Humour cannot save the world but deserves a chance

Have you noticed it too? That quiet absence in the spaces between work meetings or in those late-night scrolls through your phone.

- SRINATH SRIDHARAN & NISHCHAL JOSHIPURA

Somewhere between quarterly reviews, perfectly filtered photos and social media feeds that never end, we seem to have misplaced something that was once so ordinary that it barely needed a name: Humour.

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.

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.