Out-of-Control?

Ramila Mistry showed up this morning from her trip to Somnath Temple, only to have Shekhawat charging at her, guns blazing (metaphorically) during the Laughter Round. As she valiantly ‘returned fire’, Geeta Sardhana, who had so far been in the line of attack in her absence, heaved a sigh of relief. She had all along been complaining that ever since Ramila “left the maidan and had run away”, Shekhawat kept training his guns on her!
But Geeta still has a grouse. She does not understand why she ought to keep quiet during the exercises when it is “necessary to also exercise the mouth along with every body part”. Other chatter boxes share her views wholeheartedly (naturally), thus leading to a situation when all and sundry – including ‘teachers’ who conduct the exercises – are engaged in laughing and jabbering at cross-purposes.
So if Bhaswati Bose takes a playful dig at Nahid Khan, Razia Khan would do a hilarious take-off on a song from Kishor Babani’s mobile and Bapu Rane would suddenly let out bird and baby-crying sounds, while Shekhawat would deliberately mishear mungi (ants) as lungi… And if there is a moment’s respite from all this, Dilip Babani (right) would ask why everybody should be quiet. Even Pratap Bhatt (left) had to be reminded today to concentrate on exercising with a cryptic comment from Nafisa Syed: “Bhatt saa’b bhatak gaye!”
One way to view this is to conclude that there is no sense of discipline left in anybody and that things have spun out of control. The other way is to understand how closely-knit our members have become as to make the most of the limited time they have together while exercising. More importantly, they are there to share the little joys of life – whether it is a lively joke or anecdote, the combined experience of a party or picnic together, reliving memories of times well spent with photographs, an impromptu jig in the Garden…
Unconsciously, we have taken laughter to the next level – happiness. Unlike other laughter clubs, nothing is forced here. Nothing is expected of anybody. There is never a glum or sad face in our group. The idea is to spread joy and be happy. Perhaps it is time we call ourselves "Happiness Club".
Bhaswati Bose:
Nothing has gone out of control. When the cat is away the mice will play! Discipline will come back when our Principal comes back from Singapore.