The Laughter of Silence!

Laughter is a physical reaction involving a sequence of or rhythmic contractions of the diaphragm resulting in sounds which are typical to the individual who is experiencing these phenomena.?It is an audiovisual response to a stimulus. It can be a physical tickle, or an intellectual one. It may be due to the recall of a pleasant memory or a friendly exchange. It can also be the result of a psychological imbalance and considered a condition that requires medical attention. But that is out of the purview of this piece. Known to relieve stress, laughter has found practitioners in laughter clubs etc. Therefore, the range or spectrum of the stimuli cannot be established. But, whoever coined the phrase "laughter is the best medicine" must have been either through intense pain or must be a child (at heart at least). Because, there is another form of laughter. Not the noisy one, but a silent laughter and it is not a smile. It often stems from an unexplained sense of un-fulfillment. My understanding is based on the sheer innocence of the statement. Long ago Mirza Ghalib wrote ' Dard ka had se guzarna hai dawaa ho janaa'. (pain beyond tolerance becomes the antidote of pain) I have in my personal life experienced this. The beauty is, that any description of pain to one who cannot or has not experienced it will be Greek. Where does laughter come in then? About five decades back, when I lost my father, I was amused (not joking). People were crying. Some of them had very valid reason to do so. Others cried because it was somewhat customary despite the fact that they would have internally rejoiced. I was amused for several reasons. For there was one person less who would fire me for my fallacies now. That was thrill. What amused me even more was that so many hitherto unknown people assuring me that 'Beta! hum hain na'. I laughed silently at the turn of events and allowed that tear to roll down to my small bicep placed under my head as a pillow because I knew that those strong stubby arms will never ever support this head. I laughed silently at myself that my school PTA meetings would always go unrepresented. I laughed silently at the plight of my school principal that she will never be able to address my complaints to my father. I laughed at the demise of my world. I have been laughing silently for over five decades now. It gives me the strength to laugh at everything, everyone & every time. I have probably run out of words to continue further. May be he is upgrading my vocabulary up there in the ‘house of lords’ so that I find a different angle to humour or pain as my silent laughter grows, in age & wisdom and a new day of laughter begins.