Ayesha Rokadia takes the stage

Comic from New York and her friends tell their most embarrassing stories at T2F in Karachi.

For something that hadn’t been advertised — except for the Facebook page “Standup Comedy featuring Ayesha Rokadia”, the turnout was quite commendable and people of varying ages came to T2F, formerly The Second Floor, to see this Pakistani New Yorker.

The show’s theme was definitely interesting; some of Karachi’s most popular comics; Sami Shah and Saad Haroon, as well as Ishma Alvi and Omar Bilal Akhter were invited to come up and share their most humiliating stories with the audience. “Ayesha spoke about doing a story telling session with the theme of embarrassment. Which was good, it’s different from what we’ve been seeing but we definitely want to encourage a mix of performances and storytelling,” said Sabeen Mahmud, owner and founder of T2F.

Rokadia herself was more like the host of the evening who came in between each performer and summed up the show with her most embarrassing story. “She came across as a filler between slots, she wasn’t the main person, I don’t know how you could call her that,” said audience member Mahmood Ali.

Sami Shah

Shah told a story about how he was expelled in 8th grade for dealing in pornography (he claims this isn’t true and asked everyone to spread the word). The comedian himself wasn’t at his best but kept the audience chuckling because the story itself was so amusing. “Sami Shah was predictable and while he was funny, I wasn’t in fits,” said Saira Tariq who was in the audience.

Ishma Alvi

Alvi, a former member of Blackfish, took the stage to tell a story about her menstrual cycle. “She tried to mix feminism and humour which is always difficult, especially in Pakistan, and I didn’t like her act at all,” said Ali. “Ishma wasn’t funny and her story wasn’t even all that embarrassing,” Tariq added.



After the first two it was good to have someone who didn’t speak about bodily functions; Haroon told a story about running to iftari in Ramadan. While the story itself wasn’t the funniest, the way it was delivered and the actions that accompanied it, made Haroon one of the highlights of the evening. “Haroon looked like he had just decided the story on the spot but he was still good, I enjoyed his piece,” said audience member Harris Khan.

Omar Bilal Akhter

It was surprising that Akhter took to the stage as a comic and it was evern more surprising that he was the second highlight of the night. “I liked this guy, he spoke about something which everyone could connect with because weird stuff happens to everyone in college,” said Ali. “Omar was wonderful; we’d like to see him doing more of this. He was a wonderful new surprise,” said Mahmud.

Ayesha Rokadia

Rokadia told a story about being the fat girl who liked a cute guy and how it ended badly. Embarrassing yes, but funny? Not so much. “Its official, girls are not funny,” said Ali Ahmad. “It was a good night out, it would’ve been fantastic if she was funny,” said Ali Pasha after watching the show.

Rokadia also took the microphone in between performances and while she did have a couple of funny moments, the comment which will be most remembered by audience members was, “If you say yes then it won’t be rape, it’ll just be a really bad sexual experience.” “I attended the show this evening. The rape jokes told by the host were insensitive, offensive, and in extremely poor taste given that a horrific gang rape occurred in Karachi just a few days ago. As a woman I would have expected her to have some sense. (I was) very disappointed with this show,” posted Bina Shah on Facebook.

“You have hits and misses, some things worked and some didn’t. In the light of all that has been going on and we’re strongly sensitive to what’s going on in our country, the rape joke, just didn’t feel right. It really didn’t suit the mood,” said Mahmud.

“I can’t believe she was so insensitive, especially when such an awful incident has just occurred in the country,” said Khan.

A closer look at Ayesha Rokadia

What made you become a comedian?

My love for Conan O Brien. In the ninth grade I used to be the funny fat girl at school who didn’t have a boyfriend. I had friends who had boyfriends and I would accompany my friends, but only to become part of the crowd and to be accepted. I just started doing stuff like standing on a glass table and breaking it.

Why did you take it up as a career?

I do comedy to annoy my mother. One of the main reasons I act like this is to irritate my mother - just this morning, I woke my mother up with the intention to talk about prostitutes!

Why have you chosen to do a show in Karachi?

Karachi is one of the most happening places to be and to live in; it is here that I find some of the most interesting characters as opposed to New York where I live. New York is a hub where brown people come together. Karachi is a repressive society, but everybody has their set of problems. Everybody has their own sense of humour and you can’t censor jokes about everybody.

What are your future plans?

Last year, I lost as many as 40 friends because I embarrassed them so much, this year I plan to lose as many as 45 friends. I aim to retire by the time I’m 32, with nobody around me, do some comedy and be left alone. Living in a little farm house with chickens all around me. Or on second thought, I will be somebody’s mother, who would be a lucky kid being raised by his or her grand-parents.

Any final words?

I can take peoples boo and I can take peoples laughter but I can’t take peoples silence. That would absolutely kill me.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2010.