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Humour

The digital networks teem with jokes, satirical videos and memes, from politics to the absurd new world leaderships. Humour is a coping mechanism that can balance out overwhelming circumstances, neutralize aggression and heal relationships. It is also a means of expressing criticism of society that escapes social or legal restrictions.   

The court jester could get away with saying things that an ordinary critic would be beheaded for. With the end of traditional kingships, the court jester transformed into the stand-up comic, holding the mirror to society’s weaknesses

Dark “gallows humor”, coined by the Germans during the 1848 revolutions for the persecution of liberals is, as Antonin Obrdlik says “an index of strength or morale on the part of oppressed peoples”. Humor can be used as a weapon for mass resistance.  The Italian’s used the slogan  Una risata vi seppellirà”, during protests against the Ancien Regime, which translates as “It will be a laugh that buries you.”  Telling jokes was made illegal by the Nazis and a person could be sent to concentration camps or even executed.

But most humour is joyous and intended to elevate the spirits.  Theorist Martin Armstrong, who wrote about the function of laughter in society, wrote, “For a few moments, under the spell of laughter, the whole man is completely and gloriously alive: body, mind and soul vibrate in unison… the mind flings open its doors and windows… its foul and secret places are ventilated and sweetened.”
Laughter seems to be a fundamental human experience. Infants begin to laugh in response to actions of others from 4 months on. Laughter is a universal expression, which sounds the same from one culture to another. It creates a sense of well-being and exultation and what Thomas Hobbes called “sudden glory”. Laughter can be infectious even when there is no cause for laughter, and has become a form of therapy.

Comedy is a billion dollar industry from sitcoms, to standup comic theatre, comic strips and newspaper cartoonists. Being able to tell a joke, gains attention, makes speeches more memorable, and is an effectively tool in advertising.  Sociologists get valuable insights of a society through how humour is used. The Lahore based 70s comedy programme “Sach Gup”, can be seen as a reflection of a society in transition to sophisticated urbanism. 
Unlike ordinary humour, wit is an intellectually acquired art that has barely survived into the 20th C . One of the reasons may be that wit is dependent upon a refined use of language, its nuances, ambiguities, and potential for double meaning.

In Pakistan. comedy faded out of television dramas in the 90s.Possibly partly due to the sobering  impact of regional wars and their aftermath in Pakistani society, including  the influx of religious extremists, but also arguably with the demise of elegant Urdu,  so beautifully expressed by  Agha Nasir’s Taleem e Baalighan, Jamshed Ansari ‘s Hasnat Bhai, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi’s Alif Noon, Athar  Shah Khan’s Jaydee,  Anwar Maqsood and Shoaib Mansoor’s Fifty Fifty  and the more recent Loose Talk, and Grips theatre of Imran Aslam,  to name a few. Mushtaq Yusufi was the last in a line of witty writers and poets from the subtle  humour of Ghalib, the more overt humour of Akbar Allahbadi and the substantial list of mazahiya or humourous poets.  Even the shocking poetry of Miyan Chirkeen  earned serious critical appraisal from the renowned critic,  Shams-ur-Rehman Farooqi, because of his intelligent use of language.

 People who encounter more stress are more receptive to humour which provides immediate  relief as highlighted in Robin William’s irreverent broadcasts in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam”
Being a great comic is not without its own heavy price, as many comedians, such as Robin Williams, Spike Milligan, Jerry Lewis, or our own Nanna ( Rafi Khawar) struggled with depression  and their dark side,  the sad clown. McGhee and Goldstein  write “ The Circus clown mediates between cultural order and natural disorder, between the adult and the child, between joy and sadness”
 Probably the best national humour is that of the British.  From Shakespeare, to Monty Python and PG Woodhouse, its self-deprecating subtle satire, full of puns, innuendos, and dead pan presentation has delighted generations.

Spoonerisms, named after Reverend Archibald Spooner  is a form of unintentional humour where words get switched. Shaggan Apa. the wife of Jamil Ansari ,editor of Dawn, once said to our great delight,  ghar sahib bemar thay aur mein mian badalnay mein masroof thi  .
Pakistanis love a good laugh whether the butcher announcing  Begum Sahab ka qeema nikal do” or the humourous verses on buses and rickshaws,  our love of actress Mira’s struggle with English, Qandeel Baloch’s phrase “How em looking?” or adding Gullu Butt to the lexicon.  Pakistani memes are arguably the wittiest from Maulana Muneeb’s efforts at sighting the Eid moon, to “fasting and furious politicians”. Irreverent humour is our way of gaining back control, and not succumbing to the bewildering chaos of our times.

Peter Derks expresses it perfectly: “Life, it has been said , would be meaningless without art. Perhaps it would be too meaningful without humour”
Durriya Kazi
15 October, 2018


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