Zarna Garg’s zany zone

Zarna Garg, Indian-American comedian, brings laughter with relatable jokes about family dynamics, motherhood, and mother-in-law relationships.

“People always want to know what my husband thinks of my comedy career. And I tell them that he loves it. He can’t wait for me to become famous and get on TV so he can finally press the mute button on me.” No matter how often Zarna Garg tells this joke during her performances, it consistently garners hearty laughter. “People enjoy that joke. Whenever I deliver it, couples in the audience high-five each other. It’s such a simple joke,” says Zarna over a video call.

Indian-American comedian Zarna is on a multi-city India tour with her comedy show Practical People Win, produced and presented by Fukra Entertainment.

Zarna’s path to comedy has been far from ordinary. From her early days in India to her current residence in New York, where she’s spent the past three decades, she credits her success to a twist of fate. ‘It’s the hand of God,’ she jests, playfully acknowledging her lack of ‘inner engineer’ in predicting this career path. “My kids suggested I record videos. When your kids say something, you don’t take it seriously. I thought this was probably a very bad idea. But my kids were very insistent.”

Zarna released informal home videos in 2019 on TikTok, which became popular. One of the defining aspects of her comedy persona is her identification as an Indian immigrant mom. Despite her growing success, she remains steadfast in this role, cherishing it as an integral part of her identity. “It’s who I am,” she asserts, emphasising that her jokes and stories stem from her genuine experiences as a mother navigating life’s challenges.

“I am an Indian immigrant mom, and I try to tell stories that relate to moms and kids all over the world, and I’m not only happy to have that spot, I’m proud to have that spot in the world,“ she says.

Zarna’s humour often revolves around family dynamics, including playful jabs at her daughter and two sons during performances. “We don’t take anything seriously in our house. This is who I am. And this is who I was before I became a comic. This is not new for my kids. I’ve been making jokes about this my whole life, “ assures Zarna, adding that her husband has a full-time career, her daughter studies computer science at Stanford and her sons are doing “serious things”. “We capture our real-life moments, and the videos you see on social media are filmed within two minutes at a time on my cell phone, with not even good lighting.”

A notable feature of Zarna’s comedy style is her politically incorrect, irreverent, and brusque approach. When asked about representing all mothers or speaking solely for herself, she clarifies that while she stays true to herself, she has found that her experiences resonate with millions of women globally. “I’m a boring and not cool mother at all. I want my children to become doctors. I’m constantly yelling at them about their homework and food, but no one takes my yelling seriously. They all think it’s funny. That’s how this whole career happened. I don’t just yell at my kids; I yell at their friends. I yell at their neighbours. I go to all their sporting teams. I start yelling at those kids because, in my opinion, everybody is living life wrong. I don’t know how to fix it,” she says, adding, “We’re going to be like this even when we’re 90 years old, we’re going to be grumpy and angry and we’re going to think everybody’s doing things wrong. And that’s OK because that’s who we are.”