Every morning, Bharti Pramanik, a retired bank manager, marches to Inorbit Mall's
parking lot  to meet her new set of friends. Pramanik is one of the members of the Golden Laughter Club, that conducts its laughter therapy sessions every morning here, at 7 am. The group, consisting of about 25 people, keeps increasing every month, and is mostly  filled with senior citizens. They start off their day with a prayer, proceed with yoga, and then get on with their laughter sessions. They end their sessions with small exercises.
Pramanik says, “Most of us are alone at home, due to which we are surrounded by negative thoughts throughout the day. We all were working people, and now when we suddenly do not have anything to do, we tend to get a little pessimist and sad. So we come here, make new friends, and within short period of time, have made new families here. We all play antakshari after the laughter session gets over, and discuss everyday life. If anyone has a problem, we all try and solve it. But
generally we keep negative thoughts away, and just enjoy here. I joined the club only a month back, but it feels that I have known these people for ages now. We enjoy a peaceful and positive environment here."
A Mhapsekar, the founder of the club, is popularly called “Aaba” by the members. He says, “Every senior citizen goes through loneliness and problems, be it a millionaire or a middle class resident. The only solution is to laugh it out and live each day with complete happiness. Laughter, as all of us know, is a therapy; no wonder people say that its the best medicine. So we at Bangur Nagar Senior Citizens’ Association felt that we should utilise this therapy for the benefit of others.”
 The seniors also go for picnics together. They now will organise a charitable event on February 26 to fund the education of poor kids.

--Husena Painter