A Time to Laugh

Whoever said laughter is the best medicine was taken very seriously. Laughter clubs have been curing stressed out Mumbai residents so successfully, they are springing up all over the world. We all need the chance to laugh and release a bit of stress, even on vacation. Take a bit of time to visit Mumbai.

Hot, sweaty, sticky and frenetic, Mumbai doesn’t leap out as being a particularly amusing venue, but thanks to the side-splitting wisdom of a Dr Madan Kataria, a number of ‘Laughter Clubs’ have been popping up to help us see the funny side of having your bags nicked at the train station. In fact, their role in the healing world in the past few years has taken off to other far corners of the globe – the USA being one popular destination.

In March 1995, Kataria thought of writing an article on “Laughter, the Best Medicine” on the basis of a large amount of scientific literature that he found on the benefits of laughter on the mind and body. Rather than publishing, he went to a public Garden in Mumbai and spoke to people about starting a Laughter Club. Those interested (only a few) stood in a circle and, under Kataria’s expert guidance, invited each other to crack a joke. All went well for a couple of weeks until the jokes ran out. So Kataria set about developing ways to laugh impromptu – no gags necessary. Such are the success of his methods that they are being imported elsewhere (visit the World Laughter Tour Website to find out more), but if in Mumbai anyway, it’s highly likely you’ll need to re-boot your sense of humour.

Although you can laugh with the professionals throughout the year, it may be best to go when Mumbai is a bit cooler than normal (April to June).