| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 11:07 AM
This year is a Leap Year.
To celebrate the leapness of this year, on the evening of Sunday, the 29th of February 2004, there's going to be a stand-up comedy show, followed by a Tabla & Didgeridoo (an Australian Baja) performance in Kathmandu.
It's going to be fun-filled, enjoyable evening. The organizer -- and the manager of the Cafe -- Runeeta Rai is going to charge a modest fee. Coffee, food, 'wines and swines'
will be served.
Come one, come all, dressed in your finest feathers, and let's make this Leap Year
day a memorable one.
Place: Dhokaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka
Starting at: 6:30 pm
Since the show is going to be an interactive one, rotten tomatoes and pigeon-eggs will be provided so that the audience can throw them at the performer if the comedy sucks.
Tabla performance by Sarita Mishra & The Chelis
Didgeridoo performance by: Salil Subedi
Stand-up comedy written and performed in a mixture of English-Nepali languages by: Oohi Ashu.
Sarita Mishra is one of Nepal's leading tabla players, affiliated with Pashupati's Kirateswor Sangeet Ashram. The Chelis is an all-female classical music band, led by Sarita.
Salil Subedi is a writer, musician, composer and a theater performer. He is a self-taught didge player.
Oohi Ashu believes in the mantra of "Ask not what your country can do for you,
do it yourself". If there's no stand-up comedy show in Nepal, then, start one yourself.
oohi
"nothing is more pleasurable in life than making other people laugh, preferably WITH you and not AT you" :-)
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| Nepe |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 11:32 AM
Ashu,
That's awesome news. I wish I were in Kathmandu to enjoy your stand-up. Can somebody shoot it and have San upload the movie clips here in Sajha. That will be superb.
Nepe
Tired of Kollywood comedy,
starving nearly to death for comedy with intelligence
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| Deep |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 11:55 AM
ma ni paye garthe stand up, sit down, sleep in/on/around comedy G, PG, R sabai genre ma. Tara garne sarne ta hoina sunna pani napainebho---afu chhu ek tira--patandhoka chhutyo arko tira. khattam bho ni! man lage hasne nalage Ashudai lai bajauna ni paine kuiya golvera ra parewa ful le--tyasto bajauna ta sikna ni naparne table sabala jasto---takyo bajaidyo--lola hanera sadako hatle bajayesi missai nakhani!
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 01:18 PM
Ashu,
I didn't know you had a knack for stand-up comedy. Man, that's awesome. That said, I hope you won't write a long vindictive letter to those who throw eggs/tomatoes at you, saying they were too stupid to understand your great comedy:-)
Wish you goodluck.
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| M.P. |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 01:48 PM
Hehehe....this is interesting. Now, this is what will happen:
Oohi Ashu makes most people laugh, but many fail to understand his jokes, especially the political ones. Some of these less-satisfied people meet Oohi Ashu in person. Oohi Ashu then explains them why stand-up comedy is necessary for our country, why humor itself is necessary, how the whole idea of stand-up comedy was introduced in Nepal, why he did what he did, why he drank Muna tea that morning and so on. Some audience, still not satisfied with his answers, pick specific parts of his jokes that were not funny. Oohi Ashu then argues that those parts were also funny--perhaps RELATIVELY less funny than other parts. He then enumerates the reasons for his argument with "ahems" in between. "In a nut shell, we increase our ahem collective capital through stand-up comedy", he concludes. In Jest!
On a serious note, though, is this the first of its kind in Nepal? I mean, I have seen Chatyang Master saying his filthy "jokes" in public without caring to know the composition of the audience. I have never seen Hari Bamsha and Madan Krishna performing comedy alone (i.e. without the other person). I hope "Oohi Ashu" brings a revolution--in whatever might--in the Humor Industry in Nepal and changes the notion that humor does not have to be acted in telefilms or written in the bhitrako prista of Gorkhapatra where noone bothers to read!
P.S. As Nepe says above, it would be nice to see pictures of this program, especially the rotten potatoes and pigeon eggs flying towards the stage..:):)
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| dhocholecha |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 02:06 PM
Ashu,
I hope the show goes well and sets a good precedent for the future. I consider stand-up comedy one of the more difficult art forms, given that the comic has no place to "hide" and must improvise and juggle a million things simultaneously. The space for error, in other words, is mighty slim. So I applaud your courage to risk the rotten tomatoes, even though I hope you are embraced with laughter!
