www.newindianexpress.com READ TUESDAY SHARE newindianexpress.com FOLLOW Mail us: [email protected] 3 FEATURES 10� 10� 2017 CHENNAI Exaggeration & a bit DIGEST of absurdity...his new recipe for laughter ● Roshne Balasubramanian o get a good platform, stage time and audienc- es who appreciate his/her work is the dream of every standup comic. Karthi Durai, a city T based standup comic-cum-social media strate- gist, who was recently part of the second edition of Kaapi Chronicles, a performance evening, concurs. “It doesn!t matter how many people you perform for, it’s the stage time that matters the most!” claims the 23-year-old who hails from the ‘sub-continent’ 'vadi. “By the time I finish my work, open mic events in the city, head back home and knock the door, it’s 2 am al- ready and my father mistakes me for the milkman,” Cycles parked at a metro station in the city chuckles the engineering graduate. In a tete-a-tete Convocation at Hindustan Univ with Karthi, we find out about his love for observa- Hindustan University conducted its 8th tional comedy, taking digs at dog aficionados and his convocation ceremony recently where more dream to make a career out of standup comedy. than 1,000 students received their degree )ust like a majority of engineering graduates, certificates! The chief guest, S Christopher, You ride their two Karthi was jobless for about eight months. “Then secretary, Department of De"ence (R&D) and I joined ‘Small -all’, a digital marketing firm, run by Chennai Memes,” he shares. A /ouTube video of chairman, DRDO, was presented with the standup comic Kenny Sebastian, which he stumbled honorary doctorate! The guests of honour upon about a year ago, paved way for Karthi to try his were Mecca Rafeeque Ahammed, chairman, hands in the art. “I am a very humorous person by na- -arida Group of Com$anies, Alex Jacob, wheels free of cost ture. When I saw that video of Kenny, I was amazed structural engineer, United Consultant, and and amused. +he premise of the comedy was very re- Narain Karthikeyan, -ormula One Racer! latable and humorous and that’s when I decided to try it,” he recalls. � Now, cycle every day to your office from the metro station at Since then Karthi has been a regular at open mics and has done over eight shows, including two in Alli- Vadapalani, Shenoy Nagar and Nehru Park SMS ance 1rancais of Madras. “The initial shows bombed and no body cracked at my � Kochi-based thi!s "icycle #lub recently launched its services formats jokes. It made me wonder in #hennai, and is planning to e$pand to all metro stations what I was doing wrong and that’s when I began figuring out the base of the art. In- To know about the club: cidentally, &+anglish Com- ● Anushree Madhavan look after maintenance of the cycle. “The me- abc to 96455111"" edy’ organised a work- chanics are right next to the station. In fact, it is shop for newbie standup one of the major factor for me to set up the rack To join the club: comics and it helped me hile CMRL connects people in any station,” he says adding that they are name*address*e- develop a premise for my from one end of the city looking at Alandur, Koyambedu and St +homas routines,” he explains. to another, an issue every- Mount stations next for installing the racks, mail id*pro&ession to He loves taking digs at one faces is the commute for which he has ordered more cycles. “We are 9645511155 anything and everything and W from the station to their looking at making the total number of cycles in it all comes from observation TCS wins Air India quiz workplace. +o solve this, Chennai to 60.” To take a bicycle: says Karthi who also likes to Athirup MS of Kochi-based Athi’s (icycle Club, As per the norms for bicycle sharing, it has rack code< space write. “I wanted to become a The 17th Air India Tourism Quiz was held a free SMS-based club, has now installed 10 to be a unisex cycle. “The seats are adjustable. director. /ou know that boy I observe$ see recently at Hotel Radisson Blu Resort, cycles each at Nehru >ark, Shenoy Nagar and Only five cycles are kept outside whereas the >bicycle-ID to who is a part of every cul- Temple Bay, Mamallapuram. Jayakanthan R ;adapalani metro stations as a pilot project in other five are in a storeroom in the station. It 9645511155 tural activity in school and and then add and 8ikhram Ravi from T#S won the first the city. comes out in circulation,” he shares. +e.g, npk 3600) college? I was