Let’s go clubbing to LOL
These comedians are senior citizens, whose only goal is to crack jokes that do not hurt anybody’s feelings.Ahead of World Laughter Day (May 7), CE looks at several humour clubs in the city, who are a tight-knit community.
CHENNAI: Who hasn’t felt a heady rush after hearing a good joke and laughing till your tummy aches? The Laughter Yoga movement describes laughter as a ‘positive and powerful emotion that has everything required for individuals to change themselves and the world in a peaceful and positive way’. Humour has long been a part of Chennai , and City Express speaks to some of the city’s long-standing humour clubs on how they live each day one laugh at a time!
Humour clubs have been helping people unwind and also help in building a sense of community among its members. Humour Club International (Triplicane chapter) is the oldest in Chennai, having been started in 1983. “There were hardly 15 members when we started, and it was almost a sort of a pensioners association!” chuckles R Sekharan, secretary. “They included mostly senior citizens, meeting in the morning at the Hindu High School in Triplicane (which is why it is called Humour Club Triplicane Chapter). But the essence of the club was to spread humour among people irrespective of caste, creed and religion — to create a humour family, so to speak!”
Humour clubs play a significant role especially in today’s world due to lifestyle changes that has made everyday living hectic and stressful. “A few decades ago, there was not a lot of stress in daily life. We had our jobs and a fixed salary, and that was enough. After the IT boom, jobs have become very competitive and the office environment is stressful. People need to learn to relax and let go!” he avers. “Happiness seems to come at a premium though they are well-paid and well-settled.”
Humour Club International has 1,800 members (probably the largest), with each paying an annual subscription of `500. “Can you imagine, when we first started out, it was just `12!”laughs Sekharan.
While some clubs have a registration fee for their membership, others don’t and see the club merely as a means of forging a community bond, like the Humour Club of T Nagar, formed nearly 15 years ago. “The third Sunday of every month is a must-visit day for all our members,” smiles
Dr S Sekhar, founder-president, Humour Club T Nagar. “We don’t have any form of membership, since we don’t want to be answerable to anyone. We just want to coordinate together and make it an enjoyable experience for our members! Youngsters frequent only along with their grandparents when they have vacations or such — or maybe also because we don’t allow slapstick or sarcasm jokes.”
Most prominent localities in the city have made it a point to have humour clubs in their community, while at the same time collaborating with other clubs in the city for special events. “We often go and perform as guests at the events of Humour Clubs in Besant Nagar and Mylapore,” says Udhaya Kumar, president and secretary of humour club, Tambaram, which began seven years ago. Regular meetings also
happen at Anna Nagar and Ambattur as well.
Despite the mushrooming of so many organisations, there are some common principles they hold sacrosanct. “People usually come with family — especially elderly people, so they can also share whatever jokes or humorous anecdotes they want. However, the humour is not without a pause. Since we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, we stipulate that there will not be any adult jokes, no political jokes, or those making fun of the disabled community,” says Sekharan. Most clubs also urge members to take up jokes from all spheres of life including in uniform, education or school.
However, the most pertinent of all issues is that there are rarely any youngsters attending the meetings. “Besides humour, the club meetings help children interact with elders and their peers, something that is lacking these days,” says Udhaya Kumar. “Spending time at the club can also improve public speaking and help children get over stage-fright. After all, the aim is to create a humour family....where everyone
is happy!
More than just laughs
The clubs often invite drama, theatre and mimicry artistes to entertain audiences. Some also contribute socially by voluntarily supporting education of underprivileged children, raising funds for the families of soldiers killed in action, as well as through medical camps and
eye-checkups.