ISLAMABAD: So you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed and the world is coming to an end. Okay maybe having no electricity is nothing new but a flat tyre totally is, especially when you were headed to that important meeting. The coffee has no punch. The hair dryer is full of --- surprise, surprise --- shaving cream. You look in the rear-view mirror and your cat stares back, with her four newborns. What a start.
Your phone bleats. It’s your best friend, “Guess what! I’m engaged to <insert industrialist surname>.” What better reminder of your seemingly perpetual singlehood? You manage a small “Congratulations girl, just make sure the bloke isn’t making a fool out of you.” A what? It’s April Fools’! Nature sure has a sense of humour.
On Sunday, residents of the twin cities lived up to the snarky reputation of the vain cock Chauntecleer, who was tricked by a fox (Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, 1932).
As more exaggeration ensued, many undergraduates of Bahria University were at the helm of troubling and confusing incidents --- only to smack their foreheads in awe or relief later.
“So we’re having our midterms and someone posted on the course Facebook page that only two chapters are included. Maybe it’s not too late to make up for a weekend spent studying for some,” said Maha Usman, a Social Sciences student with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
Akram Rehman, another student, got a call from his friend in Gilgit. “I searched the whole market for him only to be the butt of a joke I never thought I’d fall for,” he said.
A group of boys at the university dared a boy to fake a confession. So as he follows through, the girl exclaims, “I love you too!” Only to be smacked by the mantra of the day. Talk about the poignant-tale of lonely-hearts club.
Sadaf Fayyaz, a local TV anchor, said, “A friend calls me up saying another friend had an accident and is in critical condition in the ICU. Hurry before it’s too late.” Later she was to realise her gullible instincts.
Rabia Kazmi, a student of Media Sciences at SZABIST, commented, “I was informed by a friend that martial law had been imposed. I spent quite a few minutes in frenzy, googling and texting people to see what’s up, before the prankster had mercy on me and said he was just kidding.”
Finally, the ‘Tribune office was in on the jokes.
A reporter sent a text to his chief reporter, knowing he might be in the office, saying “(A religious political figure) died after suffering heart attack.” The chief reporter wasted no time and started surfing TV channels for an update, before a colleague reminded him that it must be an April Fools’ joke.
At this point, the chief reporter decided to do one better, and asked the prankster to provide a beeper to the TV channel, which threw the prankster completely off-guard. Talk about backfires!
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2012.
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Grow up ET...people are frustrated and depressed due to fuel price hike and rather than allocating maximum space to this issue in the paper, you are bent upon wasting, time energy and space