Some people like jokes, and some don't. And those who don't, often misinterpret , misunderstand and misjudge them leading to birth of criss-crosses in more or less plain relationships which is though not much cared about before any such misinterpretation,misunderstanding or misjudgement occur or for that matter, just happen as it did few days back with one of my friend and to my bad luck(or say good because you never know) the monstrous joke fell out of my mouth. it goes like this.
with a cup of coffee in one hand and other flinging around the shoulder of one of my friend,apparently the one to whom the cup of coffee,presently under my custody, initially belonged ,three of us made way towards our favourite place on the terrace of our hostel, formally called "joint of the night" . the "joint" is our lifeline and our way of overcoming pre-exam jitters,flitters and shutters. convinced and unconvinced, satisfied and frustrated, loners and losers,romantics and lunatics everybody at some time or other paid homage to the "joint". however this story isin't about "joint". so with relieving sips of coffee and giggling sounds of laughter time passed on. just then we saw one of our friend suddenly appeared to be coming out of a far corner(like a jeannie), headphone tucked to ears, mobile slightly dipping into the pocket.we didnt even know of existence of such corners at "joint". poor we. nevertheless he approached us,smile exchanged,then came regular talk starters and another round of giggling. when one among the three of us questioned
"hey man, what it is like to talk to someone,obiviously someone special,at this hour of night while sitting in that remotely situated isolated corner of the terrace where rats even find hard to breathe."
we needed no answer but instead he spoke
"its great place there...u bet...silent,smooth,cushy...kinda romantic..."
his eyes closed for a bit as if hes still experiencing the warmth of sitting there and talking more than the content of the talking itself.
in that moment of light humour and excited spirits just like a cuckoo chattering at the dawn of day,i uttered the fateful words,it was effect of the caffeine,though i suppose now.
"romance!...so buddy, you play short and sweet one day or a full fleged test match...haha."
thats when he lost it and while we were basking in the glory of cracked joke his fuse had completely blown off. he turned gulshan grover types.. threatening, blabbering, etc..etc.... like a portrait of an angry young man,only this one made no sense,not to us not to even himself. and he warned us to stay away from his personal matters irrespective of the fact that they took place at a naively placed open corner of the terrace.
i still wonder what might have emotionally sparked him over a line that was never meant to be taken seriously,infact it was never meant to be taken anyway.
but than i realised a joke to you may not be the same to others,may be not even close and though you may not mean any offence in saying of it,it still can do enough to others.it still can harm you, socially.mentally and even physically(target of the fun turns out to be a gym goer..hard luck).
he cursed,turned and left. we three fell silent for a short while.
"it seems he likes twenty-20 more",sipping through the rest of my tasteless coffee, i sputtered.afterall jokes aren't fair always.
