Humour: Jab nazar nazar se mili, anti-Romeo squad aa gaya!

Comedy icon Charlie Chaplin once said, “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up but a comedy in long shot”. Social media has given us ample scope to look at life in long shot. Right from politicians to political/ government decisions, everything and everyone is made fun of.

Some such socio-political decisions literally throw our daily life off gear for a while. But what the hell, people still take out time to laugh or grin or grimace at the hardships and the idiosyncrasies and the politics of it all.

Looks like Chaplin was right after all, when we look at our condition from a distance, we find it utterly humorous. Let’s take the Anti-Romeo Squad parading all over UP. People loved, loathed, lamented and laughed at it on social media.

On Facebook, Anuj Sharma commented on it with a slight twist in a very popular Urdu verse, ‘ये इश्क़ नहीं आसां, बस इतना समझ लीजे/ इक आग का दरिया है, कुछ भूनते जाना है !!’ (The path of Love is not easy, it is like a river of fire and roasting/roasted we should cross!!). Further he remarked, ‘#antiromeosquad is like #autocorrect. Less comfort more problems!’

Then Roop Narayan sympathised with Devdas, the popular tragic romantic hero created by famous Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. ‘Poor Devdas! Came out of Bengal, and got arrested. He had alcohol with him (in Bihar), Chandramukhi arranged for his release and then Devdas was again arrested. He was with Chandramukhi (in U.P.)!’

A popular song from Hindi film ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ started trending on both Facebook and WhatsApp ‘Taiyab Ali pyaar ka dushman haye, haye! Meri jaan ka dushman haye, haye! (Taiyab Ali is an enemy of my life, my love, woe be to him!).

The famous qawwali sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was quoted-read-misquoted-read-twisted to highlight the villainous role of this squad in spoiling the cupid’s game: ‘mere rashqe kamar, tune pahli nazar, jab nazar se milayi, anti-Romeo squad aa gaya!’ (My beloved, as your eyes met those of mine, anti-Romeo squad barged in!)

Some raised a few ‘pertinent’ questions like, “U.P. is ruled by the BJP, but then who rules Goa? There you have Romeo and Juliet, beef and wine too, why?”

Another may sound like a rhetoric in desperation, ‘It’s said love defeats all, then O Love! Why don’t you fight elections?’

Some quick-wit jokes too started making rounds – ‘Past-Beti, be careful when you go out. Present-Beta, be careful when you go out!’

Look at another one: ‘Height of optimism- they won’t let you sit in the park with mutual consent, and hope they will sort out Ram Janm Bhumi issue with ‘mutual consent’!’

Some tweets referred to the Raas Lila of Radha Krishna and wondered what might Lord Krishna do in Yogi’s Brindavan!

King Dushyant and his beloved Shakuntala were also remembered and why not! After all, our country has been named after their son, Bharata. Had they been here now, their gandharva vivah would not have been possible because, to quote a post ‘they would have been chased and beaten today by those who call themselves nationalists’.

There were some aggressive rebuttals and some sensible objections too. People who have read Shakespeare’s most romantic and beautifully written play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ wondered why eve teasers have been named ‘Romeos’ because in the play, the ‘original’ Romeo is a thorough gentleman and an innocent loving boy.

On a serious note, many girls tweeted against the up-till-now-and-as-we-can understand, infamous anti-Romeo squad quoting Franklin Roosevelt- ‘Those who give up freedom for security, deserve neither.’

Ah, but well, giggling at difficult things and situations at least brings us together. Here I am, quoting the tweets and posts of people who are strangers to me but in our predicament, we are connected. And we should continue to laugh, as a famous English actor John Cleese once remarked, “laughter connects you with people…laughter is a force for democracy.”