【VIDEO】 Vivek Mahbubani | Indian Hongkonger, Award-Winning Standup Comedian - Redefining What “Normal” Is
Vivek Mahbubani, an Indian Hongkonger, is an award-winning standup comedian and social media designer. He was one of the participants outside of Chungking Mansion that distributed bottled water to protestors in Tsim Sha Tsui on 20 Oct, 2019. With his unique perspective, he wants to inspire more people to reflect on their life experience via humour and laughter.
“When we stood in front of Chungking Mansions, people came up to us and said, “You’re a Hongkonger, never forget that!”. I remember saying “Hong Kong is not a race, not a skin colour and not a religion, but a spirit,” and the crowd cheered and agreed with me. Afterall, the resolution to racial problems isn’t mechanically ‘“learning about different cultures’,” it’s recognising that at the end of the day, we’re all humans, we’re all the same, and we all want to enjoy life. ”
Journalist: Small Echoes, Tangerine
Photographer: HKers Normal, JM
Videographer: HKers Normal, JM
Video Editor: Tim
Being ‘abnormal’ has always been my norm. My mom sent me to a Chinese primary school because she wanted me to learn Chinese. So without trying, I was already the odd one out. Naturally, as a kid, I just wanted to fit in. It took me years to embrace my ethnicity and use my unique background to my advantage. Part of the credit has to go to my mom, who never discourages me from pursuing my interests, even when they may not be mainstream. It was this open-mindedness in my family that later encouraged me to pursue comedy as a career. Since my first comedy competition 12 years ago, here I am. Through my mom, I learned a lot about mutual respect, because she makes sure my opinions are heard, and that she never forces any ideas down to my throat. At the same time, she also makes her case by letting me try and reasoning, such as, how broccoli indeed tastes funny, but it’s fun and healthy to eat.
Comedy and Irony in Hong Kong
Being different in Hong Kong is an interesting thing, because Hongkongers have always been taught to follow the mainstream path, and to try their best to not stand out. But what they don’t realise is that they’ll eventually become bored and boring. In my observation, I find it absurd in Hong Kong that the better your life is, the more you lose touch with the human side of things. I find it especially ironic that the depth of my jokes were compromised in certain settings when the audience is from a higher social strata. Sometimes, I had to water down my humour to make them laugh. My jokes have to be more stereotypical for them to get it.
Why? Perhaps because those people are used to telling people things, instead of listening to someone else. Moreover, they have probably become too cosy in their comfort zone. They feel too good about themselves that they have stopped looking for new experiences in life. When you can afford a chauffeur, you miss out on the excitement of finally getting on a minibus after a long 15-minute wait - it so agitating! When you don’t know how to use an Octopus card - I mean like seriously? - to take the MTR train, it’s hard for you to understand the day-to-day hassles of living in Hong Kong.
For me, creating comedy is one way to acknowledge that life isn’t about measuring your level of success, but it’s about experiences. It’s about being aware of your daily surroundings, and being open to accepting the fact that you don’t know everything. Like my mom always says, “You are never always right, so be ready to be wrong.”
Comedy and Identity
There is a shift in mentality on what is considered the ‘right’ way of living in Hong Kong - it’s a generational difference in how we think about life and who we are. Traditional rhetorics of identity have been based on race, skin colour, or nationality. In my early years as a comedian, my jokes were all about race and identity - I can laugh about my hair, my beard, my skin tone (but you can’t laugh about me), or a ‘guai lou’ ( foreigner) speaking Cantonese (my favourite Cantonese phrase is ‘yau mo gao chor 有冇搞錯’, which means ‘are you kidding me?!’) to wow the audience. But you can only tell so many jokes on those topics.
To some extent, comedy is a show biz. When the stage lights are off, I’m not just ‘the guy who’s telling jokes’. I need to find the fun in daily life to entertain myself. What has strengthened and sustained my comedy and my life is asking questions - to take long rides on a bus, or walk around town to observe my surroundings; to seek after small details and little moments in life. I never look for something ‘funny’, but I look for something ‘interesting.’ I write journals to reflect on what I have done in a day. However, a huge don’t for me is to sit down and say, “Hm, what’s a funny joke? Let me write one down.”' As the surface layers begin to peel off, the real questions become: why do people do the things they do? What does that mean to me and to us? What is Hong Kong people? Who are we?
To me, the Hong Kong spirit is a set of values that we share. Hong Kong is a busy place, and we all have different lives. The Hong Kong spirit is about mutual respect - you don’t have to agree with me, but don’t get in my way (唔好搞我！). We are competitive, but we want to win with honour. If we are running a race and I trip you in order to win, for the rest of my life, I will hold this medal knowing blatantly well that I didn’t win this with dignity. We work hard, but we know that everything we own has been earned by our own hands. It’s funny that during the protests, netizens have corrected each other’s English grammar and pronunciation, saying things like, “It’s ‘Stand “with” Hong Kong’, NOT ‘Stand “on” Hong Kong’!” Even when we’re shouting slogans, we want to compete to get the 100% mark.
Comedy and Normality
We surely live in an abnormal time now, but people are taking this chance to take a step forward, to challenge what used to be thought of as normal instead of saying “Oh, that’s the way it is, so let’s keep it that way”. In a way, we are redefining what it means to be a Hongkonger. On 20 Oct, we could’ve chosen to close down Chungking Mansions* , or to prepare to take revenge on potential attackers. Amazingly, a group of selfless youngsters came up with an idea to open our doors and to pour out what we have into the community.
When we stood in front of Chungking Mansions, people came up to us and said, “You’re a Hongkonger, never forget that!”. We shook hands, we embraced each other, and people took our bottled water as if they’re receiving an important gift. I remember saying, “Hong Kong is not a race, not a skin colour and not a religion, but a spirit!” And the crowd cheered in agreement. It’s good to know that we’re finally recognising that skin colour is an outdated system. We should be bored of this topic by now! After all, the resolution to racial conflicts isn’t through a mechanical ‘learning about different cultures’, but through a gradual recognition that, at the end of the day, we’re all humans, we’re all the same, and we want nothing but to enjoy life.
My wish is that I can keep saying “We’re Hongkongers”. I never want that to become a taboo. I really hope that I can proudly say that for the rest of my life - “We are Hongkongers!”
“I am Vivek Mahbubani, and I am a HKer.”
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*Chungking Mansion is located in Tsim Sha Tsui. For ethnic minorities, mostly from South Asian or African descents, Chungking Mansion is their gather hub, where they create their unique sense of belonging in relation to Hong Kong Chinese/Cantonese culture. Chungking Mansion is made up of many independent low-budget hotels, shops, restaurants, and other retail services.