The Funny Indian Newsletter, Vol. 212
May 2024: Connor's Wedding
Welcome
Welcome to The Funny Indian Newsletter!
Well, this is a hard one to send. From the very first newsletter I sent nearly twenty years ago, when I wasn’t receiving very many replies, the one response I could always count on was my Dad’s. Though many of you who receive my Gruntled Newsletter will already know this, I’m devastated to report that my father passed away on May 8th.
My Musings and Updates will serve as a tribute to him.
Musings
Opening for Hasan Minhaj in Cincinnati, Ohio
You get so few perfect days in your life. [Odd to say now but the crazy thing is this was the very last night my Dad spent with his son and his grandson.]
Friday, April 26, 2024, wasn't absolutely perfect, only because I was under the weather, but it was pretty darned close.
Over a decade ago, when my friends and I sat around and brainstormed what a perfect day would look like...
— A chat that might've involved Hasan Minhaj himself, given he lived with me for two years in Studio City, and still ranks in the top ten people with whom I've had the most number of hours of conversation —
... I said it would involve waking up with my brothers at my parents' in Fairfield, Ohio, eating some of my Mom's rajma-chawal and drinking her chai, followed by jetting off to New York City to kill a standup show and hit the afterparty.
Note: this was before I was married with a kid.
Further note: it didn't include LA. Interesting.
Cue to one week ago.
Click here to finish it on Facebook.
The Announcement of My Dad’s Passing
My Dad’s Obituary
As linked above, click here to read it on Substack, complete with photos.
Updates
See
Future:
07/12: SABA North America Foundation Benefit (Toronto, Ontario)
08/06: Corporate Gig (Bangalore, Karnataka)
Past:
05/09: Standup Comedy Special Screening (New York, NY)
Thanks to two of my best friends — both randomly from Alabama — Raman Sehgal (my primary P&G goof-off buddy) and Cole McClendon (Fairfield Middle School), my May 9th screening in New York City did go forward. THANK YOU to so many of you for packing the place.
05/18: Indian American Coalition of Central Texas (Austin, TX)
Thanks to my Mom, I went forward with this show, a mere 10 days after her husband (a.k.a., my Dad) passed. Fortunately, it was a smashing success. And I think, somewhere out there, Dad was laughing, too.
05/24: Trisha Mehta’s High School Graduation Party (La Habra, CA)
Ditto for this one. A huge shout-out to my Dad’s brother (my chacha, my Australian Uncle) Vimal Satyal for accompanying me to Austin and La Habra.
Watch
After landing at JFK in NYC, this was the last video I recorded before my Dad passed.
Close
Sorry to skip the LAUGH section for the first time I can recall. I’ll bring it back next month. THANK YOU to all of you for your support. You are my true core of fans — I couldn't do this without you. Today marks 18 years for me here in Los Angeles.
Love,
- Rajiv