To those who still don't get it, for the last time, "madrasi" is not a word in any language.
Sunil Pal, who gets away with calling himself a stand-up comedian, was invited to perform in our company's annual party. To sum up what I thought of his show, it would just do to say that the title to this post is all about him. I repeatedly heard the words "madrasi", "lungi", "Tamil" and "hamare South ke bhai" in a span of about five minutes. I had switched off long ago, then, I stood up and left.
Anyone who has visited Bangalore and paid attention would know that the folks here have a highly evolved sense of humour that is usually marked by caustic sarcasm - the kind that can mercilessly scald the likes of the Pal fellow. Well, there sure is a lot to laugh about Bangalore as there is with any other city, but it takes a receptive mind to find the right things to say that would be both relevant and humourous. Our colleagues came up with wittier one-liners about Bangalore that evening than what the nitwit performing on stage can ever hope to even after a lifetime in the business of stand-up comedy.
The "madrasi-lungi" drill has probably been going on for the last fifty years in the name of humour. In these fifty years, there have been wars, revolutions, insurrections, huge swings of business cycles and innumerable events that have brought about irreversible changes in the culture, economy and demographics of most cities. With changes of this magnitude, the content of art, cinema and humour is expected to change naturally. Yet, we hear the same old tripe about "madrasis" and jokes about skin colour and the way the languages of the South sound being made. The irony is that these jokes are gleefully being broadcast in places which is home to the people whose culture is being insensitively ridiculed.
Mr. Sunil Pal and all the others who earn their bread doing what he does must be warned to take a reality check the next time they perform before an audience that has a cultural quotient that's greater than theirs. They must, for their own good, try to find out whether the audience is laughing with them or at them.
14 comments:
Very well written. People do not see the thin line between humour and narrow mindedness. It is such poor treatment that leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. Not everyone can pull off a russel peters when it comes to culture sensitive humour. Hopefully blogs such as these will weed out the trash.
I fully agree with the views of Padma.....but basically asking from people like Sunil Pal who thrive on 3rd grade comedy,to be sensitive to the emotive issues of culture and race is not realistic.I often wonder how can educated people even smile at such kind of jokes.Such kind of jokes are for the masses who rarely spend time reading a good book or listening to some serious news.
Thats why even paying attention to his standards of mindless humour is degrading and lowering in standard.
People are eager to stereotype.
Hear this (and it happened at dear old IGIDR !).After a 5 min English conversation with someone I'd just met:
He: you are from South ? (so surprised that he didn't bother with articles like 'the')
me: yes why ?
he: you have no assent !
As I didn't remember disagreeing with him, it took me a while to figure out he meant 'accent'. :-)
The general spiel about folks homegenizing everything south of Vindhyas - never mind the trials and tribunalations - is just one side of the coin. The flip side is just as bad: Bengal to Gujarat to Punjab is indistinguishably one Hindia.
But I guess Sunil Pal must've been pretty bad for you to get so worked up. Thanks for the warning. Next time his performance is on, I'll walk away too. I'd run, but it's difficult in a lungi.
Prabhu
we must shock the bourgoisie !
from time to time !
Suchitra: Thank you! Some of what I've written is a result of the discussions I've had with you. You know that..don't you? :)
Anindyarup: I beg to disagree with you on some fronts. Even reading good books does not always render people more culturally aware. But then I get what you are saying about the dissection of Sunil Pal's humour being a waste of time.
Prabhu: I too had my share of " you are from South?" kind of incidents in IGIDR. Sometimes, when I was bored,I must confess I took advantage of the curiosity and ignorance of my interlocutor to paint this picture of the South as a mystical land completely unlike what he or she had imagined.But that was only sometimes.Madrasis too like to have fun, right?
And don't worry, Sunil Pal being invited to perform is not a common occurence. There's hardly any chance you might have to face the agony of sitting through and then walking away(in a lungi that too :D) from his performance.
Anonymous: Of course, we must! ;)
uhmm... i hope you know when i talked of you being from TamilNataka, it was a joke on myself and the (below) average bombayite...
sk: In your case, the score's deuce... as I believe I have tricked, scared and bored you adequately in return for all your TamilNataka jokes. Btw, all the other Bombayites I have met are real nice people and they all know that Bangalore is in Karnataka :P
/*********************************/
Since so much has been discussed about this issue, I think now would be a good time for all of us to stand up and sing "Hum sub Bhaartiya hain".
