Femina India – August 09, 2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1

DARK


SIDE


LOON


f you saw me while
growing up, funny would
be the last adjective to
cross your mind. I was
simplya non-noisy student with average
gradesinthe score slab of 70, who went


a familytrait.Mymumhasa knackfor
mimicry,nomatterif she’sencounter
thesubjectjustonce;I can’tmatchup
toher.I’ddescribemyfather’ssenseof
humourassituational—it’sa knackthat
onlyhe’smanagedtomaster.Infact,
that’showwealwaysgotpastfightsor
tensemoments—withhumour!Asthey
say,thefamilythatlaughstogether,
staystogether,soinmyhouse,fights
restlargelyonverbalwars—wejoke,
weargue,andweroasteachotherif it
comestothat.
It shouldn’tcomeasa surprisethen
thatmostofmycomedyis heavily
influencedbyfamilymembers.And
whilethejokesaresomewhatpersonal,
they’rerelatable.Infact,I havea popular
bitongambling.Thepremiseofthe
jokeis howI betonmygrandmawho
is inthehospital.Thegistofit is that
youdon’treallycareaboutwhat’sgoing
oninlifeif youputmoneyonit—the
focusthenbecomesallaboutwinning
orlosingmoney.Besides,there’sa whole
lotofhonestyattachedtothejoke,
whichis probablywhyit worksowell.
Theaudienceunderstandsandrelatesto
thejoke;peoplewhogetit,loveit!
Towardstheendofmycollegeyears
I putupa randomvideoofmeplaying
RaatraazionYouTube,andit gotsome
attention.Thatgotmethinkingthat
maybeI shouldgivethisa realshot.
Butnaturally,whenI toldmyparents
thatI wasgoingtotrymyhandat
comedy,theyprobablythoughtI was
justpullinga fastoneonthem.They
did,ofcourse,givemea yeartoexplore
(thisis probablythegestationperiodfor
comedy).Now,thefunnierI am,the
moreseriouslytheytakeme.

of


the


SHEWASTHENON-NOISY
STUDENT WHO
ANYONE COULD HAVE
MISSED. TUNE IN AS SHE
SHOWS US HOW TO
LAUGH OUT LOUD

SUMAIRA Shaikh


I


I studied how
comedians would
come on the stage
and dress their
experiences a nd
everyday probl ems
in humo ur.

PHOTOGRAPH: OML ENTERTAINMENT PVT LTD

unnoticed. I was neither here nor there.
I went on to study psychology to be
a counsellor, but I found myself drifting
towards the world of comedy.
I first started frequenting open mics
during my college years. I studied how
comedians would come on the stage and
dress their experiences and everyday
problems in humour. It was during
those moments that I felt drawn to the
mic; I wanted to be my funny best on
stage, too! Soon after, I signed up for
an open mic, wrote a short script, and
hopped on stage. All but one joke sat
well with the audience. You could call it
the cornerstone of my comedy empire;
the response it garnered kept me going.
Although I don’t consider myself
particularly funny, I fuel my sarcasm to
a point that it has a rather mean bite.
While at home, I’d always get a lot of
laughs at the expense of my siblings and
cousins, I can’t take all the credit. Some
families sing, some dance, mine
make jokes. Humour is genetic—
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