It would be great if you could write about the experience here on Sajha.
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| Nepe |
Posted
on 09-Jan-04 04:03 PM
M.P. wrote:
>P.S. As Nepe says above, it would be nice to see pictures of this program,
No, I did not mean mere pictures. I meant the whole movie in common digital format for us to download and enjoy.
Alternatively or separately, how about the audio file ?
And then who knows, such things might be a push or inspiration for Sajha Radio and Sajha TV in future. No, San ?
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| Brook |
Posted
on 10-Jan-04 10:02 AM
Not the Charitraheen Chelis, are they?
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| sparsha |
Posted
on 10-Jan-04 10:59 AM
Yeah, I second Nepeji. It would be fun to watch that stand up comedy here in sajha. Whether the program went well or not, fun is gonna be there for us.
Even a short review would be better than nothing.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 10-Jan-04 09:53 PM
Brook,
These are CharitraWAN chelis, or so they say :-)
Nepe, Deep and M.P.
Someday, when you guys are in Nepal at the same time, we should do a session or two with gazals, katha and 'ruminations'. What do you say?
Biswo and M.P.,
There will be NO letter-writing, no Sajha-style debates, disciussions and arguments
back and forth of any kind.
That's because as an American humorist E.B. White once put it: "Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it."
As for whether or not I have any talent for stand-up comedy. I'm as interested to find that out as you are. If the show bombs, well, there will be those rotten tomatoes and parewa ko anda to take home as consolation prizes. :-)
dhocholecha,
You are absolutely right: Doing a stand-up comedy act is very difficult, and one might end up just getting glares and stares from the audience than peals of laughter. TRuth be told, I'm getting nervous already.
These days, I have started to carry a note-copy with me, and have started jotting
down any funny feelings/thoughts/observations that I can gather. Later, all that stuff will have to reworked, rewritten and rearranged so that they flow with punch-lines . . .
At any rate, to calm myself, some friends and I are going to climb up the Dharahara this afternoon. [Keshav Sthapit, our Mayor, charges Rs. 75 per person to go up this staircase to heaven.] One side-effect of the fear of doing stand-up comedy is that
you lose your fear of heights!!
Yes, the show wll be videotaped, and yes, we'll make arrangements to put it up on Sajha for you all to see/watch and comment on. Why not?
Thank you everyone for your supportad good wishes.
I need them.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| qallu |
Posted
on 10-Jan-04 10:32 PM
free tomatoes and eggs?! dang! i'd throw them regardless of wheather the show sucked or not.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 11-Jan-04 07:00 AM
M.P. wrote
"I hope "Oohi Ashu" brings a revolution--in whatever might -- in the Humor Industry in Nepal."
Oh, absolutely!!
I am already working very hard to have stand-up comedians be declared "national treasures" or "yo rastra kaa gahana" by the government. Not only that, I am doing
this show for our "rastra ko gaurav" and for the pride of all the Nepalis :-)
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 11-Jan-04 07:17 AM
Literature review:
***************
What follows was originally published in The Kathmandu Post, August 10, 1996).
A sense of humor
by ashu
"You have no sense of humor." That's one of the worst insults you can hurl at an Englishman. By humor, the English mean wry, understated wit and irony, a la George Bernard Shaw, that gets delivered with a dollop of slapstick, a la John Kleese.
In America, where humor is more easily shared, late-night comedians, Bart Simpson's family and the Republican Party remain the national icons of jokes. But we have our brands of humor in Nepal.
A sampling:
MARISH HUMOR: Marish refers to Madan, Hari and Santosh. In the dark days of the Panchayat, Madan and Hari were first-rate political satirists. Since the Jan Andolan, however, they have been busy being better actors, higher-earning professionals and lousier satirists. Santosh [Panth] is talented, but suffers from Kathmandu-centric ethno-supremacy of sorts.
By now, one would think that Santosh's routinely making fun of the Marwaris, the ethnic Newars and the "tarai ko madhisays", and others would have made people protest against a 'high ethnic-insensitivity quotient' on his weekly TV shows. But no. In our sundar, shanta Nepal, such mindlessly repetitive and often demeaning ethnic caricatures continue to pass as humor, especially every Friday on the state-run
television.
