“Lucky is the man who can laugh on himself
for he shall never cease to be amused.”
– Lehlahla Rachel
Humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Latin: humor, “body fluid”), controlled human health and emotion. People of all ages and cultures are amused, smile or laugh at something funny, and hence considered to have a sense of humour.
India and humour
India has hitherto had a rich tradition of humour, the dissemination of which happened through folklore, newspapers, shaayaris, etc. In ancient Sanskrit drama, Bharata Muni’s Natya Shastra defined humour (hâsyam) as one of the nine navarasas, or principle rasas (emotional responses), which can be inspired in the audience by bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform. Each rasa was associated with a specific bhava portrayed on stage.
Empirical findings prove that humour has been effective in increasing resilience in dealing with distress, in undoing negative effects, and in improving and helping in the ageing process. A smile can imply a sense of humour and a state of amusement.
Most people have their sense of humour toned to appreciate certain varieties of humour, based on factors like cultural references, language, personal anecdotes, tolerance level, exposure to different situations, people, etc., and it can be verbal, visual, or physical. Non-verbal forms of communication – for example, music or visual art – can also be humorous.
Self-deprecation, the best type of humour, is the ability to laugh at oneself as much as at others. Why take oneself too seriously? Classical humour found in certain parts of India is a legacy of British colonialism and resemble British humour to a large extent, including use of puns, wordplay and witty exchanges. Similar aspects of humour exist in the vernacular in parts of India with literary traditions.
The popularity of comedy shows and content on Indian television and cinema are in most cases ‘forced’ upon the viewers. Most of them are vulgar, double-meaning erotica due to commercial reasons and more of the slapstick variety. Bollywood’s idea of humour still revolves around banana skins. Laughing at somebody’s physical appearance is considered okay and fun.
Yet, there is still a lot of so-called intellectually stimulating humour originating from India (in Indian languages), like the Hasya Kavi Sammelans. Urban India enjoys British/ American humour, but the rest of India seems to enjoy crude comedy and clichéd jokes. American humour however lacks in ‘teasing’, in which Indians are very comfortable, and respond with comebacks. This is because of the individualistic nature of Americans, compared to the society driven nature of Indians. Americans however are comparatively more open about joking on a person’s ethnicity or family background. In real life, Indians tease each other for their shortcomings.
Rowan Atkinson explains in the documentary Funny Business, that ‘an object or a person can become funny in three ways; by behaving in an unusual way, by being in an unusual place, and by being the wrong size.’ Being funny means being able to express humour of one kind or another – maybe a pratfall, or a witty pun, or a good joke, well-timed. You do need to have a sense of humour to be funny. Having a sense of humour means being able to laugh at – or at least see the humour in life’s absurdities.
Author Prather finds true humour ‘is that which is fun – it does not put down, kid, or mock. It makes people feel wonderful, not separate, different, and cut off. It has beneath it the understanding that we are all in this together.’ Humour is a coveted trait; we’re almost naturally wired to look for it. It is saying the right thing at the right time. Wisdom is doing the right thing at the right time. “Recession is when your neighbour loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours,” said Ronald Reagan.
Some use humour as a salve to deal with the world and all its tragedy or insanity. It can make one delight at an absurd situation, since words can’t express the level of disbelief. In relationships, it is a great way to reduce tension and feel that at the end there will be something to laugh about, even through not so pleasant situations; a positive connotation and effect. It means laughing with someone, not at someone. Yet, we all have that one person in our lives who, no matter the circumstances, can put a smile on our otherwise scrunched face.
Peter McGraw, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder avers, ‘It would be wrong to equate laughter with humour, as many instances of laughter (tickling, nervousness, etc.) have little to do with humour and do not result in laughter (due to the mood of the appreciator, the social context, etc.). Hence humour is a quality of perception that enables us to experience joy even when faced with adversity.
The roast and India’s growing humour output
A roast is an event in which a guest of honour is subjected to good-natured jokes at their expense, intended to amuse the event’s wider audience. The ‘roastee’ is to take the jokes in good humour and not as serious criticism or insult, and it is seen by some as a great honour to be roasted. Money collected from the paying audience is often given away to charity. The host is called the ‘roastmaster’. Anyone who is honoured in such a way is said to have been ‘roasted’.
The tradition of roasting grew out of the comedy clubs in America which drew inspiration from a street game The Dozens, played in black majority areas in the U.S., which is traced to a Nigerian game called ‘Ikocha Nkocha’ meaning ‘making disparaging remarks’. As Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Prejudice, ‘For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?’
