Raju Srivastav and the Art of Everyday Humour

Raju Srivastav was a pioneer in many ways.

Humor has many shades — puns, deprecation, wit, slapstick, melodrama. They are highly nuanced, and as expected have their appeal based on our state of mind, context, and of course the refinement we can appreciate.

With machines increasingly achieving what humans can do, all are busy speculating about the arrival of singularity, humour possibly is the last frontier that Artificial Intelligence will struggle to surmount.

And that is where people like Raju Srivastav matter — with their unique ability to showcase and keep alive a culture in the human consciousness.

But humor can be tricky, as it is always connected with society. If we look back, we sure will find how what was considered a tickler of uproarious laughter has now well be seen today as insensitive, stupid, or even regressive.

And then the fear of offending, especially in the world of today (and more so in India), where every Tom and Harry is behaving like a Dick to get offended at the drop of a hat.

So how does one indulge in humor — in the trying times of today where one can be in jail for 30 days for a joke one never made?

I think Raju Srivastav is the trailblazer in surmounting the challenge. Finding humor in everyday life.

Armed with keen observation power, storytelling skills, and unique stage presence, Raju regaled all by talking about how calendars changed over the years, how one feels overwhelmed at five-star hotels, or how the greedy foodie in us wakes up at the Shadi when no one is watching.

And to channel it all, Raju created the character of Gajodhar Bhaiya, who in the world of stand-up comedies rivaled the alter egos created by Shah Rukh Khan (Rahul) or Amitabh Bachchan (Vijay).

Many of Raju’s generation or the next took up his style and made a name for themselves. I can vouch for this in Bengali, where a show hosted by Mir Asif Ali (Mirrakel) made household names like Mridul Bhattacharya or Abu Hena Rony.

Raju Srivastav was in many ways the harbinger of the stand-up comedy that arrived in a big way in the last decade in India. Almost all the performers came from elite backgrounds — good education, corporate jobs, and even at times comedy as a side hustle. Very unlike Raju, who was from Kanpur and came to Mumbai with the wide-eyed dream of acting in Bollywood movies.

Quite naturally, the genre changed — many of the stories were not about everyday life, but about corporate politics, mid-life crises, or conjugal blemishes. Language changed — English became a mainstay, along with occasional expletives.

But Raju Srivastav and Gajodhar Bhaiya remained the same. Whether it creates some dissonance in his mind? Maybe — but I was happy Raju remained what he was.

And though he died young, he lived a life of dreams. He could not make it big in movies, but he became the Amitabh Bachchan of an alternate world.

So much so that Big B specifically sent an audio message wishing Raju’s recovery when he was in the hospital.

Who knows whether Raju could hear that as I understand he was unconscious. But I am sure he will catch up with that and all the love in the afterworld too.