A trio of Indian origin comedians – Rajiv Satyal, Hari Kondabolu and Azhar Osman will be on an US sponsored Indian tour in an effort to strengthen ties and spread religious harmony. Rajiv Satyal, who is best known as “The Funny Indian” said “It’s cool to be able to go to India because that’s where a lot of religious strife has been happening,” he said. “We’re not even really religious on stage. We might do some religious jokes, but it’s more just bringing people together,” he added. Usman, who is a Muslim is known for his religious swipes. “I never make religion the butt of my jokes,” he said, adding, “I target stupidity, human foibles and fundamentalism.”
The tour named “Make Chai, Not War” which literally means make tea not war, will be on from January 4th to 17th and will perform in seven Indian cities: Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna, Kolkata, Durgapur and Mumbai. Nuland cited it as “part of our regular global cultural exchange program that we do around the world,” explaining, “The reason we decided to support this tour is because among the things that they are known for is their talk about religious tolerance, about the importance of breaking down prejudices, and about the positive experiences they had growing up as Indian-Americans in the United States.”
State Department official Victoria Nuland cited it as “part of our regular global cultural exchange program that we do around the world,” explaining, “The reason we decided to support this tour is because among the things that they are known for is their talk about religious tolerance, about the importance of breaking down prejudices, and about the positive experiences they had growing up as Indian-Americans in the United States.”
Categories: Asia, India, Islamophobia, Laughter is the best medicine