“Write about things other than me, people you know, experiences you have had”; She said. I knew a lot of people, and most of my experiences were with her. To write about people who now hold little or no value is confusing, will it make sense? Will I make sense? Would it be okay to portray someone based on my perception? Would it justify their individuality? Multiple questions, legit questions and no positive answers. But, then I have to try. How about writing about people with whom She and me, both of us have shared a mutual connect? There were just a few, a couple of them maybe.
Let me get started with this.
“Open mic at The Maati Centre”, the poster read; another event to attend and another podium to try. I had just started with my stand-up comedy thing in Guwahati, and the culture then was very nascent, very alien to the city. Although, self-proclaimed promoters tried to rake in the moolah, but nothing significant for the growth of the art had been done. I pinged them on their Facebook page mentioning that I was interested in participating as an open micer, a response did arrive but I didn’t reply, I was occupied at home. I was going through bad times: jobless and broke and my granny had passed away, the ceremony was to be on the day after the event, I had no material ready either. But, nonetheless I looked forward to attending the show. A new venue, a new place to explore and also new people to meet.
And, as I walked in to confirm my participation I chanced upon the guy who had put together the event, he was lying on the mat and taking a nap. A tall, dark and bespectacled bong; he looked like a nerd, not the funny kind of guy I had assumed it takes to think of organizing a stand-up open mic. Formalities done, I found out soon that I was the only participant and had to go up first, left with no choice I did, the audience response wasn’t that overwhelming but considering the fact that it was mostly made of social activists, I could take it in my stride. The bespectacled babu, tried his material too, I was impressed. Perhaps, for the first time I saw someone trying puns in Guwahati, really good puns, although they weren’t part of any comic storyline, but a nice change it was. We had a conversation later that evening, I could sense that he knew a thing or two about comedy, the culture, the genres and had an uncanny sense of humor too. Numbers exchanged, requests sent and it was time to leave, we didn’t communicate for the next 10 days or so.
I had always wanted to have a comedy collective, me and my biker mate had been looking around for a third cog for our wheel, who better than the bespectacled babu, I thought to myself, my biker mate agreed too. And, the nerd it was!! A collective, perhaps the first and one of it’s kind in Guwahati and Northeast India. The ball of laughter had to roll, we just did it.
There were things about him which he hadn’t made known, we were just collaborators until then, yet to be friends. I dug a little deep, and so did he and Holy Moly!! He was a Kopite, a Liverpool FC fan. Some planets get aligned on earth just like that, I was yet to meet someone who supported my team in Guwahati, and I had unearthed a gem at ‘Maati’. The conversations soon started to bear fruit and become more meaningful: we’d discuss almost everything under the sun, from politics to religion, from art to music, from comedy to books of tragedy and Football. But, the thing which was yet to show was his attitude towards life, his understanding of something I cared for too: Mental Health. Woah!! This seemed like a partnership, we would often discuss about the stigma attached to depression and mental issues, talk about our experiences with it, the friendship did deepen.
There comes a time in your life when you realize that the quanta of time spent with someone doesn’t necessarily quantify the relationship you share with them, I had known this guy for a year and a half, a fellow comic, a collaborator, a Kopite and now: one of my closest mates, for life. I know we share this bond, unknown to many, we can talk for hours and not talk for days too, but this level of mutual understanding is hard to find. And, when you chance upon someone who shares the same interests as you, you know to yourself that the Heavens has brewed something really dark and special, as good as his dark sense of humor.
P.S: He’s a single child too, Ahh!! There’s a burden of expectations to meet.
abhishek purkayastha 