“We have been looking for larger halls, with disturbing frequency. Yes, we have been steadily growing in numbers, but that’s only a part of the reason for this obsessive interest in real estate. Over the years, the quality of our jokes has improved and members now need more space to roll over and laugh,” says K.S. Seetharaman, chairman of the Humour Club International Triplicane chapter.
Today, this 1000-member Club meets once a month at the spacious hall at Mylapore Fine Arts Club.
The Club’s monthly meetups draw 600 members. In the 1990s, these meetings would register an attendance of 300 members. Considering that in the 1980s, a monthly meeting was considered well-attended if 15 members turned up, the Club has made huge strides.
“We used to offer coffee at our meetings. At one point, we had a sneaking suspicion that people attended our meetings for the coffee. We stopped offering it. People still kept coming,” says Seetharaman.
The monthly laughter meet takes place every second Sunday, between 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. “Laughing on a Sunday evening is a good way to prepare for the week ahead,” say members.
The meeting starts with a joke session by members and it lasts an hour or so, and then the chief guest shares his/her life experiences in a manner that evokes laughter. Many legends have attended our meetings; they include Crazy Mohan, Thirukkural Munusamy, N. Mathrubootham, Nithyashree Mahadevan, actor Nagesh, director K. B., cartoonists Madhan, Keshav, Jeyaraj, Gopulu and authors Bagyam Ramasamy, Kadugu and Sujatha. Seetharaman says the strength of the Club lies in its members’ ability to create situational humour.
“Just the other day, a member stepped on to the stage with a burnt ear. We asked him what caused it. He said he was ironing his clothes when the mobile phone made a shrill cry. In a fit of absent-mindedness, he took the iron box and kept it on his ear, mistaking it for the phone. Someone walked up to him and asked him why his other ear was burnt too. The member replied, tongue-in-check, ‘Since I couldn’t hear the other person on the line, I shifted it (the iron box) to the other ear’.”
During the Club’s early years, actors Vivek and Charlie were its members. Poornam Viswanathan, S. Ve. Shekhar, Delhi Ganesh and director Visu had also been on its membership list. “We have created a humorist out of every member. Our Club believes that humour happens when we are able to laugh at ourselves. We encourage children and youth to present jokes on the stage. Humour, like charity, begins at home,” says Seetharaman. The Club’s jokes are always free.
“We only charge for ‘shipping and handling’. Our monthly sessions are open to all and free. We however welcome memberships. It allows us to cover the minimal expenses. Our annual membership is ₹500 and life membership ₹5000,” he says. However, its anniversary laughter meets are open only to members and guests. They take place on the third Sunday of July. Contact: 98411 61196/ 98846 88390
