8 THE TIMES OF , BENGALURU Cult FOLLOWING SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015

SHELF ESTEEM ART MUSIC FILM PERFORMANCE LIT FEST CLASSIC REVISITED: The STARTING YOUNG: As part BUSK AWAY: Tuesdays are KIDS AT PLAY: Bhoomija THINK TANK: It's a fine n International Music and Arts of their Young Talent when you get your guitars presents Jackfruit Festival mix of performances, Patterson is Society will be screening Kaadu, the 1973 Program, Alliance Francaise will be out and sing away at the acoustics- -Strings Attached. Performed only by discussions, and workshops at the 2-day National Award-winning movie directed by showcasing the works of art student themed BuskYa Nights at Opus, hosted by kids, the program features a Jugalbandi Litmus Festival. Speakers include Anand Girish Karnad that is based on a novel of the comfort Prasad KV in an art exhibition titled Meta Josh and Saahas. Opus, Chakravarthy and Taala Vaadya kutcheri. MLR Patwardhan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, same name by Srikrishna Alanahalli. NGMA, Alliance Francaise, Vasanth Nagar, April Layout, Palace Cross Road, April 21, Convention Centre: JP Nagar, 7th Phase, Devdutt Pattanaik etc. Hummingtree, Palace Road, April 19, 11am reading 22 -May 12, all day 8.30pm April 24 and 25, 7.30pm Indiranagar, April 18 and 19, 10am onwards After self-publishing his first book, The Rozabal Line, Ashwin Sanghi is the [email protected] best-selling author of arlier this month, comedians Chanakya’s Chant and Sanjay Manaktala, Sundeep stand-up The Krishna Key Rao, Praveen Kumar, Naveen Richard, Kenny Sebastian and Kanan Gill took to the stage at What are you Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, one draws big laughs reading right of the biggest venues for live entertainment in Bengaluru. More than 800 Sangamesh.Menasinakai@ morous incidents from everyday now? E Being Mortal: people turned up to watch the six comics – timesgroup.com life and moral messages through who, only a few years ago, were drawing 15-20 the show Andu-Indu, a daily Medicine and people at small cafes and bars like Urban Sol- annada stand-up comedy three-hour show on Radio city,” What Matters in ace and Take Five. has always been a popu- she says. the End by ATUL English stand-up comedy is big today, not lar genre of entertain- There are around 50 comedi- GAWANDE just in Bengaluru but in most Indian metros, ment. And over the past ans of varying popularity, reach K Which book, author or series and this is nothing short of an explosion be- few years, the number of shows and stature performing Kannada cause today’s vibrant comedy scene was prac- and artists has gone through the comedy today. “Let humor spread do you reach out for when tically nonexistent even four years ago. While roof. Stand-up comedy shows, everywhere. But low quality of you just want a comfort the success of YouTube channels like The Vi- which are known as ‘Nage Habba’ humor is not acceptable. When read? ral Fever and AIB gave comedy a solid push, in Kannada, are attracting people we were established in this sector, JAMES PATTERSON, particularly with Indians discovering the rich vein of com- of all ages and are popular in ru- several comedians followed suit. his Alex Cross series. edy in everyday life, the pioneering work done ral and urban areas. They draw But many of them could not sus- by these comics in creating new material and crowds across genders, caste, tain their careers because they Which is the a new market is commendable. Many of the class and status – so much so that peppered their acts with obscen- weirdest book city’s successful comics started their careers comedians have become celebri- ity,” says B Pranesh. in front of small crowds at venues such as ties in the league of politicians, Bargur says one of the prob- you have read, Urban Solace, which created regular open mic sportspersons or film stars. lems faced by established come- and why was it nights (a format where anyone can perform) B Pranesh, who is well-known dians is few people write their weird? and later, regular comedy nights with comics by his stage name ‘Junior Beechi’ own original material, and there Dancing Lessons like Sanjay Manaktala and Sundeep Rao. “Our Thumbs-up: and has been in the field since the are always copy-cats who think for the Advanced aim was to support creative self-expression, Comedian Sanjay 1990s, says what started out as a nothing of re-using material in Age by and comedy was just one of the forms we sup- Manaktala performs hobby has given him enormous written by successful artistes. BOHUMIL HRABAL. The entire ported along with music and poetry. Our com- at Jagriti popularity and has enabled him Pranesh, Mahamani and Bar- book is one unending sentence! edy shows, which started around 2012, are to visit 20 countries as a peform- gur say they perform between er. “Though