Think back to that tense meeting where an offhand quip helped everyone breathe again. The argument at home that ended not in silence but in shared laughter. The sting of a sharp remark softened by a grin and witty line offered at just the right moment. If you have had those moments, consider yourself fortunate. You belong to a shrinking group that still remembers humour as more than entertainment.
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Yet, it remains a way of being. If anything, it may be more valuable than ever.
There is something almost rebellious about humour today. In a world obsessed with polishing flaws out of existence, humour gently insists it is alright to be human. Traditionally, Indian humour loved imperfection. Folk stories, street plays and Bollywood comedies all found warmth in the hero who stumbled and the friend who laughed at his own expense. Humour was never about mocking others so much as laughing with them amid the unpredictable mess of being alive. And maybe that is what we risk losing now as curated perfection replaces candour and every word feels weighed by unseen judges.
Watch a laughter club gathering on a park lawn at dawn. Notice how postures soften, faces brighten and spirits lift. This is actually healing at work. Science has long backed what we feel in those moments. Laughter eases stress, strengthens immunity and brightens perspective, helping us remember that not every burden must be carried in silence.
It is also quietly magnetic. Match.com found that more than nine out of 10 singles look for someone who can make them laugh. Being funny is not only charming, but also comforting because it hints at perspective. And perspective, more often than not, is what keeps us balanced.
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Yet, in Indian offices, humour can feel like contraband. Hierarchies run deep in workplaces and speaking too freely can feel risky. But humour, when offered with sincerity, can do what manuals forget. It makes leaders relatable. In high-pressure meetings, a light remark can open conversations that might otherwise get missed. Teams remember they are not just roles on an organizational chart, but people who can laugh together before getting to the task at hand.
Marketers of well-known brands have understood this for years. Pepsi and Coca-Cola’s playful rivalry, BMW and Mercedes exchanging clever winks and Amul’s tongue-in-cheek billboards never made these brands seem frivolous. They made them seem human. Global names speak in a language we all recognize when they choose to laugh with us.
Humour also holds more than momentary amusement. It carries our cultural memory across time. Proverbs, idioms and jokes made in family chats keep a shared language alive, even when generations disagree on almost everything else. Humour becomes the soft thread that reminds us of where we come from and who we were, even as we keep moving forward.
We also forget that humour often grows strongest in adversity. Think of roadside vendors trading jokes under a punishing sun or a crowded train compartment breaking into laughter over an absurd announcement. It is not because life is easy. It is because humour shared with strangers is sometimes the only luxury everyone can afford. In those small moments, laughter becomes an equalizer.
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Perhaps humour matters most when it helps us see life’s small contradictions without turning bitter. The neighbour who complains about noise yet plays devotional music at dawn, the friend who posts wellness quotes while staying up long past midnight, or even ourselves making big resolutions on Sunday night only to snooze them away by Monday morning. Humour gently shows what makes us human and reminds us that we are all gloriously inconsistent—which might just be worth a smile.
Despite all this, the age that promised greater connection sometimes makes us hesitate. The fear of offending others, the anxiety of being misunderstood and the risk of evoking outrage can all weigh down humour’s lightness. Where laughter once came easily, it now pauses, checks itself and often never arrives.
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But humour is not an indulgence. It keeps us human in a world that can feel transactional. It helps us cope and reconnect, and offers perspective when nothing else fits. Without it, life may go on but it becomes somehow flatter, a little less alive. So, watch that ridiculous meme. Share a story that pokes fun at yourself. Notice the small ironies of your daily grind. Allow yourself and those around you to be imperfect.
Laughter cannot solve everything. Yet, it makes solutions easier to reach. And it reminds us to take ourselves just a little less seriously.
The authors are, respectively, a corporate advisor and author of ‘Family and Dhanda’; and lead, private equity and M&A, at Nishith Desai Associates.
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