KOCHI: Politics is supposed to be a serious business. The legislative assembly where the elected politicians assemble to frame laws and policies for governing the state is perceived by many as a forum where the leaders speak in a pensive mood and those who listen to the debate wrack their brains for solutions to the never-ending issues that are brought to their consideration. But, the fact is that the assembly is such a cool and jovial place where some of the best jokes are produced regularly.
There were legislators like Seethi Haji and Lonappan Nambadan who had earned the distinction of cracking jokes at will and triggering a riot of laughter in the House. No wonder, news channels devote daily time slots to cover political humour.
One of the craziest assembly jokes had been attributed to Muslim League leader P Seethi Haji. When there was a serious debate on the rampant felling of trees and how that was affecting the rains in Kerala, Seethi Haji stood up and asked, “How come there is rain in Arabian Sea where there are no trees at all?” The entire House burst into laughter.
After a foreign trip, Seethi Haji came to the assembly and told then chief minister E K Nayanar that his party seemed to have seized the control of the airport. When Nayanar looked at him bafflingly, Haji explained he saw ‘Arrival’ boards in several places in the airport. Arrival (with a slightly slanted pronunciation) means sickle in Malayalam and sickle is in the centre-stage of CPM’s symbol!
One of the recent books published in Malayalam, “I Group Karude Palu Venda” (Don’t need milk from I group sympathisers) chronicles hundreds of political jokes. Veteran journalist George Pulickan, who is a connoisseur of political humour, has compiled the jokes told by MLAs, former MLAs and political leaders, and presented them in a quite interesting way. Pulickan’s joke file begins from Travancore assembly and travels through the last 14 Kerala assemblies. He narrates an incident happened in the Travancore assembly.
Tharyathu Kunjithomman was a member from Muvattupuzha. There was a debate in the assembly regarding purchases of new giraffes to Thiruvanananthapuram zoo. Kunjithomman was half asleep when the debate climaxed. Suddenly, he woke up and said, “One of them should be a Catholic!”
Nambadan, who first entered the assembly as a Kerala Congress (M) nominee and later crossed over to the Left camp, was another member known for his wit. Congress leader and former food minister T H Mustafa was a usual target of Nambadan. Mustafa was slightly overweight and Nambadan used to ‘body shame’ him. But, Mustafa thoroughly enjoyed his comments and never expressed any displeasure. Once, during a debate, Nambadan said nobody who sees Mustafa would believe there was poverty in Kerala.
In his book, Pulickan quotes a description given by Nambadan to the Anglo-Indian nominee in the assembly. ‘Indian Made Foreign Member’ was the coinage that had triggered laughter in the house.
Another joke in the book about a Kochi MLA tells the reader how strenuous the routine of legislator is. The MLA wakes up at 3am to get ready for a morning train. As he comes out of the bathroom, someone knocks at his door. When he opens, he sees a voter, who straightaway came to the point: “I saw light in your house. Hence, I thought of getting a recommendation letter for a new ration card.”
Even in the incumbent assembly, there is no dearth for lighter moments. Members light up boring debates with occasional wit and sarcasm. P K Basheer of the Muslim League (son of Seethi Haji), M M Mani of CPM and Thomas K Thomas of NCP lead the ‘laugh brigade’ of the 15th assembly.