No laughing matter this

Well it’s official now. Somewhere between driving ourselves to achieving that elusive bottomline and managing to stay just above the deluge that comes in the name of work, we have lost our sense of humour. But believe me we, as Indians, had loads of it! At least that’s what our folklore tells me.

But that was a long, long time ago. Long before the bane of globalization hadn't crept in and made competition a dirty word. Laughing at yourself and the world at large was not considered inappropriate (read: uncouth) then. As a matter of fact, court jesters were held responsible to keep the king’s head in place and inject good cheer and commonplace wisdom into the lives of people as well. Had it not been for court wits like Birbal and Gopal Bhand, Akbar and Raja Krishnachandra would have become grumpy old men, not kings of repute they are known to be now. Life is indeed not funny at the top, and court jesters knew that only too well.

Fast forward to the twentieth century and the picture is far from being a happy one. Trust Bollywood to tickle your funny bone and all you get is ribald, slapdash humour in return. Look to your colleagues, with whom you spend most of your waking hours, for mirth and you draw a blank there as well.

Laughter is not a well-coordinated exercise every morning, it is much more than that. A spontaneous outburst of joie de vivre when the boardroom is heaving under a cloud of stress, a glint of naughtiness in the eyes, a penchant to laugh at oneself when everyone thinks you’ve done a great job are what we sorely miss in our dying-to-reach-nowhere society. At least I do!