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.
