Bengaluru: We celebrated World Laughter Day on January 10. And it is strange that we have such a day. Don’t we need a few laughs everyday to sail through the drudgery of life? And who can be a better brand ambassador of the day than Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi? An ENT surgeon, Innovator (Top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35 as per MIT technology review), who is also a well known stand up comic from Bangalore. He brings in humour from his everyday life.

So, we ask him, is laughter indeed the best medicine, Doctor? “Scientifically speaking it is the best medicine because it is free, easily accessible and extremely good for the heart, mind and body. It’s completely natural and everyone can find their own reasons to laugh. One doesn’t need to look for it anywhere and it never runs out of stock. Most importantly it carries no side effects. Spending time with friends, family, attending comedy shows and watching funny movies and videos are some ways that one can take time out for to get their occasional dose of laughter.”

Dr. Chaturvedi tapped into his comic side early in life. “I have been acting in comedy plays and theatre productions since I was 7 years old. Have performed in both large and short productions, funny videos (the Magaa of small things on YouTube). I love doing Stand up comedy, it allows me to destress by sharing my observations and views on daily nuances to laugh myself and make others laugh as well.”

And the world that we live in today, do we need to laugh more often at ourselves? “Absolutely, I think with the media constantly highlighting negative breaking news and giving lesser importance to positive news, our minds fill up with concerns and insecurities leading to stress and anxiety. Finding time to chuckle and laugh helps lighten up the mind, and keeps the heart and mind healthy,” he concludes.