Bengaluru has most laughter clubs

While the clubs are free and open to all, they are largely frequented by 50- to 80-year-olds. People who find laughter clubs therapeutic far outweigh those who see them as a disturbance, the community says.

Bengaluru has the highest number of laughter clubs in the country, says Dr Madan Kataria, the general physician who pioneered the concept in Mumbai in 1995. Pune comes next.

According to All Karnataka Laughter Clubs (AKLC), the city is home to over 220 such meetups. People gather in parks and apartments to practise ‘laughter yoga’, crack jokes, clap or sing every morning, and sometimes, also in the evening. While these are free and open to all, they are largely frequented by 50- to 80-year-olds. People who find laughter clubs therapeutic far outweigh those who see them as a disturbance, the community says. 

“Bengaluru has many neighbourhood parks. The stress level is also high in the city. Not to forget, many elders feel lonely because their children stay away. So laughter clubs bring together health benefits and community feeling,” Dr Kataria, who has lived in Bengaluru for 10 years, explains the proliferation of laughter clubs in the city. At 11, Jayanagar has the most laughter clubs in Bengaluru. Malleswaram comes next, with 8.

Looking back

Bengaluru’s first club, called ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out), took root in Madhavan Park in Jayanagar. The year was 1998 and late engineer B K Satyanarayan was its founder. “Don’t go by the name, both men and women come to the ROMEO club. In fact, more women come to laughter clubs in Bengaluru,” says P Sadashiv, president, AKLC.

Satyanarayan was inspired by Dr Kataria and his wife Madhuri to start ROMEO, and Sadashiv was inspired by Satyanarayan to initiate HSR Laughter Club in 2002. “It brightens your mood for the rest of the day. It is said that 1 minute of laughing is equal to 15 minutes of walking. I go daily unless it rains,” he says.

He claims the laughter club has helped with his “blood pressure and sugar” issues. Plus, he has found friends, and also developed a sense of humour. “At the end of the meetup, we crack jokes, original or borrowed,” Sadashiv shares.

In Laughter Yoga, conceptualised by Dr Kataria as a combination of breathing, stretching and laughter exercises, there are 30 varieties of laughs and people keep improvising. There’s Namaste laughter, argument laughter, handshaking laughter, and winners laughter. There’s also Japanese, Chinese, and Calcutta laughter. Milk shake, soup, pani puri and coffee laughters are other varieties.

Disco dance laughter requires one to shake a leg to ‘Aa ha ha ha ho ho’. Nethra Ramachandra, who has been running Harihareshwara Laughter Club in Hanumanthanagar since 1999, adds more: “For no problem laughter, you raise your hands in the air and for Bangalore chair laughter, you squat a bit.”

Turning point

Nethra says at laughter clubs, she found a circle of support. “After my husband passed away, Satyanarayan encouraged me to step out and do social work. As a joint secretary with AKLC, I also help organise annual conferences,” says the 71-year-old.

Likewise, Barathy Balakrishna found a calling as a laughter trainer after retiring from a military school. She hosts sessions for seniors above 60 at Serena Urbana Laughter Club inside a gated community in Devanahalli. Her husband Balakrishna has been volunteering since she suffered a stroke last year. “We start and end with 15 minutes of clapping to improve blood circulation. We also do some exercises for memory power and joint strengthening,” says the 77-year-old.

Laughter university

During his 10-year stay in Bengaluru, Dr Kataria proposed setting up a Laughter University and 16 acres near Devanahalli were bought. Then he changed his mind and shifted to the quieter Nashik. “We have begun the construction of the University on 2.5 acres of land. It will offer workshops, coaching and research on laughter yoga,” he says.

For details, contact AKLC at 98440 2 3561.