LITERARY HUMOR: Bhairab Aryal, who committed suicide, and Basudev Luintel, who hasn't, remain the best Nepali literary-humorists. All of their pieces, written many years ago, are still pure fun to read and re-read. Keshab Pindali is another first-rate humor-giant, still churning out enviably well-written and entertaining pieces in Saptahik Bimarsha.
With multi-volume humor-corpus, Ram Kumar Panday is funny too. But he and many other, especially younger, humorists tend to over-use onomatopoeic Nepali words to such an extent that their Nepali writings, instead of being fresh and amusing,
eventually begin to jar.
RADIO HUMOR: Humor has been on the radio for almost two decades. Programs such as Rasrang, "Budhi aama ra JTA" and others used to entertain listeners around Nepal. Alas, no more.
These days, snatches of humor are also aired on Kathmandu's super-funky FM-radio programs. But mostly for the worse. While Goodnight FM's Manoj occasionally delivers funny verbal slapstick, Kantipur FM's Dinesh, with canned Hindi jokes, remains an absolute disgrace. You just have to listen to Dinesh's program to scream at his producers that "Fun Time" is just a waste of time.
FILMI HUMOR: This is an oxymoron. Most Nepali film-directors' sense of humor typically starts and ends like this. Have a genetically dwarf guy make faces and do unnecessary somersaults on the side, while the almighty 'hero' kicks the villain's butt. That's usually it, and you are supposed to howl with laughter!
ANGRAZI HUMOR: This genre probably started in Nepal with Kunda Dixit's regularly publishing "Funny side up" columns in the Rising Nepal in the late '70s and early '80s. And ten years ago, HIMAL magazine, with its always-quick-to-smile editor, elevated the art of wit and word-play through its "Abominably Yours" column, which is remarkably high on American references.
But by and large, most Nepal-published humor pieces in English are khattam, primarily because the writers' command of flowing, idiomatic English is so hopeless, and also because their sense of the absurd is usually not that sophisticated. Fortunately, talented Angrazi humor-writers do exist in Nepal, and they include: (1) Manjushree Thapa -- just read what she used to write for Spotlight newsmagazine -- ; (2) NAMA -- real name: Narayan Manandhar, an economist -- and (3) Mani Dixit -- real name: Hemang Dixit, a medical doctor -- NAMA and Mani write/wrote humor for the Kathmandu
Post, while (4) C K Lal, another talented humorist, writes for the Independent weekly in Kathmandu.
(This piece was originally published in the Kathmandu Post's "Post Platform" section, August 10, 1996)
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| ashu |
Posted
on 11-Jan-04 07:46 AM
VIR SARAN DAS ý A STAND UP COMEDY
Date: Saturday, January 24th, 2004
Venue: Hyatt Regency Hotel Kathmandu
Ticket: Rs 1500 single, Couple Rs 2500
(Inclusive of cocktail dinner)
Pick your color: Black/ Silver / White
Time: 7pm onwards
Vir Saran Das is a Chicago-based actor and comedian, who has performed lead roles in a wide variety of theatre productions. Vir recently competed a prestigious workshop with the Moscow Arts Theatre at Harvard University in Boston, where he performed in Chekhovian plays.
In May 2002,Vir was let loose on a main stage with "Brown Men Can't Hump!!!", a two hour stand up comedy special for a crowd of 500. The press and audiences went wild. He is now an active part of the Chicago theatre scene and a member of Roadworks Productions. He currently works comedy clubs all over the US and regularly performs on the "Music Masala Cruise", a carnival cruise liner hosting approximately 500 wild desi, from Houston to Mexico.
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| KaLaNkIsThAn |
Posted
on 11-Jan-04 10:35 AM
Great Ashu, Good Luck with that! I wish I were there!
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 11-Jan-04 01:01 PM
Ashu,
Good luck and have fun!
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| M.P. |
Posted
on 12-Jan-04 12:12 PM
Ashu wrote:
"I am already working very hard to have stand-up comedians be declared "national treasures" or "yo rastra kaa gahana" by the government. Not only that, I am doing
this show for our "rastra ko gaurav" and for the pride of all the Nepalis :-) "
Hehehe..if Bipana can, there is no reason why you can not for our rastra's gaurav. :)
On a serious note though, I DO believe it is possible to bring an upheaval in the humor industry through one stand-up comedy like this one. Well, things wont change overnight, but if we have faith in what we do, I am sure they will--sooner or later. I personally believe in the Ripple Theory: you perform one stand-up comedy, even if only two people change their perspectives on humor, that's a big deal. Those two people will talk about your performance and, who knows, they can change the perspective of another two individuals.
