In a YouTube video, a clip from a recent live performance, comedian Manaal Patil talks about scoring poor marks in his 12th standard board examinations. “I was very worried about how I would get admission to a good college,” he says, adding that without a decent education, it would be hard to get a job. “But my dad told me not to stress because I have a superpower,” says Mr. Patil.
The superpower in question? The fact that he belongs to a Scheduled Caste, he states. He jokes about how this fact will open doors effortlessly, taking head-on that tired trope often bandied about by the anti-reservation brigade. The punchline of the set? “I’m sitting and doing standup,” he says, pointing to the tall stool that holds him up on stage. “I just wanted a seat.”
Call to anti-caste movement
Mr. Patil is one of the three comedians who will perform Blue Material — a stand-up comedy show with an all-Dalit lineup — in the city, this weekend. “Blue Material is a combination of two things: blue comedy and a call to the anti-caste movement,” says Ravi Gaikwad, one of the other comedians, who are part of this 90-minute show, which uses humour, a decidedly risqué version of it, to throw light on caste realities. Drawing a parallel between Blue Material and Def Comedy Jam, which had an all-black lineup, he says, “The best part about this show is the lineup since every comic has a different background and voice.”
The Blue Material team has collaborated with Maraa, a city-based media and arts collective, in the city, as part of their 3rd tour. “We want to create awareness of comedy being used as a medium for self-representation and assertion,” says Nihal P. of Maraa, pointing out that the collective has already been working on the idea of standup comedy being an empowering tool for different marginalised and silenced communities across the country. “Often when we look at narratives that come from communities such as this, they are framed in a certain way,” he says, be it narratives of victimhood or a refusal to consider agency and the navigations these communities have around their own oppressions. “It doesn’t focus on the other aspects of their lives that exist.”
Ravi performing at Blue Material. | Photo Credit: HANDOUT E MAIL
Representation through humour
Events such as this one help create a space for self-representation through humour, believes Nihal. “The no-holds-barred attitude helps assert ideas and politics,” he says. “It shifts the narrative of how people talk about Dalit experience.”
Blue Material will be held at multiple venues across the city between August 25 and 27, including Maraa, Bangalore International Centre, Shoonya, Our Theatre, and Beru Art Space. Shows are free, but RSVP is required. Log into the venue websites for more details.
