Humour and police is not quite a combination. If you go by the general notion of police in our circles the mere sight of them creates panic. But breaking that notion and showing people the humourous side of the police force is T Murali Krishna, joint commissioner of police.
The officer who penned is first book, ‘Humour on Police’ that is published by the National Academy of Police, Hyderabad shares that his love for reading books and magazines, specially on humour has led him to write it.
“I was always interested in reading books. My favourite places in school were the library and the sports ground. I was particularly influenced by PG Wodehouse and his humourous writings. I had an inclination to literature and that is why I wanted to put my skills to use,” says Murali Krishna.
The book is filled with witty cartoons and also humourous texts that touch upon varied aspects of life in Indian context. While one is how burglars are in sync with the changing times, training their children in cyber crimes to become theives of the generation, a few others talk about how a common man finds a police cell safer than the roads. Puns on politicians, the level of corruption in the country, media blowing situations out of proportion, the changing nature of rules in the country – are all worth the short yet light read. The officer has also included some situations that he faced in reality and showed the funny side of it.
Referring to one chapter on the dilemma that the police officer is subject to he says, “There is a huge gap in what an officer is taught at the training camp and what happens when he is on duty. He is taught a number of theories on management, but in reality he is not left with a chance to execute the theory. I wanted to show the outcome.”
Murali Krishna believes that one has to have the ability to laugh at oneself and hence did not hesitate in putting some harsh realities down in the book that he is hoping will have more volumes in the future.
He received good response for the book he tells us. Ask him if any of his peers took offence to the content, he responds in the negative. “The subject of the cartoons are very topical. I did not publish the content that I thought would be offensive,” he clarifies as the writer’s only aim was to show people the humourous side of the police force.
The author has also written two other books – ‘Critical Issues in Policing’ and ‘Critical Issues in Investigation’ – both academic reads that are ready to be published.
The book is priced at `200 and is available at the National Police Academy.