All In Good Humour!

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Some people are born to tell jokes with a serious face in a fashion that would make everyone laugh while others tell jokes laughing themselves without bothering whether the listeners are laughing or not. I have the privilege of meeting S.Ve.Shekar when he was in his peak on comedy plays. I always wondered how he writes his plays and what would be his sense of humor in person. When I met him, we had serious conversations and sometimes said things that made me laugh spontaneously. I realized that he was perfectly capable of being creative live while conversing.

I happened to read a small book titled "The Secret Language of Women" consisting of conversation between husband and wife in America to teach husbands what it means when wife says something. Here are some examples:

Wife: "I was worried about you"
Meaning: "I was afraid you were getting away with something"

Wife: "I can't believe you forgot our anniversary"
Meaning: "You will regret this for the rest of your life. In fact, I am thinking of having it engraved on your tombstone."

Wife: "I don't have anything to wear"
Meaning: "I am headed to the mall with your plastic".

Wife: "Your kids are driving me completely over the edge."
Meaning: "Take them for a drive so that I can watch TV without being interrupted."

Wife: "I have to go on a diet."
Meaning: "You better disagree with me real quick, or it is going to be a long, cold weekend."

Viswa

 

Dear Cheeniya sir
I too have come across some folks like Mr. Kamu.

Then there is another type who will give such a thorough explanation of the joke they will over analyze and ruin the punch line.

I am an ardent fan of Sri Cho Ramaswamy's humorous deliveries, serious face but regales us.
In one movie he says, " indha cinemavaaley ethanai perukku theriyada vishayamellam theriya varudu. Uthaaranamaaga, koondhal karuppu, kungumam sivappu" (we learn so many unknown things because of conema. Forcexample, hair is black, kunkuma is red).

There are many humorists I like sir. Art Buchwald is certainly one of them. My favorite is Erma Bombeck.

 

Dear Cheeniya sir,
We find likes of Kamu now and then. Opposites also......they never understand a joke. It has to be explained to them when it loses charm and even then they do not smile. Just say "Oh, is it?". They are the worst. My son, when little used to come to us and start with "I am going to tell you a joke." We were ready for laugh though we heard dozens of times!" I used to appreciate not his sense of humour but the intention to make others laugh.
Dave Barry I like a lot. I read somewhere that R.K.Laxman used to go with a serious face on the corridors of his office thinking about topic for cartoon next day which puts a smile on readers' face. PGW is ultimate!
Now all your humour is your own. No copied humour. Don't worry about partial loss of memory. Even now your memory is strong and you quote so many writers (not jokes, other passages). Amazing!
Syamala

 

Dear Mr Cheeniya,
During my teen age my brother used to bring P.G. Woodhouse books and I loved to read them. He also got an award for English in SSLC and got the book Charles Dickens Pickwik Papers and it was very hilarious.

In Tamil magazine Ananda vikatan Nadodi , Devan and Saavi were my favorite writers.

In olden days mostly women were the targets of jokes.

Laughter is the best medicine, but if you laugh for no reason you need medicine.

I think of @Kamalji who always shared some jokes at the end of his posts.

PS

 

@Cheeniya

Did I ever tell you that what PG Wodehouse is to you is what Kurt Vonnegut is to me? I always find some insight in this writing to amuse myself. In his book, "A Man Without A Country", Vonnegut writes, "The youngest child in any family is always a jokemaker, because a joke is the only way to enter into an adult conversation". Why does this childish endeavour to conjure up giggles fizzle out when we grow up into adults. Perhaps, we are self-conscious of our attempts, or may be we eventually wean out of this silly habit to elicit sympathetic laughter from our bum attempts. People like Kamu don't outgrow these immanent traits and, indeed, preserve them. They cherish and nurture them. These joke-makers and comedy-movers amuse themselves with this showmanship. They no longer wish to insinuate themselves into adult conversations trying to imitate a grown-up as now they wilfully shrink into childlike countenance luring adults with them.

In my twenties when a guy would claim, "I am a funny chap", I would quip, "Prove it". Then he would recite a beat-up joke as his funny shtick. I would shrug my shoulders and he would try another one. I would shake my head and he would start off, "This one is the ultimate belly laugh". One chance over another, and finally he would give up. Then I would explain. It is not what you say as a joke but how you convey that matters. Now imagine a writer tasked not only to disclose something funny but make it look funny. When you enact in live, you can modulate your voice, align your body-language and all these things spruce up the joke-factor. For a writer, like PG Wodehouse, to charm only using ink should have been an arduous task. But when you read him, you feel that the best stand-up comedians are a mile below his blazing wit. If you intend to keep up your position as a 'fun writer', then you are on the right course by recounting none other than the legendary writer who studied human behaviour right down to the cells in those funny bones. As is customary with you and me, I have to admit that I like your idolatry, even Mark Twain. My favourite Mark Twain's quote: "The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." People usually smile at such quotes but I laugh out loud. This is what I call a joke master in disguise carrying a dynamite.

 

They missed out,

Wife/Girlfriend: I am absolutely fine that you cancelled the dinner.
Meaning: Absolutely! My foot! I will make you pay for this. I will make you suffer and writhe in agony for this. I will make you recall the last seven generational grandmas for this incident. If in the next minute you don't inquire if I am alright, I mean really alright, as in normally alright, as in self-sacrificing and martyred woman who has been brutally deprived of a dinner and still alright, you can be assured of paying the highest fine for such careless brush-off. I am the bunny boiler in Fatal attraction. I will tell you what it takes to be fine.
Partner: Are you really fine, er, as in fine?
Wife/Girlfriend: Yeh, you think I get upset with such silly things. I am totally fine.

 

Dear CS, I know people who do not understand a joke and need to have it explained to them. Or wait till all the others have finished laughing. Then they suddenly understand and start a second round of laughter and all the others who had finished laughing look at that person and start off again.

As for me, I do forward jokes I like. However, I am no good at telling them - or reading them out either. Either I tell them and no one laughs or like Kamu, I keep laughing after every word, even if I am just reading one out!

My fil was particularly fond of telling 'kadi' jokes. The biggest insult ever would be if people did not laugh at his joke. I remember how angry he got with me once because I did not laugh! I got quite a telling off that day!

 

Dear Satchi,

At least you could have laughed at his naivety to expect you to laugh for a Kadi Joke. It would have given an impression that you laughed for his joke.

Viswa

 

Viswa, I think he had put me in bad humour just before that and was trying to make amends but I was still mad.