By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-11-19 03:24:36
For long, laughter is not tolerated by a section of the so-called minders of society and stand-up comedians have been at the receiving end of the ire of these groups. Continuing this trend, they have now targeted comic Vir Das for his monologue Two Indias at the John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts in Washington DC. Das is said to have brought India's prestige down by making 'snide' comments on issues of national importance in a foreign country, and they are baying for his blood.
But what Das has put in his own inimitable style in the monologue has been reported, analyzed, discussed and debated upon in all forms of media in India and abroad. Take for instance his reference to the general people not getting any information about PM Cares ("I come from an India where every time we get information we are always available to care for the PM but we can't seem to get any information on PMCares"). What is wrong with this? The opaqueness of the use of PMCares fund, which is not under RTI, has been a matter of criticism and intense discussion in all forms of media.
Then his take on rapes ( "I come from an India where we worship women during the day and yet gang-rape them at night") or on Muslim-bashing after a loss to Pakistan in cricket ("I come from an India where we bleed blue every time we play green but every time we lose to green we turn orange all of a sudden") and rising population ("I come from an India where we scoff at sexuality and yet f**k till we reach a billion people") are all excellent and go on to show the double standards.
As Vir Das said in the monologue, "I come from an India where we laugh so loudly in the comfort of our homes that you can hear us through the walls, and yet I come from an India where we break down the walls of a comedy club". It is a pity that we do that.