The Humour In Our Differences

Meet the Men and Women Who Have Created Caricatures of Their Own and Become Media Sensations. We’ve Laughed at Their Jokes... Now, Let’s Feel Pride at How Their Own Communities Are Laughing the Hardest!

- Ananya Ghosh and Samreen Tungekar

SOCIAL MEDIA is a great place to explore contradictions. For instance, on the one hand, you’ll find Sardarjis fuming about Santa-Banta jokes and petitioning the Supreme Court to have them banned. On the other hand, you’ll find Sardarjis sharing Santa-Banta jokes and petitioning the Supreme Court to concentrate on serious cases.

Both sides have a point, but if you ask us, we’re all for sharing Santa-Banta jokes. And Sindhi jokes. And Bong jokes. And Mallu jokes. And Tam jokes. Because if there’s one thing that unites most Indians, it’s the ability to spot the funny in the real. Never mind political correctness. Taking that thought forward, we’ve found three cultural clichés who are great at showing us who we are.

TO BONG OR NOT TO BONG

SAWAN DUTTA

The huge Godfather poster assures me that I have reached the right house. After all, what is a Bong without Godard and Godfather? So I am expecting to meet a Bong boudi in cotton sari, sleeveless blouse, huge red bindi, and monkey cap, holding a turmeric-stained khunti (a steel spatula without which no Bong can cook, and which doubles as a weapon against husbands and strangers at the door). Instead,

I am welcomed by a girl in a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a hoodie. She hardly looks 45 years old, and definitely doesn’t look anything like the Bong in my head. Neither does she sound like one. “I have lived my whole life in Delhi, so in real life, I am more Jat than Bong,” she laughs.