I am from Ganga- four and six Who are your favorite vathi, a taluk headquarter in shows eve- contemporary writers, and , I have enthralled ry week your favourite writers of all citizens of Bengaluru and many all time? cities of the across Among thriller writers my world. For Karna- How Bengaluru became favourites are DAN BROWN, people to taka. JAMES PATTERSON, THOMAS enjoy my shows, HARRIS, JEFFREY DEAVER, the STIEG LARSSON and MARTIN only (Clockwise CRUZ SMITH. I love non-fiction criteria from top) and authors that I enjoy reading is they Mahamani, include STEPHEN HAWKING, COMEDY CENTRAL should B Pranesh, BRIAN WEISS and GARY know the Sudha Bargur ZUKAV. Among Indian authors, I among the most popular today, though the ernment officials, feminists, sexists, misogy- language am a fan of SALMAN RUSHDIE beginning was rough. I remember times when The number of nists, students, men, women. Just about eve- of humour but I also enjoy reading works of there were all of two audience members and ryone. Yet, people like Raja believe you can be and a little bit of DEVDUTT PATTANAIK, S these guys would still perform,” says Perry funny without being crass or “using cuss- Kannada.” comedy shows in the HUSSAIN ZAIDI and Menzies, the owner of Urban Solace. words every two minutes.” “You have to work Sudha Bargur, who gave When it “We were like salesmen. We would go to city has exploded, very hard on your material, and it comes with up a secure job as a college comes to RAMACHANDRA GUHA. My all- venues and beg them to give us space to per- years of experience. And in India, you don’t lecturer to take up comedy as a content, time favourite books are form,” says Manaktala, who worked in the have to reach out for sexist jokes or make fun full-time profession, says people most of the Autobiography of a Yogi by New York comedy scene – the mecca of stand- with dozens of of community stereotypes – there is so much are taking to comedy to relieve established come- PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA, up in the world – before moving to Bengaluru matter just in our newspapers. Life itself stress. Stand-up comedian dians incorporate morality and Midnight’s Children by Salman in 2010. He credits two events for the success stand-up acts and is so absurd here that you have a rich Basavaraj Mahamani of ethics into their acts, and they Rushdie and the Mahabharata of Indian stand-up comedy: the opening of The source of material right there!” he Yadgir says the crowd usually perform observational Retold by C RAJAGOPALACHARI Comedy Store in Mumbai and the advent of open mics every month says. that comes for his and social comedy with some Indian comedy channels on YouTube. “Today, But it’s worth remembering shows is often ur- amount of political satire. How- Which was every single bar or pub owner in that Indian comedy is very, very bane and sophisti- ever, they have to vary the act the last book wants a comedy night, and bigger venues have Laughter Carnival’ on the first Sunday of young – and most comics are cated. according to the kind of audi- that made opened up to comedy as well,” says Manak- every month at its 130-seater Rangasthala au- just honing their craft and find- FM channels ence. “If the crowd consists of you laugh? tala, who does at least 20 shows a month. ditorium with two or three shows a day – and ing original voices. In a sense, have given a huge college students, we cannot start Yes Prime According to rough estimates, there are at most of them are sold out. Comics Praveen the sudden propulsion of com- boost to Kannada away with moral lessons. We have Minister by least 35-40 comedy shows a month in the city, Kumar, Sathish Perumal, Raja Sekhar, Avi- edy into the big league of enter- comedy, says Bar- to weave it in subtly with big JONATHON including more than 20 open mic nights and nash Agarwal and Umesh Somani from tainment could do a disservice to gur. “I present hu- doses of laughter,” says Bargur. LYNN and at least 10-12 ticketed shows – not counting the group Punch Tantraa usually per- the craft itself, as comics reach for Pranesh affirms that family-fo- charity events, private shows and corpo- form at this stand-up show, and bring lower and lower hanging fruit in order cused acts are the most popular. ANTONY JAY rate events. The other interesting devel- in their own fans. to please the crowd, or for lack of time to “I talk about relationships such Comic culture If you have to get the Indian opment is that along with pubs and Bengaluru “When they first perfect their material. as parent-child and husband-wife. Comedy had been prime minister to read one cafes, venues that were previously as- comic Sundeep approached Indian-American comic Rajiv Satyal, who I try to use the platform to part of drama and sociated with “serious culture” – theatre, Rao is India’s only me, I was a lit- performed in Bangalore