[We freshly had the pleasure to brew a conversation with Shovon
Chowdhury at Café Conversations. Shovon is a Delhi-based amateur-humorist. His
blog India Update,
has horrified nearly 200,000 people (and still counting). He has completed one
novel, The Competent Authority which has gained number of readers and a lot of
appreciation from people across the globe. Have your share of laughter and fun with
Shovon Chowdhury & Café Conversations.]
In Conversation with Shovon Chowdhury
CC: How does it feel to ‘live in a universe of
infinite possibilities’ (quoting India Update)?
SC: It's
awe-inspiring. Forget about the universe, even in India, it seems like anything
is possible. From potency tests to buffalo hunts, to the IPS officer holding
two positions who regularly corresponds with himself, the news in India is
richly bizarre. TarunTejpal wrote an apology letter which reads like an Oscar
acceptance speech. The UP government is giving bicycles to the police because
they’re eco-friendly, even though criminals continue to use motorized
transport. Aamir Khan wears bowler hats. Parliamentarians do porn and pepper
spray. Mamata Banerjee suffers convulsions every time she drinks Red Label tea.
Okay, I made the last one up. But how would you know? Truth beats fiction every
time.
In
India we live by a strange corollary of Murphy’s Law – everything that can
happen, will happen.
There’s
no better proof than the news. To appreciate a universe of infinite
possibilities, all you have to do is open up the Times of India every morning.
I would particularly recommend pages 13 and 14. That’s
where all the good stuff is.
CC: The kind of humor that you use is
tricky. Some do not fall in the trap or some just don’t get it. How do you
react to that bunch of people?
SC: Actually
any kind of humor is tricky. Sometimes you score, and sometimes you fail
horribly. I’ve done stories that I thought were pure genius, and they sank
without a trace. Then I present ‘Warren Buffet hires Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law’
and everyone goes nuts. So I would never react to people if I fail to score. It
happens. If you’re trying to be funny, rejection is part of the territory.
There will be times when people will say, “God, what an idiot!” Sometimes they
will want to harm you. This is why I am in awe of stand-up comedians. Their
audiences often have objects close at hand, including vases and cutlery.
CC: Shovon, tell us one thing that annoys you the most?
SC: Lawyers
in politics. They should only appear in public if the audience has eggs.
CC: Is there a quote you particularly like
or that you live by?
SC: The
Bengali satirist Parashuramonce said, ‘Sometimes a slim cane won’t do. What you
need is a big bamboo.’ Another
is more of a shout-out from a song than a quote - ‘Call it what you want,’ by
Foster The People. I feel like jumping up and down and yelling that a lot.
CC: You know how to trick people into humor
and how important it is to the readers. So what would you call yourself- A
producer (of humor) or an appreciator?
SC: They
go handin hand. If I don’t check out other humorists, how will I steal from
them? Most jokes are copies of each other. It’s just the context that changes.
In my case it’s become a bit of an involuntary process. For example, I did not
start my novel ‘The Competent Authority’ thinking, let’s do something funny. It
just came out that way. I maintain that the future India portrayed in the book
is completely logical, down to the last detail. One thing leads to another. For
example, as drone technology becomes cheaper and cheaper, eventually the Income
Tax Department will send drones to
your house to collect advance tax. It’s just a matter of time. They will locate
you through your Aadhaar Card, to which they will soon add a smart chip, so
that the government knows both your location and your bank balance at all
times. They will probably have smiley faces on them to stop you from freaking
out. They will enter your house through any available open window.
I
do this thing called ‘The Trilokpuri Incident’, on Facebook, which is like that
too. The anti-Sikh riots in 1984 were so horrible, most of us try to blank it
out. Many young people don’t even know about it. So I used a mad, strange
person as a narrator. You see the story though his eyes. You keep wanting to
shake him, or perhaps give him a cup of tea and a biscuit, but he is what he
is. And he seems to be the only one who cares. So
actually, you’re right about ‘tricking people into humor’. I try to trick
people into thinking about things they avoid, using humor as bait. It’s a nasty
job, but someone’s got to do it.
CC: Keeping in mind the present state of
country what according to you is the easiest and the best way to get attention?
SC: Doing
an item number.
(Check out recent posts by Shovon Chowdhury at-http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/blink/mp-fires-stinger-missile-in-parliament-takes-out-roof/article5732945.ece and
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