SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024
Dolcy D’Cruz
Humour is of different genres, and mostly happens to us every day in our life. It can be an infectious laughter of a child, the way kittens are startled while playing, a commuter in a local transport on his/her way to work or a short funny reel you watch on feed. There are different ways of finding joy in the smaller things in life but most importantly, one must laugh to stay healthy. Interestingly, there are many Goans who know what tickles the funny bone of fellow Goans and they are using the right platforms to reach a wider audience.
World Laughter Day was founded in 1998 by Dr Madan Kataria, the man behind the global Laughter Yoga movement. Using laughter to foster a sense of global unity and friendship is one of this celebration’s primary goals. On an individual level, genuine laughter has been demonstrated to lessen stress, ease tension, and improve overall mental and emotional health.
Known as the Emperor of Konkani Stage and Superstar of Konkani Films, John D’Silva is a well known name for in tiatrs as well as in Konkani films for his comedy. He was the first tiatrist to enter the Limca Book of Records in 2010 for acting, writing, directing and producing 25 tiatrs having a double alphabet in their titles. John is a household name throughout the world amongst the Konkani speaking community, as people enjoy his comedy clips till date. He has acted in noted films like ‘Home Sweet Home’ and ‘Nacho-ia Kumpasar’ which was watched by Goans in India and abroad. John is very consistent in uploading new content on social media and recently uploaded his seventh comedy video in Hindi too.
“There’s a saying that laughter is the best medicine. When I make people laugh, I feel happy because the talent of making people laugh is a gift to me from Almighty God. I firmly believe in Almighty God because without God I am nothing. I always remind myself that nothing is forever in this world. So enjoy your life today, laugh a lot today because no one knows what awaits us tomorrow. When we leave this world, what remains after us is our good deeds and good memories. Property and money has got no value after our death. And hence, I don’t take life serious, living my life as it is. One thing we have to always remind ourselves, when you do good things, someday good things will happen to you too. And if you do bad things, you will not die till you get the punishment for the bad things you have done. Man is nothing, just a bubble on water. No one knows when that bubble will burst. My message to my audience is to place yourself in the hands of God and God will place you in the best place,” says John.
Noted cartoonist Alexyz from Siolim is known for his humorous works. A few years back, Alexyz had an exhibition entirely based on laughter with several cartoons portraying humour in daily life. He created caricatures based on the lives of tiatrists for the 125th anniversary of the Tiatr and is the author of books like, ‘Howzzat! - Century of Cricket Cartoons’ the first on cricket cartoons in India and ‘O To Be In Goa... Today’ which was dedicated to his friends, Mario de Miranda, Emiliano Da Cruz and Joel D’Souza. “Laughter is like oxygen. Without a daily dose of it, I would perish,” says Alexyz.
Rajdeep Naik is a popular stage and film actor and the chairman of Kala Chetna–Volvoi that is currently performing their new play, ‘Ganv Zala Zhanto’ across Goa. After becoming a household name for his roles in Konkani hits films, like ‘Home Sweet Home’, Home Sweet Home 2’ and ‘Questav de Confusao’, he is now also gained popularity for his short videos on social media, ‘Hello Vasanti,’ which focusses on various social and political issues. These videos had a huge impact on the Konkani speaking audience especially during the pandemic as it was a burst of new comedy to light up the grim realities of life one was facing during the lockdown. Through this medium, Rajdeep was able to take serious news too to a wider audience.
“The character of ‘Hello Vasanti’ is heavily dependent on the script and the whole concept is written by Suchitra Narvekar, my wife and a writer. It highlights the day-to-day social and political issues that one experiences and it is brought out in a humorous manner through the conversation with this character called Vasanti. She is a simple village girl and I speak in Konkani as it is very easy to understand. The videos was a means to bring humour to the lives of Goans and also to take news to them in a humorous way. When news reaches people through humour, it has a far more impact. My videos have been shared on YouTube, FaceBook and even Whatsapp across the world including UK, USA and Australia especially more among the Konkani speaking community. It has a great impact on housewives who watch the small videos on WhatsApp and now since my play is being performed at different venues, I have a lot of women coming backstage after the play to show their appreciation,” says Rajdeep.
Five minutes of laughter in one’s life can make the person forget their sorrows and even improve their health. Laughter is known as the best medicine and a few artistes in Goa know its true characteristic, bringing it straight to the people. These artists do their creative work by making people find five minutes of joy in their stressful life. One of them to recently gain popularity is the character of Vhani by Shradha Shirodkar from Ponda. A stand-up comedian, she wanted to act especially in Marathi plays. She acted in programmes like Yuva Mahotsaav during her college years but what was encouraged to pursue it as a fulltime career.
A make-up artist by profession, Shradha also conducts dance fitness classes for children and women. She recently participated in a laughter challenge where she was the only female among 40 other male contestants in Goa. The character of Vhani came to life when Shradha was fooling around wearing a sari and her favourite crocs and held a market bag like a Goan Hindu housewife. “The character Vhani became so famous that people immediately recognise me even on the road and at signals. People want to click photos with me and even if I am not in the costume, they recognise me. I get great feedback especially from people abroad who are living in the USA and UK. They say that I remind them of home and all the things they miss about Goa. Many Goan women and children dress up as Vhani for fancy dress competitions. Even though it was my wish to act and I didn’t get to perform on a big platform, through this character I have reached every household. I have also created a homepage, O Vhani Fanpage, where I upload videos and photos to those who dress and act as Vhani. When I started with my first video of Vhani five months back, I had only 1000 followers. Now I have crossed 54,000 followers,” says Shardha.
Originally from Mandrem and now living in Sarzora, Sameer Kaisurkar comes up with original content on Goan family and how family members interact with each other with funny comebacks. A cruise line employee by profession, Sameer maintains a balance between his personal life and professional life by uploading at least one video per week when he is at sea on his Instagram page @kr_sammy. He gives the best of two Konkani dialects and has gained fans since 2021. He is especially known for the day-to-day situations that a young boy experiences in a Goan home with an extended family.
“Many people are going through stress and tension throughout the day. If a person who is sad watches a sad video, he or she will keep more depressed but a funny video can lighten their mood. I aim to do that with my videos. If I can make them laugh even for 30 seconds of the video, it can have a longer psychological impact to help them get through a different situation with a new approach to solve a problem. Laughter is very important in everyone’s life,” says Sameer.
This World Laughter Day find the happy moments to make you laugh and provide humour to those around you too.