recently, says the strengthen these human rela- book, which one would it be music, art, dance, indie film screenings visually impaired tle wary be- scene is still young. “The upside of a developed literary programmes tions,” he explains. and why? – have embraced comedy. Chowdaiah is stand-up artiste cause ours is scene like America’s is that I made my mis- for centuries, and there is a rich Many of the comedians now CHANAKYA’S CHANT to see if probably the best example, but others a family au- takes on small stages. In a developing scene tradition of comedy in Kannada have their own shows on TV he can correlate any of the around the city like Rangasthala at the dience. I like India, when you’re offered enormous op- culture. Veteran Kannada channels, and demand for their characters in it to ones from his Rangoli Metro Arts Centre, Alliance watched one portunities too early, you can make enormous writers like TP Kailasam, Rashi, dates is increasing considerably. own life. Francaise, MLR Convention Hall or two of their mistakes on enormous stages. I’m not saying Beechi, and AR Mitra promoted Pranesh confesses that at times, and Jagriti Theatre in Whitefield, shows to make the AIB Roast was a mistake but clearly some- comedy through their writing he performs two or three shows Name one now regularly host comedy acts. sure the hu- thing was lost in translation,” says Satyal. and lectures. Veteran theater on the same day, while Bargur book that is a “Doing comedy in front of a mour did not Manaktala agrees. “You have to learn how personality Master Hirannaiah says that the remuneration she favourite but live audience is not easy. Your ma- cross a line. I’m to ride a bike before you can do stunts. Some gave dignity to comedy through gets from a single show is at times most people terial has to be top-class, you have not being moral- comics think they can pull off stuff on sensi- at par with her entire monthly his dramatic writing. There are to be an excellent actor and be istic, but it tive topics like race and gender because Amer- salary as a college lecturer. would be dedicated little magazines for ready to improvise,” says Jag- should not be ican comics [like Chris Rock or Aziz Ansari] Pranesh, who has performed surprised to comedy in Kannada. However, dish Raja, founder of Jagriti. crass. Humour do that. They don’t realize that these guys have at Bengaluru-based software know you’d “Everyone needs comic relief. can be used to been doing this stuff for 30 years. In a way they the trend of stand-up comedy is companies like Infosys and even read it... Everyone loves to have a laugh. convey social have earned the right to be offensive, and there relatively young, having started Wipro, which have a cosmopoli- Lolita by We have big groups coming in messages. I is a lot of thought behind their jokes. If you life about 15-18 years ago. It tan crowd, enjoy his brand of VLADIMIR NABOKOV in on comedy nights, some don’t approve haven’t put that kind of work into your jokes found encouragement from the comedy. “There have been a few straight from the workplace. of things like and just want to raise a few laughs by being non-literary crowd, which was cases when we have been able to Which book would you ask They want to sit back and relax, that AIB Roast,” offensive, the audience knows and is going to cut off from literary events and change someone’s mind about people not to read, if you and laughing is a great way to do says Rao, sup- boo you out,” he says. theater. committing suicide. Yes, humor believed in doing such things has that power,” he says. that,” says Raja. pressing a shudder. “Perhaps the biggest difference between — B Pranesh of course? For UA Vasanth Rao, Chief Of course, it is American and Indian humor is that the former All books should be read. It is then PRO of BMRCL who is also a very difficult to say is self-deprecating,” says Satyal, who believes left to the reader to decide if the (somewhat unlikely) curator of where the “line” is. By Indians are sensitive to other Indians seeming Guru-Shishya Parampara in comedy covers are too far apart. cultural programming at the its very nature, comic to criticise them. “I played the viola in an or- he Guru-Shishya tradition, a common practice in field like music and Rangoli Metro Arts Centre, says satire is bound to offend chestra for seven years; there’s a principle in Tclassical dance, exists in the field of stand-up comedy too. Beechi, a comedy is a performing art like someone – politicians, music that the closer you are to a note without well-known humourist who died in 1980, had named his house ‘Timma’, Which was any other. Rangoli hosts a ‘Mini the government, gov- hitting it, the worse it sounds.” which was a common character in his jokes. Beechi’s disciple Pranesh the last named his house ‘Beechi Nilaya’ to honor his guru. Mahamani, who has book you The sudden propulsion of comedy into the big league of entertainment could do a disservice to the craft itself, as been inspired by Pranesh and has emerged as a successful comedian in just comics reach for lower and lower hanging fruit in order to please the crowd, or for lack of time to perfect their material his own right, has named his house ‘Beechi Pranesh Nilaya.’ couldn’t finish? The Satanic Verses

