To begin with, as a
little ignorant kid I always thought jokes were absolutely unnecessary, useless
and the greatest time-killers of all. Firmly believing in their childish
appeal, I equated them with immaturity. While seriousness and maturity defined
elders, I believed jokes were only reserved to entertain little innocent minds.
I pictured a fictional world where jokes posed as distractions and laughter as loud
blaring noise. Hence, not engaging in them as adults seemed to be the perfect
way of embracing adulthood.
I was always sure
that the flavors of jokes and humor are meant to fade with passing time, making
us matured and responsible in the world full of elders. There was nothing ‘just’
about ‘just kidding’ or ‘just joking’. But as they say, you cannot test the
waves from the shore, I could not gauge the value of laughter and humor as a
little child, back then.
Experience of adulthood transformed my opinion completely.
So much is the significance of humor, laughter, jokes and mischief that it
bagged a place in my A-Z series, ringing the next letter ‘J’. These pieces of entertainment
represent the perfect balance in life, urging us to be sane, yet stupid at the
same time.
Whether they greet
us in the form of funny messages on social media or perfectly timed silly dialogues
on screen, whether they originate from the funniest person in our group or
quick-witted reply from our loved ones, jokes and their subsequent laughter are
extremely essential, to say the least.
What is the fun of meeting your set of people, if you cannot
joke, tease or poke at them in any way?
What is the point of calling someone your ‘own’, when you
cannot laugh at them openly?
How do you lighten the burden of adulthood, if you cannot
laugh at yourself for the silliest goof-ups along the way?
And what is the harm in expressing your love, affection, concern
or involvement by kidding with your people?
As an excuse to answer these questions, do not mock me or
pull my leg with some funny words as feedback. This is a serious blog post
meant for serious discussion, I do not intend to be the lab-mice as you look
for solutions to the above queries. And though the title starts with ‘jokes’,
it is not meant to be funny in any way. Hence, read on seriously, as we
contemplate over the issue as adults.
(‘Just kidding!!!!’. I
hope I succeeded in my desperate attempt to joke around. If I was able to fool
you for at least 1/4th section of the above lines, you will find me
in some party, celebrating my new-found success!)
On a serious note – jokes, laughter and humor are essential
along every step of our life. The amount, meaning, frequency, audience and
source will definitely change, but the effect shall remain the same. Jokes
lighten up our feelings, changing the perspective towards things. You cannot be
stern or serious all the time, in an attempt to be responsible. As lighter
parts of life that stand for just nothing, jokes are meant for nothing, but
fun. Not everything in life is designed for a purpose, hence enjoy humor as a
totally purposeless activity.
As long
as you do not annoy people with some offending humor to pull them down, you are
good to go. While you cannot judge the impact of your humor or predict their repetitiveness,
every single time, it definitely demands common sense just as any other common
conversation. And, while creating jokes is fun, being at the receiver’s end
should be equally fun too. At times, it is essential to be absolutely senseless,
if that makes any sense. Without judgments, conclusions, comments, offense and
meaning, it is necessary to just joke around. After all, mindless comedy has 'less' attached to 'mind'.
If the words in this title actually stood for real club with members, I see myself enrolled in the ‘jokes
are a part’ one. While my ignorant child-dish version would have joined the ‘jokes
apart’ club with pride- maturity and adulthood has finally knocked some sense
to take away that sense from somethings. It does not mean you have to create
jokes every day or randomly mock at people to show your funny quotient. As long
as you can open up to laughter and humor powered by a pure motive, there is
nothing to worry about.
In this sensitive
and controversial era, where we can offend someone easily or get offended in return,
there are some essential pointers around the domain of humor. Read along as I
share four interesting aspects of jokes, more like essential laws of humor from
my book of knowledge. These are handy, when the silly joker in me decides to
run around, without bothering about the consequences.
1.
Jokes and humor are highly subjective with
respect to-
1.
age
2.
gender
3.
caste
4.
creed
5.
race
6.
religion
7.
relationship
8.
lifestyle
9.
mood
10.
time
11.
day
12.
month
13.
year
14.
season
15.
need
16.
desire
17.
situation
18.
circumstance
19.
event
20.
occasion
21.
nationality
22.
culture
23.
history
24.
geography
25.
science
26.
mathematics
… wait, does that list even make any
sense? Of course not, usefulness of your jokes and reaction of the recipient
are totally unpredictable. Hence, choose your audience wisely and joke around only
after you gauge the surroundings, correctly! What is funny for one may not be
the same for others. A little common-sense and logic can save you from a bitter
after-taste to your sweet jokes.
(Word of caution: No logic works
in front of your wife. So, quit any attempts to sound funny, and appreciate her
jokes, no matter how sad they seem.
Yes, dear husband, it was meant
for you too, ever heard of two birds with one shot?)
2.
If you are talking about something to someone
and it turns offensive in the middle of the conversation (sensing their anger);
quickly use ‘just kidding’ and two bouts of fake laughter to save you from some dangerous
consequences.
(Inspired from my dear better-half who seems
to have aced this formula, perfectly)
3.
Before learning how to create jokes, learn how to
handle them. Any piece of humor, digested incorrectly can lead to upset
conditions, anger, tears and sorrow that may spoil the entire system. Stay
quiet for some time and let the wave pass, before you can create something
equally funny.
4.
Find your consistent and favorite stock of
humor- may be a television series, comedy show, movie or a book. Turn to them
when you feel sad, happy, bored, irritated or simply whenever you feel like (my
personal favorites and recommendation – serial 'Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chasmah' and series 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S')
Share your take
over the same and let us laugh at each other along the way. After all what is
the fun of life, without any seasonings of laughter?
P.S: Though these rules are framed for myself, if you ever
decide to follow them, DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Fortunately or unfortunately, if
they turn out to be a blunder, do not blame me under any circumstances. I have
been highlighting, quoting and repeating ‘just joking’, for a reason.
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