TOI’s April Fool Humour Has Readers Put On Their Pondering Caps

Well! Could it be incredible but true?
TOI’s April Fool Humour Has Readers Put On Their Pondering Caps
The Times of India

Bangalore: Laugh they did. And as the chuckles subsided, they pondered over the prospect of their city yielding to the concrete bustle and losing its green sheen.

On Friday’s page 1, we brought you an “incredible photograph” of a denuded boulevard of M.G. Road, wanting you to have the April 1 laugh on us.

Calls and mail started pouring in from morning. “You really gave me a shock with your picture of the denuded M.G. Road,” wrote Sundari Murugan from Mumbai, who had probably seen the Bangalore edition of our e-paper. “We always live with the fear that it will actually happen... All thanks to the general inefficiency of the BCC.”

Ayesha Taranum wrote to say: “All Bangaloreans woke up to the horrifying picture of the razed boulevard. No better way than this to fool the city... It was perfect humour.”

“Thanks for the joke. But remember, today’s could be tomorrow’s reality.” That was T. Rajan calling us. His concerned daughter-in-law hadn’t read the last line of the caption which led readers to the revelation on the backpage. She had actually driven towards M.G. Road to check “the damage”. “Actually, the joke’s on the BCC,” Rajan said.

“Perhaps one of these days, it could actually happen,” said Col Praveen Kumar, another caller, underlining citizen’s concern for the environment.

That, indeed, was our intent too. But we were mildly surprised by the overwhelming connection to this prank. It was heartwarming to know that although caught in the hurly-burly of daily life, many are highly sensitive about their city surroundings.

As Mark Twain put it, “Humour is the good-natured side of a truth.’’