Uncle! It's the other end?

"Uncle, it's the other end...!" It was January 2008. A famous religious feast in our locality was going on. When the feast goes on, all families in our locality invite their dear and near and it's a get-together time too, for family and friends.

It is a twenty eight days long festival and every household in our locality will have special food ready for guests all these days, in case people come unexpected, even uninvited! One day, we had two of my uncle's friends as our guests.

They came from another town; first they went to the church, attended the rituals there and then came to our house for dinner. It is quite natural that we have some good quality drinks, especially when male guests come.

This time too, it wasn't different and these two are fond of sharing experiences, poking each other, making funny comments over drinks. They came by 7 pm and soon after that started talking, drinking and eating.

This continued till around 11.30 pm. By this time all the household tasks were over except some washing and tidying of the table and so the womenfolk, my aunts and cousins and we too, joined the talk.

By this time, one of the guests started urging the other one to return because both of them hadn't informed their wives where they were.

One uncle, M. Joe, had to go a few kilometers more, and the other one offers to drop him, but we all discouraged traveling that far at the odd hour, and so he agreed to say in the house of Mr. Jean his companion, who stays comparatively at a shorter distance.

Thus, bidding farewell, they were walking towards the car, and Uncle Joe decided to light a cigarette before getting into the car.

He was lighting it again and again, but each time, the flame goes out! I was noticing this after a few failed trials when he was about to throw it away, with a funny smile I told, "Uncle, you were lighting the other end of the cigar all these while.

Everyone started laughing and we helped him light it properly. He was too drunk that he couldn't identify the right end of the cigar!



Photos from Svenstorm and Jeremiah Ro