Until a few years ago, newspapers from Hyderabad used to carry "prank" stories on April 1 to shock readers at least for a moment early in the morning, before they realized that it was All Fools' Day.
They enjoyed such stories, whether it was Lakshmi Parvati giving birth to NTR's child or the dissolution of the Andhra Pradesh assembly to go for early elections. Some newspapers even carried celebrity divorces that generated a lot of curiosity.
But over the years, readers have started ignoring such "prank" stories, especially after the advent of social media, which churns out gossip stories every day, not just on April 1, but every day.
Moreover, people's reading habits have undergone a drastic change. They have stopped bothering about reading daily newspapers, let alone prank reports. They have even taken it easy with the hottest political stories.
So, when Deccan Chronicle carried a prank report on April 1 last year saying Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu had decided to merge his party with the Bharatiya Janata Party, nobody took it seriously.
Only the TDP people, who lacked a sense of humour, registered their protest by burning copies of the daily.
Interestingly, even social media has become a victim of this prank activity. This year on April 1 morning, the popular OTT channel "Aha" tried this prank on its viewers by releasing a promo on Twitter about the publication of a Telugu newspaper by the same name "Aha."
It said the "Aha" channel was soon coming out with a Telugu newspaper of the same name to entertain readers.
"A piped hot coffee in one hand and a newspaper with hot news in the other. What an imagination? Very soon, the newspaper at your doorstep," it said.
The promo hardly had any serious takers as people have started ignoring the idea of reading newspapers these days, and they are unlikely to welcome another daily newspaper. In fact, existing newspapers are themselves being truncated and going to digital platforms. Therefore, when Aha launches a newspaper, it won't have any buyers.
That is precisely why it did not evoke any curiosity. Finally, when it turned out to be a prank on April Fool's Day, it hardly evoked any laughter!
