Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 31:

Better known as a staid economist who has been signing his e-mails for the last eight years as “Oohi Ashu”, this individual has decided to break away from the mould and make a new beginning starting April Fool’s Day. Oohi Ashu will be on stage delivering punch lines at Dhokaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka from 6pm in the evening.“Psychologists have discovered for a fact that the shortest distance between people is humour,” shares Oohi Ashu who is a business consultant by every normal day. “When you use humour, it relaxes and releases tension. Laughter is a gift that we humans have. You don’t see dogs laughing or cats smiling. Humour is also a sign of intelligence.” And while he is trying to juggle this new identity, Oohi Ashu juggles apples for us and delivers some punch lines that are really funny. Why suddenly does he opt for stand-up comedy? “We live in troubled times,” he says. “Both the government and rebels make absurd pronouncements. We can only look at them with crooked eyes and use humour to keep sane.”During the Panchayat era, it was Madan Krishna and Hari Bansa, the MaHa duo who used humour as a powerful tool. The original purpose of humour, states the newfound comedian is to point at the truth from a different point of view. “Humour can’t be made up,” he explains, “It is truth that must be explained from a different angle. It keeps you honest.”Donning a reflective look, he adds, “This is a brave but foolish decision. I am otherwise a very serious person. I’ve been spending sleepless nights wondering what I will do. I love Seinfeld but what I’m setting out to do is start something so people with more talent can come forward. Just set a pace, this is not a career change or whatever. I’m just getting myself out of the comfort zone.”Sarita Mishra and Salil Kanika will set the mood for Oohi Ashu’s humour. The duo with Mishra on the tabala and Kanika on the didgeridoo have been playing together for three years now and they share that it is magic playing together. “Both are percussion-based instruments and we follow a beat together,” share the musicians. “It is like lighting a fire and suddenly we connect with the rhythm of life, the intensity connects as the tempo builds and we create a world of our own with just the tabala and didgeridoo.”