A CROWD of football fans watch a match in a tea shop. A young girl enters and calls to her brother but is quickly distracted by Ronaldo on the TV screen.

A Manchester United player suddenly heads the ball into the Chelsea net, scoring a goal.

A cheer rises from the crowd and the girl is so delighted she kisses the cheek of the boy stood next to her. Her brother, a diehard Chelsea fan, walks up to her and slaps her on the face. But he’s not riled because of the kiss but because of her shouting support for Man United.

Writer Ni Ko Ye laughs as he recounts the story. “The very next day, my neighbours recalled the event and they all cackled. Although it is not funny because she [the girl] has been hurt, but everyone who heard the news laughed. Myanmar people usually make fun of their troubles after they are over and the funny side becomes apparent.

Instead of bottling up unpleasant incidents, he believes that expressing them in a funny way provides some relief.

“Since I was young it became my habit to see the funny side of situations. I hate to hold back but I do not want to burden people close to me with my worries so I create humorous stories based on my bitter experiences and incidents effecting my neighbours,” he said.

Most of his amusing books are a reflection on the daily lives of his neighbours and his own personal experience.

“One day, our quarter almost caught on fire from the surrounding area; people packed their belongings and managed to flee. Fortunately, the flames were put out and nothing was damaged but the next day, neighbours chatted about the previous night’s fire and laughed like a drain. I also tried to take a humorous look at the event, the world and write books based on such things,” he said.

Some amusing books are a stinging satire on people’s faults or weaknesses aimed at making readers laugh, but Ni Ko Ye wishes to write based on real events without being overly critical.

Another famous humorist A Kyi Taw takes a similar approach. Supposing some-one walks, loses his balance and falls, people will laugh, but any story about it should be written without deliber-ately hurting that person, he argues.

His advice to budding humorists: “Writers of amusing books should have quick wit and intelligence as well as take a humorous look at things. I saw an advertising hoarding for coffee mix that said ‘It takes seven years to get a cup of excellent coffee, so sip it slowly’; we can make a joke like this ‘Do not spend seven minutes making a cup of coffee, gulp it down quick because we have many things to do!”