This English term has extensively been used by my teachers and elders on me whenever I told a lie or committed a mistake since my school days. But no body could explain to me what "Poker Face" was. The Chambers Dictionary gives the meaning as inscrutable face, the Websters Dictionary tells as expressionless face and the Oxford Dictionary gives an artificial expression to hide his hand in cards game as its meaning. But still no one is clear how a Poker Face looks like or is made.
This reminds me a Punjabi Mushaira where the poet used a Punjabi word " Chawwal" in a verse. One of the persons sitting there who did not know its meaning asked the poet its meaning after the show. The poet very rightly told him that the word cannot be explained but the person with such qualities can be shown. Similarly the Poker Face cannot be explained but shown when a person makes a "Poker Face". In the recent interview of our PM on the CNN, he put up a Poker Face when asked questions by the anchor person about his resignation on moral grounds. He continued putting up a Poker Face on every question thereafter. It was neither a smile nor an ashamed face. His facial expression cannot be explained in words but can easily be referred as Poker Face. I think he had a similar face after hearing his conviction by the Supreme Court and while waving to the crowd outside the court. I urge the parents to tell their children how a Poker face looks like by showing the video clip of this interview.
MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA,
Lahore, May 19.