Wishing the readers a very Happy April Fools’ Day
When I wrote a sincere article, doing a comprehensive review of the songs of 1947 on the 1st April last year, Canasya commented, “you have fooled us”, because he was expecting something else appropriate to the occasion. N Venkataraman echoed the sentiments. By now, the readers have a good picture of Venkataramanji in their minds. He has earned a reputation for himself as a towering intellectual. Canasya has so far shrouded himself in complete anonymity (except for a brief lifting of the veil once), though his erudite comments are well known to the readers. I hope he would not mind if I disclose that he is a BTech, MBA and a PhD, and is a Don (not the Amitabh Bachchan-type, but academic) at one of the premier IIMs. You don’t get any smarter than that. Yet, these two learned persons felt that they were fooled. They are not two individuals, but they represent a large segment of the population. These are the people with high Mensa scores. Additionally, they fortify themselves for the 1st April by keeping a watch on the calendar for a year so that they are not caught off-guard. (Venkataramanji kept awake the whole preceding night, and pinched himself at 00.55 AM that the 1st April has arrived, and alerted everyone on SoY by posting a comment at that unearthly hour.) When the day comes, they smile unto themselves, look into any corners and crevices, and are on high alert for any hidden meaning in the day’s happenings and conversations with friends and family. When the world around them goes about its business as usual, they feel cheated because all their precaution has gone waste. They are Clever Fools who are fooled when no one makes a fool of them on the April Fools’ Day.