So, without us having to talk about rastra ko gaurav and nepal-laai-chinaaune-sapanaa and all the gaudy stuff about development, the change will be on our plate. But then, I am one of those optimists who think every action of theirs has a positive effect somewhere...
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| alnepali |
Posted
on 12-Jan-04 12:27 PM
Stand Up by Ashu? Interesting. A New Career? Done this Before? Since most of us can't drop by, can we get a copy of the script :o) ?
Read your article "Dharan's Secret".
http://www.nepalnews.com/ntimes/issue172/strictly_business.htm
Keep visiting Dharan and you'll find more secrets to tell :o)
Anyways, my best wishes for your act at the "Dhokaima Cafe"
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 12-Jan-04 01:31 PM
I just read about profile of this lady from Ashu's alma mater Karen Bergree '87 working at New York's Gotham Comedy Club, featured on Harvard Magazine. Goodluck to Ashu.
http://www.harvardmag.com/on-line/010475.html
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| oys_chill |
Posted
on 12-Jan-04 01:54 PM
Good luck to Ashu dai...
As they say, we all need humor in life somehow, for life itself is dead serious :)
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| chipledhunga |
Posted
on 12-Jan-04 02:03 PM
Ashu, best of luck!!! Patan Dhoka najikai dera paray authay ma pani.
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| ugly duckling |
Posted
on 14-Jan-04 10:49 AM
Ashu, don't you think Sarita Mishra would have been a better stand-up comedian? But again, I cannot imagine you playing tabala.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 14-Jan-04 08:17 PM
Ugly_Duckling,
There's no doubt that Sarita would have made a better stand-up comedian. My value-added service is in (foolishly or smartly, depending on how the whole thing comes off) volunteering to brave the rotten tomatoes and parewa ko eggs :-) I figure one needs to get out of one's comfort zone onc in a while, and I am stocking up on Nirma detergent powder already!!
On a serious note, though, Sarita is helping me write and rewrite some of my
materials.
***
Thanks to all of you for your emails and for your best wishes.
I need every strand of support -- quite desperately.
I had not realized that writing comic materials could be such a deadly serious
business. :-)
Biswo, thanks for the link. Like the comedienne in the story, I was rejected -- TWICE -- by The Lampoon (the humor society that has its own castle in Cambridge, Mass.) for
not being -- ahem !!-- funny enough. Interesteingly, the guy who decided to reject
me from being a member of the Lampoon now writes jokes for Jay Leno, and we have since become good email buddies.
oohi
Trying to survive those "I am sure the show is going to bomb, and I am going to be the laughingstock of the entire nation on the morning March 1st" jitters
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| LadyBug |
Posted
on 15-Jan-04 09:25 AM
Ashu dai,
Shorha sahit tapailai.........dahi, maccha, palungo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wish could come see.......i love stand up comedies. :) :) ;)
oohi bahini
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 15-Jan-04 09:36 AM
and, I love standup comedians! ;)
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| LadyBug |
Posted
on 15-Jan-04 10:02 AM
Just saw..........Salil with Ashu dai!!! that would be one partnership.....Go see ya'all.
BTW if he is reading, Salil - why r u not ghumna ay-ing in Amrika still ? I am sure you're off your obligations (as such) by now.....come on take a break!
Would love to see ya , ol' friend. Now that I am stuck here;
Euta stand up comedy line- up yaha pani jawos na aba hai.......ke bhannuhuncha? oohi wishing all the best for the originator of stand up comedies in Nepal. Good luck!!!
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| Dilasha |
Posted
on 15-Jan-04 12:52 PM
Finally someone is taking the initiative to take humor to an entirely different level. Like everyone else, I too would love to see the clip and read reviews. Wish you the best Ashu!
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| ashu |
Posted
on 16-Feb-04 04:32 AM
Just a quick note:
Because of upcoming (and confirmed as of today) 5-day-long Nepal Bandhs
(from Thursday 26 February to Monday, the 1st of March), and because of
publicity-related complications such a long Bandh would entail, the organisers
have decided to POSTPONE the show.