A new generation in India is now emerging, making fun of themselves and pulling one another’s leg. This is like a blast of fresh air. Comedy collectives are the new phenomenon.
All India Bakchod or AIB – is an Indian comedy group, founded by Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat. Its YouTube channel showcases their comedy sketches and parodies on topics such as politics, society, and the Hindi film industry. With over 100 million views on their videos and over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, it also performs regular stand-up acts across the globe and has, apart from an advertisement wing called Vigyapanti, also a news comedy series on Star Network called On Air with AIB.
The Royal Turds, presented by AIB, in collaboration, is a comedic awards ceremony that recognises the worst of the Hindi film industry. The statuette is a golden mug, depicting the article that is generally used by people of the region to clean up after defecation.
Its AIB Knockout in January 2015, featuring Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh with Karan Johar as the roast master, raised Rs 40 lakhs for charity. A private event, attended by many Bollywood celebrities, it was deemed distasteful, sexist, offending and humiliating with smutty content, and proved controversial enough for the video to be removed from YouTube after it received eight million views, amid protests.
Some TV anchors foamed at the mouth over how the ‘modesty of Indian culture’ had been desecrated, but to some, the videos were brilliant spoofs. It was countered with the argument that Indian politicians often use insulting language about their rivals, but no one protests. It showed a new capacity for self-deprecation that is badly needed in a society that is puffed up with boasting and self-glorification.
Comedian Tanmay Bhat’s mock conversation video titled Sachin v/s Lata Civil War on Snapchat, with veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, sparked massive outrage on social media. Comedian Anuvab Pal opined, ‘In other countries, humour is reciprocated by humour. Here, we respond to humour with prison. How can a comedian have moral responsibility? Their stock-in-trade is to be ridiculous.’
East India Comedy – is a group of Indian stand-up comedians that performs comedy shows, organises comedy workshops, corporate events and scripts movie and television shows and maintains a YouTube channel that shows their comedy stints and satires on various topics. The group hosts India’s version of the Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), the Ghanta Awards. Founded by Sorabh Pant in 2012, it has seven full-time performers and hires other comedians, cinematographers and editors as freelancers on project basis.
The Viral Fever, or TVF – is an online digital entertainment channel. Arunabh Kumar, the founder, says the network attempts to reach out to the younger generation who seldom watch television/entertainment. Their web series Permanent Roommates was the second most-viewed long-form web series in the world at one time. Their second original series was VF Pitchers – a show focused on how engineers working in different companies quit their jobs and start a start-up. It has a team of 70, with 11 as consultants in Mumbai and Delhi.
The TV show Comedy Nights Bachao by Optimystix production, also based on this format, avoids going too racy to keep the show, family friendly, though some time back they had a problem with some artistes too.
Stand-up comedians
There are good stand-up comedians who have emerged in television/films like Johny Lever, Kapil Sharma, Raju Shrivastav, Krishna Abhishek, Shana Shakeel, Bharati Singh, Sunil Grover, Sunil Pal and on You Tube – Vipul Goyal, Vir Das, Daniel Fernandes, Tanmay Bhatt, Kenny Sebastian, Sorabh Pant, Abish Mathew, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Russell Peters, Papa CJ, Zakir Khan, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya, Sanjay Rajoura, NitiPalta, Aditi Mittal, Kanan Gill, and Rohan Joshi.
Kiku Sharda – a stand-up comedian known for being a part of ‘Comedy Nights With Kapil’ – was arrested in Mumbai for mimicking self-styled Dera Dacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, and outraging religious feelings. His arrest under 295A of IPC evoked strong reactions. Most of Russell Peter’s stand-up comedy, though racist, still has Indian fans.
So, today, there is a proliferation of comedy clubs, stand-up comedy shows, roasts, etc. We have humour being distributed via WhatsApp, social media, GIFs (Graphic Interface Format), cartoons, illustrations etc. There are dedicated sites and dedicated businesses working seriously on just churning out humour, which is being sent out via social media and other means.
Going by the sheer number of jokes circulating on Whats App and other social media, the truth is that we Indians love to make jokes about others, but are very sensitive about jokes on us or our community. To laugh or not to laugh depends on the target of the joke. Culturally a diverse nation, we have ample material for jokes, be it quirks of a community, food habits, clothes, mannerism, accent, hairstyle or just the place itself. But most communities turn deeply sensitive if such jokes come from an ‘outsider’.
Humour has come to stay, but it could do with a bit of tolerance.