Gautam Ganguly
(gautamganguly2012@gmail.com)
While Donald Trump’s decision to deport Indian immigrants (illegally?) from the United States in handcuffs and leg restraints by military plane has triggered an uproar and resentment not only in India but also among the saner elements across the world, Joe Biden’s description of India in the ‘Quid summit’ held on 24th September 2024 as a ‘small country with a very small population’ had caused spontaneous fun and laughter, creating positive vibes among all concerned notwithstanding the faux pas by the octogenarian ex-president.
Looking back at the history of human civilisation highlights the fact that in all stages of human evolution, the quest for entertainment and recreation has remained inextricably linked with mankind despite the multidimensional challenges faced by them in the early years of the universe. The eternal urge to look beyond the bare necessities of food, shelter, and clothing has resulted in the development of multifarious recreational avenues like sports, games, music, etc., besides unleashing a plethora of accompanying wit and rollicking humour, highlighting thereby the ingenuity of the human mind.
Amid our glorious freedom struggle against British imperialists led by Gandhi ji, the Cripps Mission was sent to India in 1942 by the British government to gain Indian support for World War II. The mission proposed that India would become a dominion after the war and that an elected body would create its constitution. Normally a cool, calm Gandhi ji got highly infuriated and shot back at the proposal of Crips with the immortal words. ‘It is a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank!’! Gandhi ji’s magnificent comment is simultaneously incisive, pungent, and hilarious, exposing the hollowness of the British proposal.
The Scotland Yard police force has always been widely respected across the world for its efficiency, intelligence, dedication, commitment, and ability to solve any complicated problem; George Bernard Shaw was once requested to give his views on the highly vaunted Scotland Yard police force. GBS coolly replied to the query by saying, ‘They are beautiful!’’ The journalists were surprised as to how the police force could be beautiful. So, they requested Shaw to explain further. Bernard Shaw gave a tongue-in-cheek reply, ‘Scotland Yard police is beautiful like rainbows. Both appear after the storm!’ There were peals of laughter all around…’
Mark Twain is one of the greatest novelists and essayists in the world, having enriched American literature with his writings. Twain is also described as one of the greatest humorists. One of his all-time humorous quotes goes like this: ‘Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I have done it thousands of times. It is a funny way of acknowledging how difficult it is to quit smoking!
Another humorous saying of Mark Twain that is eternally popular is, ‘Politicians and nappies must be changed often and for the same reason!’
The Oxford-educated Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had heralded a new era in Indian cricket by infusing fighting spirit among the players, goading them to ‘believe in their ability.’. In the 1967-68 series, Pataudi had played a majestic innings of 164 runs at the Edgbaston test, tearing apart the English bowlers. After the match, the English journalist asked Pataudi, When did he realise that he could play fierce international cricket with ‘one eye’? Pataudi’s prompt, witty reply was, “When I saw the English bowlers!”
Winston Churchill, Nobel Laureate and outstanding statesman was known for his wit and humour. During the Second World War, once Churchill, Roosevelt, and other leaders were busy holding meetings to finalise strategy against menacing Hitler. England then was in financial distress as it had been fighting Germans, nay, Axis forces, and had to rely heavily on the USA for financial assistance. During the meeting, Churchill had gone to the washroom and came out of the washroom buttoning the zip (those days the chain was not there). A stressed and anxious Roosevelt entered the washroom and, finding Churchill buttoning the pants, said ‘sorry’ and was about to go out.
Churchill exclaimed, “Don’t worry’! England has nothing to hide from America!’ Shashi Tharoor’s (Member of Parliament) witty comment that the “sun never set in the British Empire because even God couldn’t trust the Englishmen in darkness” had made the English audience burst out in laughter. Shashi Tharoor was speaking at Oxford Union in 2015, especially on how British rulers had conquered different countries of the world, making the British Empire gigantic and encompassing, which resulted in the saying, “The sun never set on the British Empire.”.
I wind up with a hilarious story. Our Prime Minister had gone to Bangladesh on an official visit a couple of years back. At the end of the visit, before boarding the flight, he had formally invited his counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, then Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, said that she would definitely inform her programme to visit India. Hearing the comment, the accompanying Indian officials soliloquised, ‘She would be the first Bangladeshi to inform officially about entering India!’!