FUNNY FAMILY 3 : MISADVENTURES OF TANEJA FAMILY

FUNNY SHORT STORY BY Me FROM STORYMIRROR.COM

Hi friends,

I will continue the story ‘ Catch me if you can’ next week. I am not feeling well today. So I am sharing another story of mine from Storymirror.com. I hope you like it.

Ooh la la,” crooned Sheetal Taneja’s mother-in-law. Her grandchildren came rushing into her room. Aditi asked her,” Are you hurt, grandma? Shall I apply ointment on your legs to ease your pain?”

Her grandmother let out a huge sigh. She said,” Thank you for your concern. But I am not howling in pain. I was trying to hone my singing skills through the Starmaker App.” Aditi and Yash tried their best to suppress their giggles. Usha could not resist her urge to laugh at the children’s facial expressions. They all ended up laughing heartily. Sheetal came running up to inquire what was wrong with her family. “Has someone sprayed laughing gas in this room? Why are you all still laughing?” she demanded. Yash told her about his grandmother’s poor attempt at singing and how the brother-sister duo mistook it for crying out in pain. 

Sheetal could not hide her smile. She had gifted a new smartphone to her mother-in-law on her sixty-fifth birthday. Aditi opened a Facebook account for Usha. She also taught her grandmother how to send an e-mail and use Whatsapp. The tech-savvy grandmother spent most of her time listening to bhajans or going through Facebook or Whatsapp. 

Arun and Sheetal worked from home because of the lockdown in force. Likewise, Aditi and Yash attended online classes. They managed to laugh together by playing pranks on each other. 

Usha was pretty naive as far as using the internet was concerned. Her WhatsApp group consisted of senior citizens who loved bragging about their families or severely criticizing their daughters or sons-in-law. 

It was a hot and humid Sunday. The children and Arun had slept late. Usha woke up early and went to answer nature’s call. Meanwhile, her mobile rang incessantly. She had lost her temper. 

She picked up the call and hurled a string of swear words. It was an automated telemarketing call. Her abuses fell on deaf ears. Sheetal had heard every single word uttered by her mother-in-law. She tried to suppress her giggles and knocked on her bedroom door with a cup of coffee in her hand.

“Come in, dear,” said Usha,” I need your advice on handling this stupid mobile. 

It does not even allow me to empty my bladder. I almost came rushing out to answer the call, only to find a machine rambling out an advertisement.” 

Sheela explained,” That is how the telecom companies earn money through advertisement. It is nothing unusual. Don’t worry, Mom. You will get used to all the shenanigans of the smartphone.” 

Usha took the coffee cup from her and started slurping noisily. Sheetal left the room to handle the online classes. 

After sometime, Usha received a notification for new WhatsApp messages. She rolled her eyes when she saw the pictures of mouth-watering dishes posted by her friends and neighbors. She felt jealous of them.Usha summoned her daughter-in-law to her room after dinner. 

She showed the Whatsapp messages to Sheetal. She exclaimed,” Why can’t you make these delicacies at home? My friends are enjoying a variety of dishes prepared by their daughters-in-law. They post these pictures to make me feel jealous.” Sheetal grinned and replied, ” I knew something was bothering you, judging by the expression on your face. Do you honestly think that their daughters-in-law prepared those delicacies? They had ordered them online through Swiggy. Please take a look at this video sent by Malati, Gomati Aunty’s daughter-in-law.” Usha burst out laughing after seeing her friend, Gomati, clutching her stomach after coming out of the toilet. Usha could hear her grumbling,” I wish I hadn’t eaten so much. Malati! You are a murderer! You deliberately tried to kill me with the delicious poison.” 

Sheetal said,” Malati forwarded this epic video to make you realize that all that looks yummy on WhatsApp may not be good for the tummy. ” Usha added with a chuckle,” Point noted. Anyway, I feel like a fool for having entertained negative thoughts.”

Six months later, Usha received an email. 

The sender congratulated her for winning a trip to Goa for the entire family. The email also asked her to send the contact details. Usha’s joy knew no bounds. She completed the necessary formalities.

She called Sheetal and said,” Start packing our bags. I have won a free trip to Goa for all of us. I received an email that declared me as a winner of a lucky draw.” Sheetal was speechless. Usha beamed at her with her chest swelling in pride. Sheetal tried to reason with her mother-in-law that she should not respond to such an unwanted e-mail. Usha snorted,” You are just jealous of my good luck. I am not going to listen to your unsolicited advice. I don’t want any arguments from you. Do as I say. ” 

Later that evening, Usha received a courier containing the plane tickets with a hotel accommodation brochure. She waved the tickets on Sheetal’s face and remarked,” You were wrong this time. We are going next week to Goa. I have to broadcast this news.” Sheetal looked at her husband, Arun, for moral support. She felt mortified after her mother-in-law refused to listen to her. He consoled her,” My mother can be stubborn at times. Don’t let her wisecracks bother you. You are trying to protect her from a probable scam. I will always support you because you are right, and she is naive.” Sheetal had a cursory glance at the plane tickets. She immediately contacted the airways in question whose tickets she had received. She came to know that those tickets were fake. But, she didn’t want to disappoint her mother-in-law. So, she booked the flight tickets for the family on the said date. She also arranged for their hotel accommodation. 

She called Arun and briefed her plan to him. He appreciated her thoughtfulness. 

Sheetal said,” Now don’t say a word to her. Let her panic for some time after reaching the airport. Besides, I want to make security arrangements for our house. Mom will not allow me to do any alteration as long as she stays with us. I will convince her to stay with her brother for a couple of days.” She knew it was futile to argue with her mother-in-law. 

She put her plan into action. She successfully sent Usha away. She removed all the valuables from her house and kept them in a safe deposit vault of her bank. She asked Arun to hide their LED TV in their storeroom. 

After taking all the necessary precautions, Sheetal and her husband started packing their luggage for the trip. The children were quite excited. Usha came back after spending a couple of days with her brother. 

Finally, the day of their departure arrived. Sheetal let her mother-in-law take charge of the plane tickets. When they arrived at the airport, Usha had a nasty surprise. She learned from an official that the tickets with her were invalid. Hence, they could not go through the boarding procedure. 

She started weeping and cursing herself. 

Sheetal consoled her and showed her the flight tickets that she had booked for them. Usha hugged her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. The entire family boarded the plane and reached their intended destination. 

Meanwhile, the crook, who had tricked them into leaving their house vacant for his intended burglary, picked the lock at midnight. He asked his accomplice to follow him with the gunny bag. When he shone the torchlight, his jaw dropped open in surprise. The house sported a deserted look. The furnishings were sparse. When he opened the closet in the bedroom, he saw only a few clothes but no jewelry or cash. There was nothing worth stealing. They cursed their bad luck and retreated silently, leaving behind a note and cash worth two thousand rupees.

The Taneja family was enjoying the holidays. They came back after a fortnight only to discover an attempted robbery. Usha nearly fainted from the shock. Arun caught her in his arms. Sheetal entered the house and scanned it thoroughly. She found a note with some cash under a flower vase on the coffee table. It said:

” Dear Sir/ Madam,

I owe you an apology for causing great inconvenience to you and your family. I entered your house with the intention of robbery. Unfortunately, I had no luck with my misadventure. Your pathetic condition moved me so much that I have left behind Rs.2000/- for your use. I hope you forgive me. 

Regards,

An idiotic thief.” 

Everyone burst out laughing after Sheetal read out this letter. She told Usha about the action she had taken to protect her house. Usha appreciated her quick thinking and promised her that she would avoid giving in to any kind of temptation on the internet.  

What a funny misadventure they had! 

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