Life's funny bone given a chance at Sunfeast

Kolkata, Sep 22 (UNI) When Alberta Brinati was struggling with a sprained ankle last afternoon, the journalists in the media room were rolling over on a gag that had been pulled on them.

But that was just the icing on the cake. For the goofs and guffaws began with none other than Mahesh Bhupathi.

Hardly had he entered the venue after his Beijing Open feat, that he was told he had to conduct a tennis clinic with 300 boys and girls in the practice courts as arranged by the sponsors. He went to Kshudiram Anushilani Kenddra where there was only one girl waiting.

A little stumped he still obliged as she was from the sponsor's house.

So after several hundreds of useless and meaningless questions and signing his name for the umpteenth time, the girl calls up her father, ''Dad, I am sitting with Leander. Do you want to talk? You are a big fan aren't you?'' That was it, Mahesh took the cell and spoke, ''I am Mahesh Bhupathi for you'' and then walked in gagman Cyrus Brochoa of 'MTV Bakra'. Loads of laughter followed.

That was not the end. Sunitha Rao was made to pose for some advertisement and then another group came in questioning her presence for that logo. And a big ruckus broke out and Sunitha was seen asking one of the Globosports personel, ''Get me out of here.

What will happen next who knows?'' And then MTV took over.

But the real climax came when one journalist, apparently from a Gujarati daily, came into the media room and shouted out the ill treatment meted to him. When he came to the city, instead of being received by the officials, the bouncers greeted him.

The Globosports officials tried to explain how Mahesh Bhupathi tried to oblige him and how he did not co-operate.

Next thing, he is taken out and he returns with his kurta torn and crying, ''Is this how you behave with self-respecting journalists. Don't you people feel anything for me,'' he asked the scribes.

It was then that someone from the media asked if it was a fast one on the scribes. ''Is this a joke,'' he said.

However, after some more mind blowing playacting, two journos got up and took his numbers back home to check and another prepared to take him for lunch. And then the master prankster came in.

''Its not easy to fool the journos. They just don't believe anything,'' Cyrus declared and what followed was a laugh riot.

A wet day brightened up by the funny side of life as the scribes returned to worry about Brianti.

UNI BA PM GC1537