Dark humour in times of Demonetisation

A cartoon last week showed two graphs, one with a downward curve that indicated declining productivity in the wake of demonetisation; and the other a curve moving sharply northward, indicating the increase in the number of jokes on social media. For good measure it showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling Arun Jaitley, “Look,I told you people are happy”.

Happy or not, social media seems to have erupted with dark humour. While regional languages including Hindi and Urdu have taken the lead, a large number of jokes and tweets in English too, memes and cartoons are being shared extensively.

One of the more popular shares is the spin on Hindi film titles provoked by demonetisation. “ Currency na milegi dobara”, “Kabhie Cash, Kabhie Card”, “Hum Line Me Lag Chuke, Sanam”, “Ae Bill, Hai Mushkil” will be some of the titles of new Hindi films post-demonetisation is the solemn prediction.

Even Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at cashlessness. “Without money everyone will have to ride a bicycle,” he pointed out with his tongue-in-cheek, reminding listeners that it would be great publicity for the Samajwadi Party which has the bicycle as its electoral symbol.

The year 2016, says one, is proving to be the most ‘Out-Standing’ year with people queuing up for ‘Jio’ SIM card, for exchanging money, for withdrawing money and then standing in cinema halls for the national anthem’.

A dig at the Prime Minister’s penchant for addressing people as ‘Mitron’ (Friends) defines the noun as indicating ‘a large group of unsuspecting people about to be hit by something they will take a long time to recover from’.

Another one. Morarji Desai was from Gujarat and so was his RBI Governor, IG Patel. Thirty eight years after they demonetised some currency, Narendra Modi and RBI Governor Urjit Patel have come together to ban 86%. When will Gujarat strike again?

Another anonymous attempt being shared is an adaptation from the speech of Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and reads as follows :

“Friends, Indians, aam admi,

lend me your ears;

I come to bury Currency Notes, not to praise them.

The evil that things do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with currency.”

“The noble Modi

Hath told you Currency only generates black money:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Currency answer’d for it.

Here, under leave of Modi and the rest–

For Modi is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men–

Come I to speak in Currency’s funeral.

It was my friend, faithful and useful to me:

But Modi says it generates black money;

And Modi is an honourable man.

It hath brought vegetables, bread, milk home to us

Our currency notes did our domestic coffers fill:

Was this the black money that Currency created?

When that the poor have cried,

labour exchanged for currency hath to their rescue leapt:

Black money should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Modi says that currency is black money;

And Modi is an honourable man.”

A tweet anticipates what children in India would say sixty years from now! It suggests that the boasts would be, “In the war against black money, my grandfather stood in a queue for 10 days”!

Lamenting the shortage of cash and small change to buy vegetables, some people sardonically claimed Prime Minister Narendra modi had vowed that he would neither eat vegetables nor would he allow others to eat vegetables (Na lauki khaunga, na khane doonga).

When the Prime Minister claimed overwhelming support among people for demonetisation following an opinion poll conducted on his personal Namo App, social media was quick to circulate the following question for a survey on ‘Who is the best Prime Minister in the world’. The options were: a) Narendra Modi; b) Option A; c) Option B; d) Option C.

So, if you are going to stand in a queue again outside an ATM, do not forget to carry your lunch box and dinner, snacks and water, blankets, playing cards and a torch.

Some Dark Demonetisation humour from Twitter