Running a humour club is no laughing matter. A.V. Giri, founder of Tambaram Humour Club, would vouch for that statement. Giri wanted to start a forum for laughter, but was diffident about it, as he had a terrible stammer. After he mustered the confidence and launched the club in April 2010, he realised his stammer was the least of the problems.
Attendance at the first few meet-ups was discouragingly thin. He realised jokes alone would not fill the hall. He tried offering coffee to the participants. The first meeting at Valluvar Gurukulam School in West Tambaram, following this decision which was announced by a huge board at the venue, attracted 50 people.
However, after they had had the brew, the participants slipped away one after the other, leaving Giri and his team with just the aroma of an idea that worked only partially.
They decided that in the next meet-up, coffee should be served at the end. They acted on the decision, which resulted in an embarrassing situation where one of the participants demanded that coffee be served first, before it turned cold. It sounded like a reasonable request and harmless too, till Giri and his team found the participants doing the vanishing act once again, after the cups had gone empty.
Taking pity on them, a private school sent its Classes V and VI to the Club’s meeting. Sacrificing their Sunday for a humour session — the children did not find this one bit funny. Reportedly, many of them saw this as a special class they had to sit through.
Giri next resorted to streetside banners and catchphrases. ‘ Vanga Sirikalam ’ (Come, let us laugh) was the key catchphrase of the campaign. What appeared to be a smart invite unfortunately did not translate into bigger attendance. Despite the lukewarm response in the early years, Giri did not give up on the project and now, monthly meet-ups draw around 200 members.
M.V. Udhayakumar is now the acting president and secretary of the Club. The monthy meetings are conducted at at Valluvar Gurukulam School, on the last Sunday of every month, between 4 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. For the last four years, the Club has been conducting a special annual-day event. Celebrities including BJP leader Ila Ganesan, actor Delhi Ganesh, Chokkalingam, film director S.P. Muthuraman and actor-director K. Baghyaraj have being invited to these events. At the monthly meetings, even non-members are allowed to present jokes. “We collect an annual subscription of ₹200; and ₹2,000 for life-time membership,” says Giri. Contact: 9444585858
