Gautam Nadkarni
Ig-Nobel
I don’t think I will ever understand sisters. Take mine for instance. Batty to the core. The epitome of superstition, despite having a brother with a scientific temperament. A brother, in fact, who is likely to win a Nobel prize and whose name will be uttered one day in hushed tones, in much the same way a tippler would utter the words Veuve Cliquot.
When I mentioned this to sis she immediately held out a lucky talisman. She said if I hung it around my neck, like a dog’s collar, I would certainly get the Nobel. I laughed till the tears streamed down my cheeks. Or at least I would have if she didn’t have that dangerous gleam in her eyes. She excused herself and came back from her room with a scrap of paper. Said if I chanted the mantra written on it a hundred times a day my success was guaranteed. She also advised me never to get up in the morning from the left side of my bed. It would be disastrous, she warned. I told her not to be ridiculous. We scientists scoff at superstition, I told her grandly. I pooh-poohed the idea.
The following morning. when I was brushing my teeth, my forehead suddenly turned clammy with sweat, and I fell into a blue funk. Try as I might, I could not recall which side of the bed I had gotten out of.
Now I’m wondering about that Nobel. . .
Friday the 13th. . .
the black cat crossing my path
gets run over
About the Author
Gautam Nadkarni has been into haikai literature for over a decade. Although a recent entrant into haibun he has been widely published and is currently the Senryu Editor of Cattails journal. He also loves cartooning.