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Return of the tearjerker? Onion humour spices up virtual world
A young woman exclaims to her lover that he must be very rich because his breath smells of onions. So goes an onion joke doing the rounds on social media these days. Another one has superstar Rajnikant exclaiming that the prices of onions have gone up all because he ordered an onion dosa! Yet another Whatsapp message shows a vegetable vendor asking for the permanent account number (PAN) when a customer asks for 2 kg of onions!
A young woman exclaims to her lover that he must be very rich because his breath smells of onions. So goes an onion joke doing the rounds on social media these days. Another one has superstar Rajnikant exclaiming that the prices of onions have gone up all because he ordered an onion dosa! Yet another Whatsapp message shows a vegetable vendor asking for the permanent account number (PAN) when a customer asks for 2 kg of onions!
It certainly is the day of the onion, what with prices of onions escalating from Rs 30 to Rs 70 a kg and traders predicting a further upward trend in the days to come. This humble bulb, that has been a human food source for thousands of years, has never had it this good in India. Not only is the vegetable as costly as it comes, it also has the power of toppling governments. This is why the onslaught with the weapon of comedy.
‘RUPEE FALLING,ONION RISING’
The onion that is often taken for granted has risen to become a star of the virtual world. While the onion crisis has taken a heavy toll on the homemaker’s budget because it is an essential ingredient for most dishes, the social media sites have pressed humour into service to chide the Bharatiya Janata Party for not being able to check the prices.
A tongue-in-cheek rhyme depicting the state of affairs in the country goes thus, “Rupee falling/Onion rising/Share market crashing/Farmers crying/Soldiers dying and PM flying.”
Not only the onion but food inflation is also the subject of wit and satire. With tuvar dal costing as much as chicken that is Rs 140 a kg, the barb at the Prime Minister is: “Modi ne ghar ki murgi dal barabar kahavat sach kar di hai!’
But the best of tweets feature the onion from Mumbai on Twitter: “Onions have become so expensive that at Bade Miyan - when you order a plate of onions - you get chicken tikka free!”
