HUMOUR'S HIGH PRIESTESSES

As the fifth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel rolls out, a female comic gives her take on the show, and on doing standup in India

- ADITI MITTAL

I get off the phone with my stage manager who is instructing me to come in early for the show that day to do a sound check. My nephew who has been quietly watching me all afternoon as I go over my notes for my act finally asks his mother, “Mom, what does Aditi masi do?”

My mother, sitting across the room, cocks her ear to hear my answer. I may have been travelling the world doing standup for nearly a decade now, but she is still not sure of what I do.

My sister ruffles his hair. “She’s a standup comedian,” she tells him. “You know, like in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” His eyes light up. He has watched that show along with her. He is six, so I am pretty sure that he does not understand most of it, but the show’s immaculate retro candy-pop cinematography and aesthetic has him hooked.