Humour at Home

My husband has a great sense of humour. In fact all his siblings share this trait. As a result all our family gatherings are a riot of jokes and funny anecdotes and every few minutes there would be a burst of laughter! I am very fortunate to be married into his family, considering how acutely we lack the art of repartee in my side of the family! My daughters have taken after him and the funny retorts continue to this day at home:-)
My father-in-law was the original quick repartee champion and all his children have taken after him. In this context, it is relevant to remember that my mother-in-law and myself are a bit slow to catch on to the sarcasm involved in these exchanges. In fact all the daughters in law sadly lack this trait and wake up to their sarcasm rather late! It makes it all the more easier for the 'Mandhis' -(monkeys)-(as my husband's family has been nicknamed, in revenge, by all the daughters -in law, after their family name of 'Mandhikanakkans' in the days of yore-which suits them very well when you consider their antics!) to tease us 'outsiders' non-stop in any family gatherings as we slowly fumble through their quick comments!
Ours was an arranged marriage like most of the marriages in our country. We had hardly looked at each other before the wedding day and any talking before the wedding day was unthinkable thirty years back! The very first time I started a conversation with my husband was the day of our marriage when we travelled by car (from my home town where our wedding had taken place in the early morning) to his place where a reception was being held.
On the way we stopped for some refreshments and we bought tender cucumbers to eat along with a drink of tender coconut water. The roadside stall had both and the man started cutting the top off the cocnut when my new husband noticed that I was still nibbling at the cucumbers. He asked me, "Oh you still haven't finished eating the cucumbers?"
I replied:
'My granny has told me that you would live to be a hundred years if you chew your food well"
For which my hasband replied:
"It is better to live a fifty years eating fast and enjoying the rest of the time instead of spending the additional fifty years in the act of eating!"
I burst into laughter. With this, the ice was broken and he started asking me whether I knew anything about his workplace in the north-which was the city of Pune. I was still in college then and remembered a geographical fact about the city.
"I know that it is in the rain-shadow region of Maharashtra and that it gets less rainfall than the city of Mumbai which is but a hundred kilometres from there". Then, to make conversation I asked, "Is it true you get less rain?"
My husband stared at me a moment and then exclaimed, "Of course, we don't get much rains there. In fact it is almost a desert and we have to ride camels to go anywhere in the city as otherwise commuting is very difficult. In fact I rode on a camel to reach the railway station....." when I realized slowly that he was pulling my leg!
And so I got initiated into his clan's brand of humour!