The best antidote ever - Goodies bag filled with Laughter moments :D

July 2016

 

                    

(Source: Google)

I was reading the article about the woman who honeymooned alone in Europe since her husband's visa was rejected (talk about vacation plans going kaput!). Since it was a fully paid trip, she went ahead with her in-laws; and posted some hilarious pics of herself posing with her absentee husband, that soon went viral. And whenever I read any incident like this, I tend to start thinking about how I would've reacted in a similar situation, and this train of thought made me think about - you guessed it - dealing with situations with laughter, situations that life (picture a stern head mistress) believes that one should pass akin to examinations.

My family, more specifically my Dad and I have a quirky, wry and a little weird sense of humor. Our conversation can be termed as a series of impromptu quips and banter in a tennis relay. A case in point (my personal favorite as it showcases my spontaneity ;) -- For his birthday, when we gifted Dad the One plus phone, he remarked in jest "I've heard that there is an iPhone G in the market. Next time you can buy that as a gift". I told him that it was an iPhone S and not an iPhone G. He said "G or S doesn't matter!" to which I immediately quipped "Yes, you are right. From now on you are Gudhakar :P (for the record, his name is Sudhakar ;)!!

My Dad has epitomized living by the maxim "Things will go wrong, people will hurt you, you will make mistakes; but at the end of the day if you are able to laugh about it, you will be able to survive any ordeal". Truly, laughter has the power to diffuse catastrophic situations, even those ones having the potential to escalate to World War III. I remember one time during the suitable-boy searching phase, Dad and I were having a heated discussion (anyone who has been through the 'Comically Harrowing Arranged Marriage Process' would agree that these situations are so tense, they are indeed comparable to a World War III scenario :P). I was frustrated and on the verge of tears, and then Dad remarked " It's high time you got married. Not for your sake but for mine". The water tanker conveniently placed right under my eyes  (duh uh Anatomy 101 :P) was about to burst and I had sentimental retorts at the tip of my tongue which would've made even the dialogue writers of the famous telly serials squirm in their seats, when he continued in the same vein " Raatri kalollo kuda abbayila photos ee vastunnayi! (Even in my dreams, I only see these boys pictures ;) :P ". I burst out laughing.. Yeah, you get the picture right.

What we laugh about, says a lot about us. I believe people bond best while laughing at the same stuff. My sense of humor being what it is, one of the 110 questions that my neurons popped was if my partner and I would share a similar humor vein. And thankfully, yes he does; and he laughs heartily at my Dad's jokes too (my Dad's sigh of relief on this point is audibly louder). The order of the persons guffawing loudest at my jokes is me (sad, but true), my sister and my hubby - occasionally I am at the receiving end of a poker face, but yeah, you learn to live with it (who is learning to live with what is still debatable, but that's another story).

I am definitely not a fan of toilet humor or humor belittiling spouses (though many comedians have based their entire careers on their on-screen or off-screen wives). It's not like I am against humor that I don't find funny, what I disapprove of is humor that demeans a person(s) or a community. Continuing in the same vein, I appreciate people who are capable of self-deprecating humor; its easy for me to be around people who don't take themselves too seriously ;). And of course, our sense of humor evolves over time as well - though my all time favorite sitcom is Big Bang Theory (Sheldon and Bazzinga!), now a days hubby and I enjoy watching 'Everybody loves Raymond'.

Dipping into my RAM (Random Access Memory ;), I find another anecdote that can be published in the public sphere. On the train journey for my sister's marriage in Tirupati, my pedddananna (Dad's elder brother) asked my hubby (the new groom on the block), "Have you figured out which scissors to use and when?". And the look on hubby's face mirrored the visa card ad's tagline - priceless! For the uninitiated, a glimpse into the world of finickiness that Challa women have created - yes, every room has its own scissors and no, you do not cut milk packets and clothes tags with the same scissors. Period. In this background, hubby's expression can be easily understood, happiness and relief mingled with empathy on finding another kindred soul who shares his plight and fear of using the wrong scissors!! And you can imagine how the conversation continued, with tips being offered on how to escape being caught using the wrong scissors ;).

Like the song from Sound of Music "When the dog 🐕 bites; when the bee stings; when I'm feeling sad 😢. I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad 👍". Whenever life bogs me down with its mundaneness and irony, I just dip into my goodies bag filled with moments that made me laugh, and life doesn't seem that bad :). And when God is reviewing my case file and debating whether I should be sent to heaven or hell (irrespective of our beliefs about karma and after life), I definitely do not want to be found guilty of taking life too seriously or worse, not being able to laugh at thyself. Cheers to laughter !!!