a guest who came from far away to take a departmental examination for promotion in the city where my grandparents lived. Our grandparents were glad to have him visit them. As for one of their broods, my mother, younger than him, enquired about his performance after seeing his question paper.

He claimed his competence and adeptness in finishing the paper ahead of the scheduled time. The first page went well. Then, as she turned the next page to check for the other questions, he realized he had forgotten to turn the page and see. So, the remaining three questions were unanswered. He tried to snatch the paper from my mother's hand, revealing the sudden realization of his folly. Now that Tippan Chacha had committed this blunder, he was penalized by his nephews and nieces in the family and, as a penance, had to take them to the "Pakeezah" movie in the cinema hall. Needless to raise any queries regarding the examination result, the movie was wonderful in their words.

My sister called me the next day as she finished compiling her examination paper to inform me that simply out of compulsion, after our conversation, she wrote "continued on next page" at the bottom of her examination sheet lest someone may miss the second page.

The story does not end here. Today, I faced a similar situation. I copy-pasted the questions, knowing little karma was waiting for me. As I sat to give a test for the position of content creator, I felt smug about having honored Tippan Chacha, who forgot to turn the paper over? Yours truly.

Looks! Like Tippan Chacha's, spirit descended on me and decided to teach me humility. I know how it feels to miss half the test because I forgot to flip the paper. History doesn't just repeat—it mocks you while it's at it!

So, here's to Tippan Chacha, the man who could turn a mistake into a lifelong joke, and here's to me, his accidental apprentice in the art of comic blunders.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHATSAPP FORWARDS

"You will not read any of my WhatsApp messages and so it is useless to send you anything.” My mother said to me. I acknowledged her by my silence mentally reciting," I read all that you sent to me". So, here I am busy reading all about Indian spices and medicinal herbs used as daily household ingredients, thereby indulging in more studies on naturopathy as compared to any other ‘pathy’ which has side effects. I speed dialled my mother when my patient refused to undergo the procedure of scaling to clean her teeth in favour of 'alum', or "phitkari," a desi nuskha. No wonder patients shirk away from scaling. I ruminate. "I just called you up to confirm if you WhatsApped something to my patient "I vented. Ever since, I have been scrolling through all her erstwhile messages to know more about natural healthier medicaments, their benefits and roles in dentistry and health. Oh! WhatsApp was not there when I was a student. No wonder, my gold ...
18 comments
Read more

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION

As a new entrant to the content creation market, I was relentlessly searching for jobs in writing. It was an aha moment. I was selected to write a test assignment, a video script that was for one of the well-known educators in the online world.  My script had to bring out the essence of effective communication. I brainstormed for ideas. And since it was my first experience, I was falling short in everything.  I whipped up all my resources and Googled, scoffing at the idea of writing a video script on communication for a master communicator. It was not an easy task. Nevertheless, I tried and came up with a story that remains close to my heart for being the first of its kind. Prompted by the twists in Chinese whisper, I co-related it with the modern generation. Here goes the story that you can smile about or empathise with. A couple decided to meet at 10.00 the next day for coffee. The boy reached the coffee shop the next morning, but the girl did not. He waited and ...
2 comments
Read more

The Truth About The Paradox Of Life

Salads were the newest additions to our menu list as starters. It owes its origins to friends we visit often like a second home. The mundane sprouts could be part of creative jewellery with pomegranates and cheese cubes that had never occurred to me till I saw them beautifully and colourfully occupying the centre table. The rainbow salad on a different occasion was also mesmerising. The presentation and the warmth with which they served added to the taste as much as to the refreshing memories. As I uncovered the lid of the container on my kitchen slab, I observed that the moth beans had sprouted, and rootlets were visible. I could eat them as much as I could plant them. I decided to plant a few and serve the remaining for breakfast. They lay embedded in the soil with air, water and food in plenty. After a few days, I observed most had not survived. They had turned black and lay on the verge of extinction in that darkness. The paradox of plenty providing in excess is not good. The para...
1 comment
Read more