Only when I laugh!

“I hasten to laugh at everything for the fear of being obliged to weep.” One does not claim authorship of these words since they were spoken by someone more perspicacious than one can perhaps ever hope to be. The incontrovertible fact remains that these words ring true today as when they were uttered a long time ago.

Laughter (and the capacity to laugh) is what sets humankind apart from other species. Man is the only creature endowed with the power of laughter. On another note, man has sometimes been called the rational animal, which is simply not correct. Man is anything but rational! The capacity to laugh, though, is the one quality unique to man, and one that he would be well advised to hold on to if he knows what is good for him. Delving a bit deeper into the font of humour at this point would be in order.

The news of the demise of the Punch magazine several years ago had come like a bolt from the blue. A magazine which had been the epitome of good humour since 1841 and which enjoyed the unique distinction of having ‘invented’ the cartoon passed away unlamented and unsung. The disappearance of Punch was a sad commentary on the state of humour of the British. Its sharp wit, subtle invention and irreverent humour — though not everyone’s cup of tea — did secure for it a unique niche in the world of humour.

Back home, the news of the decline of humour has been taken by the nation in its stride. No eyebrow is raised, no tear shed. It is bad enough that our nation is getting quite used to seeing institutions stifled. What is worse: we are fast losing the capacity to laugh. Let us face it — honourable exceptions apart — the Land of the Pure was never known for sophisticated humour. But our native robust humour was always evident in plenty. The common man, in the midst of his poverty and squalor, still held on to his capacity to laugh, more often than not, at himself. It was this spirit that kept the nation going. The tragedy of tragedies is that, of late, the going has been downhill all the way. So much so that it has come to pass that even the funny spectacle of the hysterical juggling of fiscal figures by our statistics-happy planners has failed to raise so much as a smile out of the man-in-the-street, what to talk of a guffaw. Needless to add, our nation is the net loser in the bargain.

Humour, it is apparent, is being systematically drained out of our lives. This is an ominous development! Nations begin to die when apathy sets in. When a people become bereft of their sense of humour, they also lose the will to survive. Surely, our nation deserves better. Do we have to take everything so seriously? There must be things around us that are worth a smile, if not a hearty laugh! Then why is this not in evidence?

Our nation has emerged unscathed through numerous traumas — dismemberment, martial laws, not to mention several genres of democracy. But the present ordeal is the most difficult. Whatever you do, do not take our laughter away from us. It is virtually the only possession we have left that is not up for privatisation. So let us laugh in the face of adversity and, who knows, we may yet have the last laugh.

All the afore-said brings to mind the oft-quoted story of the European soldier of the Middle Ages, who, in the heat of battle, had got pinned to the trunk of a tree by an enemy arrow that had pierced right through his body. After surviving in this unenviable position for the better part of the day, he was at long last rescued by his comrades-in-arms. As they prepared to pry him loose, he was asked if it was painful. Managing a wry grin, he answered: “Only when I laugh”. Now that is the spirit!

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2019.

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