Just for Laughs

Change of location... after getting chased by the rains

A fair complexioned young man in denim shorts and pink t-shirt accosted us after our exercises at the Garden gate. “Who are you people?” he wanted to know. “I see you every morning here laughing all at once. I’ve been wondering what you guys are up to.”
The man spoke with a funny American accent and was carrying a silly picnic basket with blue towel and a steel flask jutting out. He looked the typical NRI on a holiday to India. “Why are you wearing blue caps?” he persisted. “Do you guys belong to some organization or what?”
“Yes, we belong to a secret cult,” he was told. “We are members of the cult.”
His face dropped. “What cult?” he asked disbelievingly.
Shekhawat, who was standing close-by (while Arun Patil tinkered around with his car) was promptly anointed cult head: “He is our guru. And we are his followers.”
“Oh I see,” the man shook his head, sizing Shekhawat top to toe. “But what God do you pray to?”
“We worship happiness.

A few hearty laughs after the exercises

Ours is the cult of happiness. That is why we call ourselves Big Laaf.”
The man wanted to check the blue cap. “Big Laaf… I see,” he said shuffling it around. “But this is an old cap!” He abruptly returned the cap and crossed the road, the silly picnic basket still in hand.
He is not the first person, so driven by curiosity, to approach us. We have encountered many such strangers, some stopping in their tracks to watch us during our laughter exercises. Many even click photos, as though we are creatures from outer space.
But this one was seated in our midst in the China Hut when we were chased by the rains from our regular stomping ground. While we tried to make space for ourselves in the hut, the man stayed put, refusing to budge. Only when a stray dog came sniffing at his feet did he get up and walk away.
Today’s encounter was however, not without its share of education. We tend to be so engrossed with ourselves that we have no idea how the world perceives us from outside. At least now we know there are people who would readily believe that we are borderline freaks – even members of some vague moronic cult!
Geeta Latte:
You will never be good enough for everybody. But you can always be the best for somebody.
Dilip Babani:
Bhaswati told us some very nice jokes. All were enjoying.