BEST spokesperson A S Tamboli informs that such laughter therapy sessions are to be organised for workers and also for officials posted at 25 depots across the city. “Laughter sessions will be organised whenever there is time and a place available,” Tamboli says.

And though the undertaking maintains that the laughter therapy organised last week was planned well before the last accident that killed two pedestrians, the drivers and conductors say the timing couldn’t be better. Positive about the exercise, they say they’d enjoy regular sessions. For BEST drivers Dhaneshwar Phunde and Anandrao Nikam, the session was a chance to ease stressed nerves given their strenuous work hours. They say that the session was not only a way to relax but also a chance to interact with some of their colleagues.

According to them, that's the common opinion of most of the workers who attended the session conducted by the Priyadarshini Laughter Club. “We have asked officers for more such laughter therapy sessions; at least once in 15 days,” says Phunde, who has been with the undertaking with over a year now. He adds: “I will continue this therapy and will definitely join a laughter club now, as I could actually feel my stress levels going down during the session.” His colleague Nikam, also a driver, says that he has even asked his friends to undergo this stress-busting programme for better performance. “We were told how laughter can help us deal with fatigue and improve our work. I have started spreading word about this therapy to my friends in other depots,” Nikam says.

Neither Nikam nor Phunde had ever heard of laughter therapy earlier. But Nikam, a jolly person by nature and now also a sworn advocate of a good laugh several times a day, says: “I felt relieved of stress and fatigue…so much that the freshness after that session helped be concentrate better on the road.”