- Wiser, mature, wisdom-filled, and achievers from all walks of life would unequivocally vouch in unison about the benefits of a humour-laced disposition guiding our day-to-day existence. Ask any successful personalities about the secret of their success in their chosen professions, and the answer would invariably be to take life as it reveals itself rather than be swayed by the vagaries, without offering a rightful perception to tide over passing challenges. A well-balanced and nuanced outlook towards life must be governed by not taking it too seriously. Nonetheless, we humans are known to perceive life’s challenges in diverse ways. Not for nothing is it mentioned that time is the best healer. Allowing some precious time for reflection would be of immense help.
PC: Robert Walters Belgium
- This being the case, adopting a humour-tinted outlook towards life comes in handy. Though easier said than done, no harm in earnestly attempting to embrace humour to overcome unpleasant situations. Mind you, welcome humour reserves the power to ease tensions, pressures, and unwanted stress from the system, making us feel lighter and recharging our batteries quite organically. This aspect was on display during the high-profile visit of King Charles to the USA. Admirably, the Old Bean had carried with him nicely crafted speeches, punctuated by some Dickens and some Oscar Wilde, in equal measures. Thus, he didn’t just make the US Congress laugh. He made the divided Congress laugh together. No mean achievement, you see.
PC: Fox News
- This is roughly equivalent to getting cats and dogs to share a water bowl. Alternatively, the whole thing evoked A Tale of Two Charleses: One made a fortune describing the interior of workhouses, the other inherited a fortune ensuring he never has to see the interior of a kitchen. Overall takeaway is that a walking punchline can still land a big laugh. It’s especially engaging to watch a man who’s a joke laugh at himself. On this front, Brits are really great. As their empire shrinks to a pond, they can still put the kettle on and jest about having reached the age where their back goes out more than they do. A worldly upside to self-deprecating humour is that it’s very hard to loathe a man who just made us short. What about us, Indians?
PC: Hindustan Times
- Our relationship with humour is like our traffic – chaotic, occasionally dangerous, but mostly reaching the destination in one piece. What’s special is that we are simultaneously one of the most hierarchical societies on earth, and one of the most irreverent. We touch elders’ feet and dodevastating impressions of them the moment they leave the room. We address bosses as ‘Sir’ with the gravity of a Supreme Court petition, then spend the shared auto ride home doing a full character breakdown of everything wrong with them. But people who forward savage WhatsApp jokes at midnight can still file hurt-sentiment cases by morning. For them, being confident in our culture means a FIR about a stand-up set. No need to be serious, but be lighter, for a change.
