A viral video has generated tremendous concerns over the lines of fun and cruelty in boys’ hostel birthday celebrations. Posted by an Instagram user Nimeel (@nimeeeeeel), a college student who boasts more than 74,000 followers, the video showcases a group of boys taking a shocking prank in the name of celebration.
The clip starts with the boys tying the birthday boy’s hands and feet and removing his clothes. They then fill a bucket of ice-cold water from the hostel’s water cooler and pour it on him at midnight. To add to this, the temperature outside was 12 degrees Celsius. This ordeal could thus be injurious. The birthday boy was kept outside visibly shivering and distressed for some time before he brought him back inside.
The group then continued with the “celebration” in their unconventional way. They got the birthday boy to cut a cake and later dressed him up in a childlike manner, applied baby powder and kajal around his eyes. Then, they put him into a blanket and back on the bed. Many were finding it rather unsettling as the group continued with their antics.
Watch here:
View this post on Instagram
Within days of the upload, it caught an immense attention and amassed views up to 73 lakh times, causing heated discussions. Some of the audience viewed the joke as humorous; other people feared for the boy’s birthday. Another wrote of the “birthday trauma”, and yet another believed cold water shock could result in heart attack. Many criticised that the pranksters were extreme in the joke they planned.
This incident has brought with it many important questions on whether such acts are acceptable regarding the limits of humor and safe pranks. To be sure, while some view it as harmless fun, other people feel that these activities can lead to very real consequences both physically and mentally. Many online are appealing to friends to revisit limits of celebration so that such behavior does not tread into the hazardous territory.
