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Khushwant Singh on Humour: Selected Writings
Humour is something very subtle and therefore eludes precise definition…[it] is not hurtful. On the contrary, it is an antibiotic against hate. That’s as close as I can get to defining a sense of humour.
~Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh had the unusual ability to laugh at himself. He was known for a rather large repertoire of jokes—some that he had made up and others picked from friends and books. In fact, his columns invariably ended with a joke or two, often contributed by his readers. He was always the kind to notice the funny side of even serious subjects like death. This fine collection of his works is replete with his trademark with and humour.
Khushwant Singh on Humour is a must-read, an antidote to these stressful times.
~Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh had the unusual ability to laugh at himself. He was known for a rather large repertoire of jokes—some that he had made up and others picked from friends and books. In fact, his columns invariably ended with a joke or two, often contributed by his readers. He was always the kind to notice the funny side of even serious subjects like death. This fine collection of his works is replete with his trademark with and humour.
Khushwant Singh on Humour is a must-read, an antidote to these stressful times.
141 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2018
47 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Khushwant Singh
298 books1,423 followersKhushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 27, 2025
This one is all about touching the different sides of humour. In this khushwant singh, has mentioned many jokes sent by people and also made by him. He describes humour as an antidote to hate. He has remarkable capacity to laugh at himself. In this book, various uncomfortable or taboo topics and the humor existing in it is shown. Some are from his columns also which usually ended with a joke.
Khushwant singh, an author, lawyer, diplomat, politician and journalist passed away in 2014 at the age of 99. His books still define him alot, command on language in his books will for sure increase your word power.
Khushwant singh, an author, lawyer, diplomat, politician and journalist passed away in 2014 at the age of 99. His books still define him alot, command on language in his books will for sure increase your word power.
May 4, 2022
Khushwant Singh - On Humor
Rating 3.5/5
I found this book quite reasonably priced for the kindle - 49 INR and I thought it was worth every rupee. I too kind of needed a breather, a so called break from the book I was currently pursuing, "Tomb Of Sand - by Geetanjali Shree translated by Daisy Rockwell'.
I was not able to make progress beyond 175 pages and scared of falling into a reading slump, all I could do was to fall back on the writings' of ever so reliable Khushwant Singh and what better genre than humor.
This book took under 4 hours to complete. I got a healthy dose of humor, laughter. The book has jokes on multiple topics. I have to admit some of the jokes appear undignified, but never the less they make you smile if not laugh!
It is a good book to read once. Khushwant Singh, as the editor says, used to dive into joke books every night before bed. I wish I could do the same about this book or many other Khushwant Singh's writing on humor, but it does not work out. Many a days, my mind asks for more intellectual, non fiction stuffs. So I have to admit, a joke book is good once in a while.(for me!).
The content in the book have been contributed by various people who have written to or shared it with Khushwant Singh. Few pieces are from Khushwant Singh himself.
All in all, very good read in case you wish to unwind at the end of a tiring day with less (limited) load on your brain!
Cheers,
Rating 3.5/5
I found this book quite reasonably priced for the kindle - 49 INR and I thought it was worth every rupee. I too kind of needed a breather, a so called break from the book I was currently pursuing, "Tomb Of Sand - by Geetanjali Shree translated by Daisy Rockwell'.
I was not able to make progress beyond 175 pages and scared of falling into a reading slump, all I could do was to fall back on the writings' of ever so reliable Khushwant Singh and what better genre than humor.
This book took under 4 hours to complete. I got a healthy dose of humor, laughter. The book has jokes on multiple topics. I have to admit some of the jokes appear undignified, but never the less they make you smile if not laugh!
It is a good book to read once. Khushwant Singh, as the editor says, used to dive into joke books every night before bed. I wish I could do the same about this book or many other Khushwant Singh's writing on humor, but it does not work out. Many a days, my mind asks for more intellectual, non fiction stuffs. So I have to admit, a joke book is good once in a while.(for me!).
The content in the book have been contributed by various people who have written to or shared it with Khushwant Singh. Few pieces are from Khushwant Singh himself.
All in all, very good read in case you wish to unwind at the end of a tiring day with less (limited) load on your brain!
Cheers,
September 5, 2022
Epitaph by Khushwant Singh Here lies one who spared neither man or God Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun.
Khushwant Singh says humour starts once you stop taking yourself seriously and make fun of yourself. In his book he leaves no stone unturned didn't hesitate to make fun of things which considered as taboo like fart, nose picking, sex, cultures in different communities and what not.
