A laughing epidemic attacks schoolchildren

It started harmlessly enough in 1962 in Tanganyika in Tanzania — three girls giggling helplessly in class (who doesn’t do that?), but soon, nearly 95 of the 159 pupils in the school began to laugh uncontrollably, and this laughing epidemic forced the school to be closed in March. Alas, when it reopened in May, there was a second outbreak affecting 57 students. The symptoms of uncontrollable laughter ranged from a few hours to a scary 16 days in some cases! Soon, many other schools in the 100-mile radius were also affected. While the schools probably considered it a big ‘student’ conspiracy to miss classes, doctors, however, considered it as a stress-induced response in the young population.

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Following the popular ‘April Fool’s Day’ which is recognized on April 1st, comes another event internationally known as ‘World Laughter Day’ which falls on May 1st. This annual laughter event which is celebrated by over 105 countries globally, initially originated in India. It was first celebrated in the year 2008, as part of an initiative taken by Dr Madan Kataria to create awareness about the healing powers of laughter.

The birth of Mumbai’s laughter clubs

Have you ever come across a group of people gathered together in a garden or on a beach, simply standing around and laughing? Well, that’s what laughter clubs are all about. Laughing!

Laughter clubs were the brainchild of none other than Dr Madan Kataria, founder of the Laughter Yoga movement in India and president of over 45 laughter clubs across Mumbai. Dr Kataria set out to prove that ‘Laughter Is Indeed ‘The Best Medicine’. And on 13 March 1995, Dr Kataria along with a group of participants formed the first laughter club in Mumbai. They would meet every morning, stand in a circle, practise breathing and laugh!

Dr Kataria has even gone on to create a ‘menu’ of different laughs, such as:

• Silent laugh
• Jumping laugh
• Cocktail laugh
• Arm swinging laugh

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