Monday column: The village of laughter

Last week, I learned that in a chaotic world, humor can bring people together even if they do not know each other.

It does not take a wizard to know that laughter bond people together in all walks of life. The richest person or the most powerful leader needs laughter as much as the poorest individual. Laughter can also break the tension when a group of people share the same sense of humour.

A good laughter now on then can help you navigate out of your miserable thoughts. It can make you feel lighter. We all know someone who can turn a misfortune into a laughing matter. For these people, it is their way of navigating themselves out of troubled water.

It helps to find people who share the same sentiments. I learned that from a village in Oman. This village is somewhere between two flowing wadis in the Batnah area. The population of that village is not more than five hundred people but they have a unique way of sharing their experiences.

Every evening, they play music in the village’s square. It is just an excuse to dance, sing and talk aloud. In other words, they share the happy spirit after a long day of stress. As I watched them clap, swing their bodies with the crescendo of the drums and trumpets, I was totally mesmerized.

I was sitting there watching until the sun was half-way down the mountain peaks beyond the little village. They stopped when the last light finally faded. When the street lights switched on, they started gathering their musical instruments, rolled up the carpets and removed the coffee and dates. As they were leaving for their homes, laughter was still echoing in the air.

A few minutes later, I was still standing on the same spot. There was a small café near me. I chose a table and sat outside and ordered coffee. People were still walking past but there was no more laughter. However, the spirit of ‘happiness’ was still in the air. The waiter who served me coffee did it with a smile. Even people who walked past raised their hands to greet me with happy faces.

I took my time drinking coffee in a ‘happy street’. For me, there was something important to learn from that village. The villagers, like any other humans in all corners and dwellings of the globe, are ordinary people. However, they found a successful recipe to turn a rundown routine into smiles.

Unfortunately, I had to leave for home but I took the ‘laughing’ spirit with me as I was driving back knowing that I learned something important that evening. As I was entering the noises of the city of Muscat, traffic caught up with me. Impatient drivers were honking their horns, flashing their lights and someone behind me almost smashed his car onto a lamp post.

No more laughter around me but anger and frustrations. I kept my cool and went with the flow of traffic patiently but maintaining a smile on my face. It was about a two hour drive back home from the village of laughter. But the difference was a revelation to me. As I was preparing myself for bed that night, I wondered if anybody in that village had a high blood pressure or irregular heartbeat.