Deadpan Humour

Santosh Tyagi (l) holds her audience in thrall

Time was when our morning engagement in the Garden would not be complete without a jokes session. Jokes narration was considered mandatory and from the late Kishor Babani to Santosh Tyagi, Bhaswati Bose, Nahid Khan and Siba Prasad Maitra, we've had an array of jokesters adept at tickling our funny bone. Even Dilip Babani often pitched in with a joke or two.
Of all of them, today, there is only one person who is keeping that tradition alive – Santosh Tyagi. Every morning she comes prepared with notes – scribbled on scraps of paper – of what she must narrate after the exercises, time permitting. Unlike others, she does not read from a smartphone picking on stale Internet jokes and WhatsApp forwards.
Clearly, Santosh belongs to the old school and her selection of jokes amply reflects this. But more importantly, it is the style of narration that echoes her disposition. An exponent of deadpan humour, she can verbally present a rousing whopper without as much of a twitch of a facial muscle. Here’s a sample from what she narrated today:
“A bhootni (she-ghost) visited a salon for a haircut. The place was buzzing with activity. Unable to accommodate her, the owner of the salon apologized, saying she better come later. Obviously the bhootni was in a hurry for she went away, but not without giving the following instruction: ‘I am leaving my head behind for you to give a stepcut. I shall come back later and collect the head!’ The salon owner collapsed on the spot.”
Imagine this being narrated without a hint of emotion. That’s Santosh Tyagi for you.

Bihari Milwani:
I hope tomorrow Bhootni does not come to our club to prove that she had gone to the beauty parlour for a haircut.

Karun Sharma:
Bihari Milwani, you have created an excellent follow-up joke. Congratulations.