Poly-Murmurs: 'We stitch a cloth over plastic bag'

As it is wont to, social media was in characteristic good humour over the moroseness the plastic ban has generated.

'We stitch a plastic bag within a cloth bag', went a WhatsApp message, which was the digital version of a Puneri Paati, the ingeniously sarcastic display boards the city of Pune is famous for putting out.

Another WhatsApp hit attributed to a Punekar read: 'During demonetisation the government gave us the opportunity to exchange the high-denomination currency notes we had. It should now provide us cloth bags in exchange for plastic bags.'

A Facebook joke related a conversation between two friends. The first asks why the other is carrying an office bag on a Sunday. The reply goes: 'Going to a liquor shop so I can bring the booze in the office bag.'

This one takes the cake: 'If you park your two-wheeler in front of the gate, we'll put a plastic bag on the handle.' A curious user posted an unanswered question in response: 'What's the Marathi word for plastic?'

Another joke has a wife telling her husband to return home early and not go drinking like he did the night before. The befuddled husband asks how she came to know he had gone on a bender. The wife says: 'A glass went missing from the kitchen yesterday.'