Laugh away your blues, also your ills

haveri: the laughter club which took its origins in bombay in 1996, encouraged by physician dr kataria there, has now struck roots in haveri. it started with a few members in haveri town in june and within a month, more than 100 people of the age-group 8 to 85 years have enroled as members of the club. rajashekhar mangalore of g h college is the leader of the laughter club here.the club includes members who foremost are great laughers and two, are capable of making other break out in guffaws. everyday, the members gather at the municipal high school ground at 6.45 am and laugh to their heart's content followed by exercises to loosen up. according to the members, both laughing and the exercises have a beneficial effect on all parts of the body, from head to foot. laughter helps reduce sugar and blood pressure problems, as well as diseases relatedng to the heart and kidneys. just laugh away your joint pains, stress and strain, says rajashekhar mangalore. there is no age or sex bar to the club. all interested in good health are free to participate in the morning sessions at the laugher club . it is for free and mangalore is assisted in his endeavours by artiste janvekar, an employee of the karnataka power transmission corporation limited. welfare clubs like rotary and lions are imported to india, but the laughter club is truly `desi' taking its origins in the indian soil. while a laughter club now exists almost everywhere in india, it has also taken wing to portugal, spain, italy and to west asia (dubai, kuwait), burma, and thailand, said mangalore.