Artist – soniasmusings

Shubho Mahalaya 2021 – a portrait of Ma Durga by my 6-year-old son.

Z for Zakir Khan

There couldn’t have been a better way to end this series than speaking about the king of stand-up comedy, Zakir Khan. The comedian who has immortalized the punchline ‘sakth launda’ makes humor look effortless. The content of his videos on his YouTube channel makes it fairly clear as to why he receives a standing ovation from the audience after almost every show. This writer, stand-up comedian, poet, and actor is a versatile genius. He has a unique way of delivering his jokes that are high in humor but aren’t entirely devoid of profanity. However, it is his voice modulation that makes them sound ridiculously funny.

Zakir Khan - Source Insider.in — Zakir Khan – Source: Insider.in

Zakir is one of the first few artists with a huge number of shows on Amazon Prime. He is seen performing in two highly popular stand-up specials ‘Haq Se Single’ and ‘Kaksha Gyarvi’. He has also written and acted in a web series called ‘Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare’ along with Kumar Varun. He was one of the judges in Comicstaan Season 2 and very recently, he was also invited to be a part of the show ‘One Mic Stand’ as a mentor.

There is also a sensitive and philosophical side of this multi-talented performer that manifests itself through occasional videos of him performing ‘shayari’ on his YouTube channel. It is also a delight to listen to him discussing the journey of life through the podcast of his show ‘Ummeed’ on Gaana.

This is the last post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge, 2020 based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona’. Thank you for being a part of my April journey this year.

All the posts in this series are available here. As I say bid goodbye to this season of A2Z challenge, I leave you with this cracker of a video that is surely going to make you roll with laughter. Stay safe and take care.

W for Karunesh Tal(W)ar

The primary similarity between the content of stand-up comedian Karunesh Talwar and the Bollywood movie ‘Thappad’ is about making the audience uncomfortable about issues that have been normalized for too long. This cynical writer and comedian believe in choosing humor as a medium to communicate his angst against such happenings while also initiating a conversation around such topics. I discovered Talwar through one of his hard-hitting YouTube videos on women’s safety long back. Back then, he would mostly perform while sitting in one place. It was way different from the usual way of acting out jokes by most of his contemporaries. Over time, the chair has disappeared from the stage but the style of the act in the form of a conversation stays the same. The man with an expressive set of eyes only uses content and voice modulation to get his point across.

Karunesh Talwar - Source: Facebook — Karunesh Talwar – Source: Facebook

During his performance, there are no histrionics on stage, no over-the-top performances and no intention of sugar-coating jokes. He is one of the most sensible, straight-forward and intelligent comedians. He also belongs to the rare group of feminist artists who highlight issues from a woman’s perspective. I identify him as a stand-up humorist who tries to show the mirror to a patriarchal society.

He also cracks jokes about the current political scenario and a few unique topics like the Masterchef show and Bollywood. He made a stellar debut on Amazon Prime with his brilliant stand-up special Pata Nahi Par Bolna Hai’. Talwar’s performance is a classic example of using words as a medium to stir the conscience of its audience while tickling them with humor. Recently, his homemade joke videos on life during quarantine turned out to be a laugh riot.

This is the twenty-third post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona’. Stay tuned to know the details of the content creator(s) getting featured in my post for X tomorrow.

You can read all the posts in this series here. Hope this video brings a smile on your face.

P for Jas(P)reet Singh

Jaspreet Singh, featured as one of NDTV’s rising stars in comedy, can make anyone roll with laughter by his relatable humor punched with the right dose of wit and unique dialog delivery. The fact that his YouTube channel with only eight videos has more than 8.5 lakh subscribers acts as evidence of his huge popularity.

Jaspreet Singh - Source: Events High — Jaspreet Singh – Source: Events High

This Punjabi performer with a whacky sense of humor draws inspiration from the incidents around him. His jokes are centered around the daily happenings in Indian families making them realistic and relevant. His audience instantly feels connected to this desi brand of comedy.

This is the sixteenth post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge under the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I will see you on Monday when I disclose the details of the YouTube creator featured in my post for Q.

You can read the previous posts in this series here. This was the first video uploaded by Singh on his YouTube channel and it still makes me laugh out loud. Have a great weekend.

I for Gupta J(I) aka Appurv Gupta

Appurv Gupta is more famous as the indomitable Gupta J(I) in the comedy circuit. A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon his YouTube channel that had a host of his rib-tickling stand-up videos. The content felt relatable because he spoke about the corporate world and his life experiences in the funniest possible way. In 2014, CNN IBN had lauded him as one of the top 20 Best stand-up comedians to look out for. With time, he has matured as a comedian with his content getting better, making him a widely popular choice as a national level performer. Yet what makes him unique is that he is unabashedly comfortable cracking self-deprecating jokes. The way Appurv Gupta has re-branded himself as Gupta Ji to become one of the most sought out stand-up comedians in the country deserves to be analyzed as a B-school case study.

Appurv Gupta - source dfordelhi.in — Appurv Gupta – source: dfordelhi.in

In India, we see only a handful of comedians interact with a live audience with elan and humor. Gupta Ji has aced this game by sticking to inoffensive humor. Also, a special mention to the series of brilliant interviews he showcased on his channel including the iconic Padma Shri Professor Dr. H.C. Verma and Mathematician Dr. R.D. Sharma.

This is the 9th post in the Blogchatter A2Z series under the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona’. Stay tuned to know the name of the content creator getting featured in my post for J tomorrow.

You can read all the posts here. This is one of the older videos by Gupta Ji that made the audience roll with laughter.

G for Abijit (G)anguly

I discovered Abijit Ganguly through the controversy of Kapil Sharma lifting one of his jokes for his show without giving Ganguly any credit. I found a bunch of his stand-up comedy videos on his YouTube channel. But it is in the last few months that I have become a huge admirer of his strong content. Straight faced dialog delivery with expressive eyes, his jokes hit a solid punch on the face of our hypocrite society. He is opinionated and is often trolled for his bold views but keeps getting better at taking those offensive comments in his stride to create an impactful content again.

Abijit Ganguly (Source: @AbijitG on Twitter)

Married to a Gujarati, this Bengali performer speaks humorously about mundane things like his cross-cultural marriage, the concept of millennial couples, funny side of friendships just like he manages to effortlessly switch over to the current political situation in the country. His words make much more sense than most of the politicians in power today. Watch the video at the end of my post for confirmation

This is the 7th post in the #BlogchatterA2Z series under the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I hope to see you tomorrow when I disclose the name of the comedian featured in my post for H.

You can read all the posts in this challenge here. Have fun and don’t forget to laugh!

Favorite Indian Detectives – Janardan Maity by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

Who –

Janardan Maity

Creator –

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

Novels in the series –

Penumbra

Here falls the shadow

The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira

About the Detective –

Janardan Maity, like Byomkesh Bakshi (by Saradindu Bandopadhyay) is not quite fond of the word detective attached to his name. Prakash Ray, an out-of-luck journalist, who is also the narrator of Maity’s adventures, has a chance encounter with this unusually intelligent and observant man at the birthday party of Ray’s uncle, Rajendra Mukherjee. Mukherjee introduces Maity as one of his closest friends who has never lost a game of chess. After the host and his second wife get murdered, all the guests gathered for the birthday party of the host turn out to be suspects in the eyes of the police. It is Maity and his logical reasoning that helps solve this mystery putting the murderer behind the bars. The climax of the novel brings back memories of Satyajit Ray’s Feluda who was also in the habit of assimilating all the parties involved in a case before revealing the truth and the identity of the killer.