“The City of Smiles”- Budapest
A lot of Hungarian soldiers and civilians died during World War I and their loved ones went numb. Their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons were somewhere away from home, either mixed in soil or were feeding themselves to birds. Until then Budapest was more attractive than a magnet to tourists from every part of the world. The post-war effects and an approach of the new war engulfed Budapest.
Budapest was now in the arms of mass suicides, which arose from the day of losing their loved ones. Budapest became “The city of Suicides”. Will you believe me if I say all these happened because of a popular song “Gloomy Sunday”, which was printed in Sunday Times? It was also called ‘the suicide song’ and ‘the killer song’. It was written in a hundred languages around the world and has claimed to have killed hundreds of people.
All the people who drowned in the deep waters of Danube River had left behind the newspaper cutting of Sunday Times, which had the lyrics of the song. It was composed by Rezső Seress and published in 1933. Here are the lines.
“Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thought of ever returning you
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday
Death is no dream,
For in death I’m caressing you
With the last breath of my soul I’ll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday”
The song somehow gave hope to all the people who wanted to reunite with their loved ones.
In 1937, ‘The Sunday Times’ wrote an article on the “ City of Suicides”. It’s funny how the newspaper criticises and asks to ban the song and the lyricist for suicides. When it was The Sunday Times, who propagated and shared those lines throughout Budapest in the first place. The song was then banned on radios.
The politicians, social activists, common people were searching for a solution. To bring out people from their sad lives. And now professor Jeno and hypnotist Binczo brought out the“Smile School”. This was to counteract the unending love for suicides.
People of Budapest had already forgotten how to smile. Not even a four-year-old smiled. The Smile School was introducing them to a different world. At first people were made to wear a smiling mask. Teaching them, how to smile by hiding their feelings inside. They thought that teaching the people how to smile would make them happier. And finally forget the pain!
Then they started teaching different styles of smile, the Roosevelt smile, the Mona Lisa smile, the Dick Powell smile, the Loretta smile, and a lot more. They could choose the smile of any celebrity they loved and the fees was depending on the type of smile they want to master. They claimed to charge up to $500 for teaching the Roosevelt smile in six weeks. Roosevelt had the best smile!
The Mona Lisa smile is more difficult but cheaper. They were asked to do the smiles they were learning five times a day, using a mirror. Founder of Smile School, hypnotist Jeno said says the best business is enabling pupils to achieve the talent of smiling naturally.
Thousands of people around Budapest joined the Smile Schools desperately to learn how to smile! All around the world, where Budapest was once called the “ City of Suicides” a new name came up, “The City of Smiles.” However there was no reduction in suicides, the change was only in the name!
There were still people dying around with the song “ Gloomy Sunday” near the banks of Danube.
By then the whole Smile School was proved to be a hoax by Het Leven.
BUDAPEST, “CITY OF SUICIDES,” IS TAUGHT TO FORCE A SMILE
A joker in Budapest, Hungary lately evolved the “smile school” The idea was made in purpose to counteract the bad publicity Budapest has gotten from the number of suicides supposedly inspired by the Budapest song, Gloomy Sunday. The suicide rate in Budapest is actually very high, even now.
The Smile School was then shut down, with the beginning of World War II. But this simple odd idea of teaching people smile led to the evolution of Laughter brigades and Laughter clubs around the world!
Love,
Dona
