The Power Of Laughter

They have had us in splits within moments; we have nodded our heads constantly, identifying with what they say on stage. They have left us wanting for more, long after their gigs ended. This year, Femina’s humour issue brings you some of the country’s most popular stand-up comics, telling their tales in the vein they know best

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THE CALL of SATIRE SEJAL Bhat

FROM CRACKING JOKES ON HERSELF TO TRYING ALMOST EVERY JOB, SHE TELLS HER STORY

I discovered comedy as a child, although I didn’t consciously know it at the time. I ended up going through a series of education shifts, job changes, and even career switches in my hunt for a true calling.

Growing up, I was considered argumentative and always talked back to my parents. It was a thrill to beat someone in an argument with a perfectly-crafted comeback. At school, I was generally hyperactive throughout classes. I was a small kid who wouldn’t swear and I remember being picked on a fair number of times. I particularly remember this one instance where a kid was poking fun at my last name and I retorted, ‘Please don’t push it or this Bhat will crack’. It got more laughs than the bully’s joke. I remember thinking that if I made fun of myself better than anyone else, I had won. Over the years, comedy became my security blanket, and I could comfortably be the ‘Bhat’ of my own jokes!

As the years rolled on, I pretended to make up ambitions, as a way to convince myself that’s what I wanted to be. One day I was going to be a neurologist, the next, an astronaut or a gynaecologist. My focus even shifted to engineering at IIT. But instead of prepping for the entrance exams, I spent inordinate amounts of time reading everything else but my textbooks, and even listened to music. My mom thought I was always upto something; she just didn’t imagine the innocence of it. This one time she ‘caught’ me on the internet looking at X-rated content. Fortunately, I was committing the lesser crime of downloading pirated music when the ad popped up. Mom, if you’re reading this, I wasn’t watching porn that day!