Laughter gives a better feel of life

Life has its highs and lows, but one should not get bogged down by miseries and pain. Humour is, at once, the spark that lights our eyes, as also the source of our tears. It is a state of mind that helps us adjust, overcome, and carry on. With a touch of humour, we can all spice up our lives,

Amidst the tensions and stresses that surround one, a touch of light-hearted humour always helps relieve pressures and lighten burdens. The word 'humour' has many meanings, it is the ability to perceive the comical in life and express it without bitterness that we shall be looking at in this article today. It is common experience that people of all ages and cultures respond to humour as it facilitates social interaction by neutralising awkwardness, unease and discomfort in interactions.

Every community, profession and age group has a sense of humour unique to its ethos. A mature audience may prefer sophisticated forms of humour, like satire requiring an understanding of the meaning and context. Young children, on the other hand, may favour the slapstick variety, such as Tom and Jerry cartoons. It is common experience that humorous anecdotes and jokes make us laugh. And laughter has many beneficial effects, such as relieving stress response and soothing tension. It also improves one's immune system, can relieve pain and act as a mood enhancer. It is for this reason that an exercise known as 'laughter yoga' has become popular in recent times. It involves prolonged voluntary laughter. Usually undertaken in groups and in a playful manner, this type of yoga is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides similar psychological and physiological benefits as spontaneous laughter.

In Natya Sastra, a treatise on the art of dancing, humour is defined as one of the Navarasas, or nine emotional responses which are expressed by the dancer or the danseuse. Humour is also a popular ingredient in literature. In English literature, for instance, many writers excelled in different forms of humour. Jonathan Swift, author of 'Gulliver's Travels', and legendary satirist, had a deadpan and ironic style which led to the birth of a new form of humour termed "Swiftian." It was he who he famously said that "ignorance, idleness, and vice are proper ingredients for qualifying as a legislator!"

Max Beerbohm, another famous English humorist, who wrote a biting and satirical article finding fault the chronology of the Holy Bible, famously said "only the insane take themselves seriously." P.G. Wodehouse, extolled as the "Performing Flea of English Literature," wrote close to 90 novels with imaginary characters. He had a remarkable ability to pooh-pooh the British aristocratic culture, and viewed the American way of life with humour tinged with irony. Those who have had the good fortune of reading books such as 'Summer Lightning,' 'Blandings Castle' and 'Right-ho Jeeves', will appreciate why his works were so popular throughout the world. Another English writer, who belonged to the same genre, was Henry Cecil who specialised in the field of law, especially in court room scenes. "In-Laws and Outlaws," and "Brothers-in-Law" are typical examples of his inimitable flair for humorously weaving plots around the areas of jurisprudence and relationships between judges, lawyers and clients. Other great figures who created a lot of mirth, included Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the greatest English writers, considered to be the first great humorist in Europe. His humour was a combination of wit, fun and satire. Yet another who belonged to that celebrated elite group was the immortal William Shakespeare who created comedies, in the form of plays, which were meant for the sophisticated and rustic alike and had the element of farce to boot. In more recent times, in the Victorian Era to be precise, Oscar Wilde, considered Britain's greatest wit automatically finds a place in that celebrated group.

In French, a language that leads itself naturally to humorous expression. Jean - Baptiste Poquelin, popularly known by his stage name Molière, was a playwright whose works included comedies. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature and Tartuffe and Le Misanthrope – are some of his more well-known works.

And readers familiar with Telugu literature will no doubt have enjoyed the exquisite variety of humour that only a maestro such as Mullapudi Venkata Ramana was known for. One of the famous duo 'BapuRamana,' Ramana was also known as the Wodehouse of Telugu literature. He regaled Telugu readers and movie audiences for decades and was famous for creating a plethora of unforgettable characters in whom he captured the essence of Teluguness.

Readers familiar with the Tamil language will recall with pleasure the very unique, and stinging, wit that informed the speeches and writings of Cho Ramaswamy, known specially for his play "Muhammad bin Tughluq," apart from being the editor of 'Tughluq magazine.' He also wrote scripts for many movies. Throughout his life, he refused to be cowed down by authoritarian intervention and had the courage to oppose the emergency imposed in 1975 In his characteristically mocking fashion, Cho buried a time capsule underground, in Anna Salai in Chennai, with his own version of Indian history, to ridicule the attempt, of Mrs. Gandhi's government, to glorify 25 years of India's independence by documenting important events and achievements, in a capsule called 'Kalpaatra.' Cho's name will forever be etched in bold letters in the history of independent India.

Turning to Hindi, Sonalika Arora, an engineer by profession, is a well-known writer who writes about books and her reflections on life. Dr Sunil Jogi, formerly the President of the Hindustan Academy, is a distinguished Hindi author who writes comic verses. Wilcox, the 19th century poet, clearly got it right when he said "laugh and laugh world laughs with you and, "weep and you weep alone."

(The writer is former Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh) 

(The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of The Hans India)