However overall as a book some jokes are witty, some are average and the rest are outdated which we might have already heard many times.
Please stop saying "You can't joke about anything anymore". You can. You can joke about whatever the f*** you like. And some people won't like it and they will tell you they don't like it. And then it's up to you whether you give a fuck or not. And so on. It's a good system. "
-Ricky Gervais
Khushwant Singh says humour starts once you stop taking yourself seriously and make fun of yourself. In his book he leaves no stone unturned didn't hesitate to make fun of things which considered as taboo like fart, nose picking, sex, cultures in different communities and what not.
However overall as a book some jokes are witty, some are average and the rest are outdated which we might have already heard many times.
Please stop saying "You can't joke about anything anymore". You can. You can joke about whatever the f*** you like. And some people won't like it and they will tell you they don't like it. And then it's up to you whether you give a fuck or not. And so on. It's a good system. "
-Ricky Gervais
July 25, 2018
Quite a great collection of Essays. The theoretical parts are enriching and enjoyable. The collection of jokes, however, are not of uniform quality all along. I was wondering on the timeline of the Essays though. If added it will add to the quality of the book I felt. Worth a reading for a light-hearted change.
July 24, 2022
I'm so glad I read this book - it had me chuckling & laughing out loud in no time ! Humor is serious business and I absolutely love Mr. Singh's sense of humor. His writing is very observant, honest, clear & his language is rich. I read this book after Train to Pakistan and I'm pleasantly surprised and in awe of his writing ability & range. This book is worth every rupee.
May 21, 2020
Sit down with this book in this lockdown period!
Mr. Kushwant was known for forthrightness, at the same time, he was known for his humour.
This book reflects his sense of humour and for sure beings a smile on our face, right from page 1 to the last.
Continuously Smiling for Sure.
Mr. Kushwant was known for forthrightness, at the same time, he was known for his humour.
This book reflects his sense of humour and for sure beings a smile on our face, right from page 1 to the last.
Continuously Smiling for Sure.
July 7, 2018
I don't like humorous books since childhood. I haven't liked it much either. Some jokes were good, some were okay and some went over my head.
October 6, 2022
Who said there is no humour in India? Kushwant Singh's books sell as 'humour'.
October 6, 2022
Personally, I feel, the book somehow lost the spirit with which it started. However, I liked most the last chapter (on black humour). Rest ones are good but not extraordinary.
November 30, 2023
Not my favourite of the year but definitely a light read
June 19, 2018
The book starts with an essay on how Khushwant Singh defines humour - and there was nothing humourous about the writing. He comes across as way too full of himself, and there is a distinct lack of substance in the essay. I was bored.
From there on, the book is divided in to thematic chapters, each of which is a collection of jokes and essays loosely based on the theme. It becomes a hotchpotch of borrowed jokes that I have heard a hundred times before, some original content and very few genuinely funny paragraphs. The only chapter I really enjoyed was the one collecting what other people have written (sarcastically) about him.
The book does have some hard-hitting truths (about our inability to joke about our politics for example) and some laugh out loud passages. A lot of the content, on it's own, is quite enjoyable. But they didn't come together as a book - I felt like a lot of the author's manuscripts were jumbled together and then passages chosen at random to make this book. I breezed through it in 1.5hrs or so, and know I won't remember much of it tomorrow. Unlike his Train to Pakistan, which I read more than a decade ago and yet it still haunts me. Go read that if you want to read this author.
Read for the challenge prompts -
PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book by a local author (well, Indian is local enough for me)
From there on, the book is divided in to thematic chapters, each of which is a collection of jokes and essays loosely based on the theme. It becomes a hotchpotch of borrowed jokes that I have heard a hundred times before, some original content and very few genuinely funny paragraphs. The only chapter I really enjoyed was the one collecting what other people have written (sarcastically) about him.
The book does have some hard-hitting truths (about our inability to joke about our politics for example) and some laugh out loud passages. A lot of the content, on it's own, is quite enjoyable. But they didn't come together as a book - I felt like a lot of the author's manuscripts were jumbled together and then passages chosen at random to make this book. I breezed through it in 1.5hrs or so, and know I won't remember much of it tomorrow. Unlike his Train to Pakistan, which I read more than a decade ago and yet it still haunts me. Go read that if you want to read this author.
Read for the challenge prompts -
PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book by a local author (well, Indian is local enough for me)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews