Flipping Pages, Flipping Fates, My Tippan Moment

My call was gladly received by my sister, who was in the midst of a monotonous job of setting a question paper for her students. She needed a distraction, and I willingly obliged. 

These days, we enjoy our telephone conversations more than usual. The reason is, that we dwell upon the stories from the past that have been handed down to us from our ancestors.

They are not stories of valour passed down the generations in musical forms to infuse courage. They seem like tall stories stretched by imagination, not only to us but also to innocent bystanders. These have become so believable to us by being repeated many times during our family reunions. The stomach-churning laughter they induce keeps those anecdotes so lively until today.

Tippan Chacha was a guest who came from far away to take a departmental examination for promotion in the city where my grandparents lived. Our grandparents were glad to have him visit them. As for one of their broods, my mother, who was younger than him, enquired about his performance after seeing his question paper.

He claimed his competence and adeptness in finishing the paper ahead of the scheduled time. The first page went well. Then as she turned the next page to check for the other questions, he realised he had forgotten to turn the page and see. So, the remaining three questions were unanswered. He tried to snatch the paper from my mother’s hand, revealing the sudden realisation of his folly. Now that Tippan Chacha had committed this blunder, he was penalised by his nephews and nieces in the family and, as a penance, had to take them to the “Pakeezah” movie to the cinema hall. Needless to raise any queries regarding the examination result, the movie was wonderful in their words.

My sister called me the next day as she finished compiling her examination paper to inform me that simply out of compulsion, after our conversation, she wrote “continued on next page” at the bottom of her examination sheet lest someone may miss the second page.

The story does not end here. Today, I faced a similar situation. I copy-pasted the questions, knowing little karma was waiting for me. As I sat for my test for a position as a content creator, feeling smug about having honoured Tippan Chacha, who forgot to turn the paper over? Yours truly.

Looks! Like Tippan, Chacha’s spirit descended on me and decided to teach me a lesson in humility. I know how it feels to miss half the test because I forgot to flip the paper.  It turns out history doesn’t just repeat—it mocks you while it’s at it!

So, here’s to Tippan Chacha, the man who could turn a mistake into a lifelong joke and here’s to me, his accidental apprentice in the art of comic blunders.