Once upon a time...

I was a funny writer! No, really, truly I was a writer with a sense of humour! If any of my English teachers were alive today (which is highly improbable; they are all probably pushing daisies by now!)they would all attest to this fact.

Immodest as it may sound, I had a ironic turn of phrase, a penchant for punning and a wry, self-deprecating sense of humour - on occasion verging on the pie-in-the-face variety of comic capers.

Incidentally, I am quite impressed by my command of the English language - it seems I do remember words other than 'Free!', 'New', 'latest', 'best', 'never before!', 'buy one, get one free' and others of the same ilk! 40 years selling soap and cars and cereal does depress any pretensions I might have had regarding my command over the Queen's English - or even Hinglish!

So where was I? Ah, yes, my lost sense of the funny and the comic - which would come into their own even in those essays we all used to turn in after every summer - "My ideal summer holidays!"

My essays used to be quite funny, hysterical more often than not, and full of incidents and happenings. I always got 10 on 10 for originality! And a pat on the back... Why I even wrote articles for the trend setting Junior Statesman - and Desmond Doig,it's legendary editor, didn't even edit a single funny word!

So what happened in the intervening years? Why can't I imbue my life and all that's happened to me in the bright shades of laughter instead of the dull shades of whinging and complaints? Horror of horrors... maybe instead of becoming merely bitter and infused with acidity, I have become, even worse, dull, boring and trapped in a pool of self-pity?

I really must think this over. Next time I am stuck in the Mother of all traffic jams in Nehru Place, I must instantly compare it to being bumper to bumper at the entrance to the George Washington Bridge - and bless my lucky stars that instead of just being surrounded by cars and trucks, I am actually in the middle of a maelstrom of cows,cycles, autos, hand carts, rickshaws, two wheelers, tempos, cars of every shape and size (including Beamers!)and people, people and more people! This comparison should then make me realise how very boring being stuck over the Hudson really used to be!

So, in future, I shall try and always look at the funny side of things... whether it's the temper trantrums of our recalcitrant maid, load-shedding three times a day, the water running dry just when I have lathered up a headfull of shampoo, missing sure death while crossing the road when the light is against on-coming traffic - and such other minor hazards of daily life here in the land of my forefathers!

I am now going to look far and wide for my missing sense of humour. Wish me luck!