But Padma I am really surprised that a reputed company like yours invites third rate comedians like Sunil Paul on its annual party and lets sensitive people like you form their opinion and generalise it ??
Even if in these fifty years, there had not been "wars, revolutions, insurrections, huge swings of business cycles and innumerable events that have brought about irreversible changes in the culture, economy and demographics of most cities" it never justifies any of these jokes.
But is anyone of us free from it ???
If people from the North of Vindhya joke about the way the "languages of the South sound being made" ; people from the South of Vindhya joke about their "assent".
But Padma in one thing I beg to differ. I never heard any jokes about skin colour and I don't know what made you write that. Girls from south(including you)have been pretiest I have ever seen (Please it's geniune. Don't take it otherwise).
But I think the problem lies somewhere else. The problem is now we have opinion about everything and we don't let things go, we have to react and we have to show that we are at the wrong side of the fence. I am really sad that two jokes from a third rate comedian ( Who was invited and must have been paid handsomely !!)made you leave the party.
Although I know you well but I am just asking how anyone else from the south of Vindhya have reacted had it been a joke about some Bihari or some Lalu Prasad Yadav ????
And here I will defend Sunil Paul in the sense that he was not joking about "Madrasis" sitting in Noida but he was joking about them in very much Bangaluru. So,He must be thinking that it would be taken sportingly there.
And I am again sad that someone like you concludes that "The irony is that these jokes are gleefully being broadcast in places which is home to the people whose culture is being insensitively ridiculed". I give you benefit of doubt and hope that in "whose" you are including whole of India. Otherwise I would have fought that with whatever you mean by "your" culture is as much of anyone indian as it is yours.
And I don't know why the flip side is just as bad if Bengal to Gujarat to Punjab is indistinguishably one Hindia.
I leave it to you to react and I hope you will react as someone who was as much fond of kannada songs as of Bhupen Hazarika.
Before you conclude anything let me tell you I am neither from North or South of Vindhya I am from Vindhya itself !
On a more serious note:
sk: Yes,I know. And really, I think at least ALL the Bombayites I know a have a high "cultural quotient" and I've told that to my friends here.
anonymous: I really wish you'd told me who you are. I appreciate the concern you have shown. I want to clarify that this post is about a pang of irritation I felt during the performance which I have already forgotten. I don't live with that kind of feeling everyday as I am fortunate to be surrounded by intelligent and sensitive people. One more point I wish to make is that I do not even mind these jokes if they are based on real and insightful observations. On that day, they weren't.
Also, I didn't walk away from the party, merely the performance- I got up and got myself some food ;)
First, watch Raju instead. To me, he is a creative genius...
Second, jokes are to be treated in right spirit, they are jokes - nothing serious about it. Example -
There are thousands and thousands jokes written on Sardars, I have not come across a sardar who minds it.
Third, everybody has his likings, and dislikings - u may not like a comedian, but labling a stand up comedian as "third rate" is bit too much. Lets spare some of our frustrations and anger for those Salman Khans, and Bipasa Basus.
Hippu: Where do I begin?
I cannot and will not watch Raju instead because there is simply no time!
And I've heard the same refrain over and over again...about how Sardars and even Malyalees do not complain about jokes being made on them....I do not consider that to be reason enough for me not to get irked.
I must also add that this is a really old post about something that happened some time ago and I do not even recall the details well enough anymore...I only vaguely remember being irritated.
Finally, thanks for visitng my blog...I had no idea you knew about it! The next time you visit, don't scare me the way you did this time! :)
hey,
for better entertainment:
a song for bob woolmer
watch the youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYHlrBEu86E
if you like it, pass it on
for lyrics visit
www.hazelnutblue.blogspot.com
and
www.puppymanohar.blogspot.com
i have commented earlier
under "Battle of evermore"
have fun
tragic jazz: Thanks for dropping by! I shall pass on the link to my friends.
To laugh at one's own idiosyncracies one needs right spirit,attitude and a big heart. Sadly, apart from Sardars, we Indians take ourselves too seriously in a supercilious ( anindyarup's comment and your response is a classic example) manner to achieve that!
Laugh ladies and ladas, sometimes laugh at yourselves , laugh at the crudest possible jokes, trust me, you will feel much lighter ( at least relived from the burden you have gathered up all through your lives, phew)!
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