Nobel tolls for Me
THE WEEK India|October 27, 2024
This, this is an abomination! The whole thing is rigged! It’s a disgrace!”
K.C. VERMA
Nobel tolls for Me

I am really thankful to God that my wife’s vocabulary of swear words is limited. ‘An abomination’ is the most vile word that she uses, and that too when she is incensed beyond limits. I kept quiet, hoping she would cool down soon. But I was wrong. For another hour, she kept muttering oaths and cuss words stranger than any thought of in my philosophy.

Most families have annual rituals. Rituals like playing cards on Diwali or getting the whole brood to gather at Christmas or the annual staycation in some five-star hotel because frequent flyer points are about to lapse. Stuff like that. Well, my wife and I are different. Not for us these mundane rituals. Instead, we observe the annual Lamentation of the Nobel Not Awarded To Me Day. This is preceded by a week-long vigil before the television, throughout which my wife makes me sit by her side with fingers crossed till the Nobel Prize for Peace is announced. Sad to say, year after year, I do not get the prize.

This story is from the October 27, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.

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This story is from the October 27, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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