Humour is the best way to deal with stress. It is true for doctors also as Bengaluru-based ENT specialist Dr Jagdish Chaturvedi comes to town this weekend with his show Doctors Do Comedy . Besides his 25-minute act, the show features nine other medicos presenting comedy. Having done around 300 shows, he is no stranger to the field of stand-up, the genre which he claims helped him to curb his burnout and to relieve the stress. “Since it helped me, I wanted to create a platform for doctors to try it out. Unlike dance and theatre, which requires vigorous training, stand-up comedy is about having a knack to convey things and being comfortable on stage. It is an easier format to adapt.”
Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi
In his initiative, ‘Doctors do Comedy’ he is roping in doctors and medical students from different cities to try stand-up acts after a one-day workshop conducted by him. In this four-city tour, the Bengaluru show was a cracker with audience laughing out loud. “Eight medicos from Hyderabad and other surrounding districts have registered for the Hyderabad show,” he informs adding the show will move to Mumbai and Delhi next week.
The doctor jokes are not different from the usual funny lines that we hear from stand-up comedians. Dr Jagadish’s jokes are from the medical field and some on relationships and traffic. A patient’s interaction with doctor or a doctor’s fear of getting beaten up and how to deal with it or our obsession to turn to google for medical advice. “Gynaecologists talk about gynaecology issues and how a labour room looks similar to a horror movie scene as everyone is screaming,” he smiles.
The participating medicos have prepared their own content and Dr Jagdish will only modify it based on his experience of being in the field. “My job is to only give a structure to their punch lines, remove things which are not funny and give feedback on their presentation skills. Also by opening up to more doctors, perception of the audience will also change that the doctors are not these boring, serious money-sucking guys. They are fun and one can have a good laugh with them.”
Having done theatre since he was seven, Dr Jagdish is comfortable on stage. With a busy clinical schedule, he couldn’t continue theatre due to the three-month rehearsal period that’s required. “I moved to stand-up because I don’t need to rehearse with other people. It is just about me and how I plan my time; It is also easy since I can practice at home or even on a flight.”
It was a surprise for him to find that most patients who came to him after watching his comedy (“My friends would say, ‘ Iss joker ke paas kaun aayega’ .’’) “Of late, the perception towards doctors among public is negative due to various reasons. When patients see a fun-loving guy cracking jokes, they can relate to the treatment better. Humour has a universal connect.”
(Doctors Do Comedy, a show by Dr Jagdish Chaturvedi and nine medicos at Osmania Medical College auditorium on September 15 from 6 pm onwards; Register on Gigsy.in or call +91 96509 28582)
Published - September 14, 2019 03:17 pm IST