Which Robots, Outer Space, and book do you remember most vividly Thejaswi Udupa A large portion of Kannada the Bhoosnurmath remained the Rajya Vijnana Parishat. Kannada’s genre fiction gets consumed in only one producing anything of He may even have influenced from your childhood? f the Jnanpith Awards are magazines. Sudha, Taranga, May- significance, both in terms of qual- people like SL Bhyrappa, whose Treasure Island by Robert Louis reputation as a used to measure the literary ura, and Tushara have for many ity and quantity. Soon enough, his latest effort Yaana had a strong Stevenson worth of a language, Kannada years now been most Kannada science fiction was pretty much whiff of Bhoosnurmath to it. ‘literary’ Iwith eight winners is second households’ chief source of infor- the only one available in book- Bhoosnurmath did his work in an All books should only to Hindi. Bengali and Malay- mation and literature, both high- stores too, with novels like Man- era when great works of science language means alam, the other languages that brow and low. These magazines vantara, Operation UFO becoming fiction were not easily accessible. be read. It is then share the reputation of being ‘liter- have carried everything from seri- minor hits. Over the past few years, that has left to the reader to not many know ary,’ are reasonably behind with alizations of novels like SL Bhy- Bhoosnurmath was strictly in changed dramatically in India. The five apiece. rappa’s Parva, a historical retell- the Fred Hoyle and Jayant Narl- best and greatest of science fiction decide if the covers are of its forays into A fallout of this reputation is ing of the Mahabharata stripped ikar school of science fiction. That is all easily available at the click of too far apart. that one does not get to hear much of all its fantastical elements, to is, they were essentially men of a mouse. Science fiction is now genre writing – about genre writing in Kannada. stories and novels featuring black science – maybe preachers of sci- slowly creeping into mainstream It is not like Tamil, where authors magic, sex, murders, violence and ence is a better phrase – who wrote Kannada pop culture too. The story including like Rajesh Kumar and Sujata are more black magic. However, social science fiction stories and novels of Upendra’s movie Super owes a widely known and even have an dramas that occupy the valley be- because it helped them get people great deal to ideas that Bhoosnur- science fiction aura of coolth thanks to publish- tween literary fiction and genre thinking about science. Even when math first put forth. If a book like ing houses like fiction/pulp dominate – possibly wrote under the pen name Rabhoo. he wrote for magazines, around Ian McDonald’s River of Gods (a Blaft. But it because the most voracious read- He passed away earlier this week half of Bhoosnurmath’s output cyberpunk novel set in India of the would be a mis- ers of these magazines are women. in unfortunate obscurity. The only was actually short articles about 2040s) shows up in Kannada soon, take to assume The most popular examples of Kannada science fiction that pre- concepts in science (and some- and there is no reason why it that Kannada genre writing in Kannada are es- dates Bhoosnurmath’s stories in times, unfortunately, pseudo- should not, it would owe as much does not have a sentially socio-dramas crossing magazines is probably science too.) A lot of what Bhoos- credit to the pioneering efforts of tradition of pulp over into either crime or fantasy Gopalakrishna Adiga’s transla- nurmath did outside of his sci-fi Bhoosnurmath as it would to just because you (which usually means black mag- tions of Jules Verne. Bhoosnur- output all fit in with his image as other factors like accessibil- don’t see such ic). Science fiction is a rarity. math’s stories became so popular one of the state’s foremost evange- ity and affordability of books widely avail- Pretty much the only person that magazines soon started releas- lists of science – be it his tenure as world-class science fiction. able in bus stands writing science fiction in Kannada ing special issues centered on his the principal of Karnataka Sci- The writer is an independ- and magazines was Rajashekhar fiction. A few other authors did try ence College in Dharwad, or his ent journalist. Reach him railway stations. Bhoosnurmath (in pic), who also – Sanjay Havanur for example, but long-standing association with the on Twitter @udupendra