‘April Fool banaya, bada maza aaya’ or ‘Happy April Fool’s Day’ is how one gets greeted after getting pranked on April 1. Most from millennials would have memories of getting pranked or ganging up with other to prank someone, during in their growing up years. But, does the day still hold relevance in today’s day and age of Gen Z?
For Simran Badhwar, a first-year student at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, “everyday is a prank day”. She says, “We don’t need a specific day for it.” “Karne wale karte hain pranks aaj ke din, par humara toh daily ka hai,” says Sakshi Gupta, a student from Shyam Lal College, DU, adding, “Casually ek dusre ko prank karte hi rehte hain. Jaise agar PG mein sab baithe hain aur PG wali aunty ne kuch bola nahi par humne apni friend ko darane ke liye bol diya is unhone complaint kari hai. Such masti mazak happens all the time.”
“There is no such day as an April Fool’s day as you go on YouTube,” says Raichel Martin, a student of MA in Communication and Journalism from Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies, Mumbai, adding, “Every second influencer is doing some or the other prank. As children we took it more seriously, and would go around and be like, ‘Yay ullu banaya, bada maza aaya! But as you grow up, the enthusiasm just goes down. And we are like yeh kya hai.”
And Lizilann Fonseca, a student of Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, opines, “It was relevant just in our childhood when we’d go to school and someone would prank us. But, during college life the importance of the day decreased. At the most, we have these lyric pranks in our WhatsApp groups with friends where someone would just randomly send lyrics of a sad song to create utter confusion. Some people don’t even remember ki first of April is April Fool’s Day. People go like, ‘OMG, ya today is April 1’.”
But, Ashutosh Yadav, a second year student of BA from PGDAV college, DU, feels “Khatam toh nahin hui hai April Fool’s Day ka craze. Abhi bhi manate hain hum. Un students ko pakadte hain jinko koi idea na ho ki unpe prank hone wala hai. Like if a teacher is no longer assigned to teach us, we would use her name and tell a friend ‘She’s calling you urgently what have you done’. Sometimes we even use the opportunity when someone has a crush on a fellow student and taking their name we tell our friend, ‘Woh tujhe bula rahi hai’. Phir hume toh bas April Fool’s Day ko enjoy karna hai (laughs)!”
Apurva Kirti, a third year students of Kirori Mal College, who has a mischief up her sleeve for to prank her friends today, says, “Students, especially my batch mates, are totally engrossed in studies at present. And I feel it’s very much relevant for them to celebrate the day. The pandemic has taken a toll on education, and most students are under immense pressure to perform and adjust to physical classes since the colleges have reopened. So April Fool’s Day is one break that can be a relief from the exhausting everyday routine. It will freshen up our minds to joke around a little. I am planning to fool around with my friends, are you?”
Agreeing with Kirti is Akshay Victor, a third year student of BA in Journalism and Mass Communication, at a Delhi college. He says, “Many would say that April Fool’s pranks are a thing of the past now, which someone my age can enjoy nowadays by looking at younger children and seeing them pull pranks like we used to. There’s a nostalgia associated with April Fool’s Day. But I’d say that it’s still pretty relevant because even to this day we pull off little harmless pranks on our friends and family under the name of April Fools and feel awesome!”
Kevin Koul, a Gurugram-based content creator, shares one cool prank that you can try: “Tell a stranger, ‘Would you hold this for one second, please’, while handing them a large, connected Bluetooth speaker. Tell them you’ll be right back. Go off into the background and play a sound or song of your choice! Watch the reactions unfold as they scratch their heads and laugh along!“