that boy! I used my absurdit% prize of two free air tic3ets to 9ashington “I started this project in 2011 by providing a Athirup seems unfazed by defaulters. “+he to write and direct plays in to the premise# cycling rack for commuters in Kochi and +hiru- cause is bigger and the expenses are minimal. school and college,” he nar- DC! MV Joshi, regional sirector (coordinator( vananthapuram and got tremendous response. I Among 100 users, there will be a few defaulters To return a bicycle: rates. ‘But one can become a There's so Southern Region Air India, , Rambabu, then expanded the project to Kochi Metro too,” and we cannot avoid it. When a user delays in rack code< space director even at the age of 40 much that general manager (commercial) Southern he shares. 1or the last two years he has conduct- giving back the cycle we call and talk to them. >bicycle-ID to da’, said Karthi’s father and happens around &egion, R Srinivasan, regional sales manager, ed a lot of projects in various metro stations on -e also change the number on the locks fre- he took up to a conventional and Air India officials/other sponsors were trial basis. quently to avoid misuse.” 9/46361166 job. “His concern was genu- us from which present. Impressed with his work for the Kochi Met- Compared to other cities, +e.g, snr 3600) ine and he wanted me to have we can take cue ro stations, the director of Kochi Metro intro- metro users in Chennai a steady job. So, I did what’s —Karthik Durai, duced Athirup to the CMRL team. “According are fewer, and yes, he best. But, standup comedy is Stand-up comic to my proposal to CMRL, they will not have to was concerned about my passion and I do it to my pay me anything. Instead I will be paying rental it too, initially. “But I Rack fullest potential,” he says. to CMRL through the project,” he explains. +he also realised that metro +alking about his love for racks, which are portable, have advertorial was introduced for car codes 3600- observational comedy, he shares, “Any standup space through which they get their revenue. users, to reduce the comic who has been an engineer will start with a “That’s our only source of revenue. n the other number of cars on 3629 set about engineering. 1or example, if Mike Ty- two cities, companies like HDFC, LIC and othes the roads. And son was in Chennai, and he wouldn!t go to box- MNCs have used our space,” he adds. Chennai has a Bicycle-IDs ing class; he will only go to a special class!” Introduced on ;ijaya Dasami (September 30), good public quips Karthi. the project has 10-15 daily users. /ou don!t have transport Nehru Park But his recent observation is about his to pay a paisa to use the cycle. “We have a very system like npk equation with dogs. “If I see a dog any- simple mechanism. +he user will have to send local trains where in the vicinity, I will not walk. I will the station code via ,MS to us and we will give and buses,” take an Ola Share and go around the city! them a confirmation call. +hen we send them he points out. +his realisation has become my new idea the cycle code. Dach cycle has a number lock, “The CMRL and I am working on developing different and the particular number will be sent in the had plans of routines from it, with a mix of my absur- SMS,” he says. introducing dity and a pinch of exaggeration,” says First executive programme +he registration is done through the first cycles, but Karthi whose favourite city based standup The School of Policy and Governance SMS after which the user is told all the rules. commuters Shenoy Nagar comic is )agan Krishnan. “He solves com- conducted its first series of e.ecutive “We have three main conditions. Firstly, they were vary snr edy like math and knows how to work it out. programme in partnership with the should return it within 24 hours. Secondly, they of paying a I love his style!” he adds. should lock it after return and lastly, they must registration Ask him about the open mic scene in Chen- University of New South 9ales recently in restrict themselves to using the cycles only 100 and rental fee. nai and he says that having a dedicated club the city! Political e.$erts, communications hours a month,” he explains and emphasises +hat was one rea- for all the standup comic artists is the need of strategists and digital communications that they are mainly for short commutes of son we got approved. the hour. “Almost a year back, the open mic scene experts participated.