The NEW date now is: Sunday, 14 March 2004 at 6:30 pm at Dhokai Ma Cafe in
Patan Dhoka.
There will be a modest cover charge. Yes, the show must go on, and it will.
Those of you who are in Kathmandu, mark your calendar, and, come
share a laugh. If nothing else, those rotten tomatoes are fun to throw at the
performer :-)
oohi
"absolutely no FDI for the promotion of stand-up comedy acts in Nepal"
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ssNY |
Posted
on 27-Feb-04 12:18 PM
Imagine Jay Leno, reading from weired newspaper articles from around the globe. "Because of upcoming (and confirmed as of today) 5-day-long Nepal Bandhs (from Thursday 26 February to Monday, the 1st of March), and because of
publicity-related complications such a long Bandh would entail, the organisers
have decided to POSTPONE the show."
Next week, Jay reads yet another one. "The Nepal bandh was permanent. Show had to be canceled."
Good luck Ashu!
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| ssNY |
Posted
on 27-Feb-04 01:25 PM
Some materials for you to use as you debut your new career. Of course, not all can be funny to your audience in Patan. Sure bet to get eggs thrown at you, but some can be changed, if you want, to their taste?.....
Subject: GEORGE CARLIN STRIKES AGAIN
1. Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little
bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards: NAIVE
2. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing
section in a swimming pool?
3. OK.... so if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs," what does that make
the Tennessee Titans?
4. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that
one enjoys it?
5. There are three religious truths: a. Jews do not recognize Jesus
as the Messiah. b. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the
leader of the Christian faith. c. Baptists do not recognize each other
in the liquor store or at Hooters.
6. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from
Holland called Holes?
7. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
8. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
9. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale
bread to begin with?
10. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a
person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?
11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?
12. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it
follow that electricians can delighted, musicians denoted,
cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked,
and drycleaners depressed?
13. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?
14. Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
15. What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
16. I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole
lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me ....they're
cramming for their final exam.
17. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little
spoons and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use?
Toothpicks?
18. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office?
What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they
just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen
can look for them while they deliver the mail?
19. If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly
are the others here for?
20. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
21. Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?
22. If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?
23. Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?
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| ashu |
Posted
on 27-Feb-04 02:31 PM
Thanks ssNY for your support.
It's four in the morning in KTM.
Why am I up so early?
To write jokes to make people laugh.
Over the past several weeks, I have developed a lot of respect for respect for comedians. Never knew that what they do can be so serious and difficult.
The pressure is enough to give me ulcers!! :-)
But hey, I'll learn to survive and smile. :-)
Thanks again.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| the other one |
Posted
on 27-Feb-04 02:37 PM
Manchee koo name pani ashu ree, abaa hasawoodaa hasawoo daa sabaiko aakhhaa bataa ashu jharnee jastoo chhaa ni, dheraai nahasawoo haaii, manchhee haruu Passion hereraa khuub ashuu jhardaaii theatre bataa nikklee ree, feerii, ashuu koo kholaa bagllaa yo sansaarr ma.. :).
good luck dude.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 03-Mar-04 09:02 PM
Hi all,
I know, I know . . . this is turning into a joke now, but, hey, ke garne?
Life happens.
The program has been POSTPONED once again, for the FINAL, FINAL and FINAL
time, to the evening of Thursday, the 1st of April, 2004. [San, could you please make the necessary change on the Sajha Bulletin Board? Thanks.]
Reason for the postponement?
Of the three performers, two -- one of whom is also in an ongoing naatak at Hotel
Vajra -- cannot make it to the show on March 14th.
Ke garne?
Yestai cha jindagani,
kahilay ghaam ta kahilay paani.
But seriously, though, this announcement is NO April Fools' joke :-)
There will be NO further postponement unless there is a Bandh or a major natural calamity.
So, be there -- Sajha friends -- for both moral and immoral support on the 1st of
April.
Which organization in Nepal is notorious for "ghoch-pech" among its members?
NOT the Nepali Congress.
BUT The Nepal Accupuncture Society.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| San |
Posted
on 04-Mar-04 03:14 AM
That's a bummer. This was one of the things I was looking forward seeing during my stay in KTM. Oh well!
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