Cafe Conversations X

[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 

http://www.newslaundry.com/2014/02/25/management-classics-made-easy/)

#CafeConversations

********** 

(Follow us for updates on - https://www.facebook.com/cafehangouts and visit http://cafeconversations.in/)