Blue Material, India’s first Dalit-led, queer-affirmative comedy collective, will perform in Goa today as part of its Recording Tour 2026
CHRISTINE MACHADO
While caste is by no means an unfamiliar term in India, discussions today tend to centre on politics, reservations, and related issues. “It’s very one-dimensional. But there is much more to our existence,” says stand-up comedian Ravi Gaikwad. Comedy, he believes is a great tool to talk about it. Yet, he faced difficulties at first.
“When I started comedy and wanted to talk about my personal experience with caste, I noticed most comedy rooms were accustomed to punching down when it came to people like us. I wanted to change that,” he says.
Gaikwad realised that change could perhaps happen only by creating a dedicated space and thus, he co-founded Blue Material, a Dalit-led comedy collective. Five years on, it has a roster of 12 comedians pan-India. Its work explores caste, intersecting forms of oppression and the importance of finding and creating joy amidst it all. “While anti-caste is central to what we do, we also believe intersectionality is the way to go. For example, Tangade, one of the comedians on the line-up, is also queer and addresses these overlapping identities through her material,” says Gaikwad, adding that they do not want to pander to mainstream stand-up comedy. “Instead, we lean into our personal experiences, with the goal of making this the new mainstream.”
As part of the ongoing Recording Tour 2026, three comics (Gaikwad, Tangade, and Bakarmax) are travelling to five cities before recording their material in Bengaluru, which will be the collective’s first digital release. In Goa, they will be performing today at 8 p.m. at Sadhana Dell’Arte, Merces, with proceeds going to the Eklavya India Foundation, which works for the upliftment of first-generation university students from historically marginalised communities.
“Many people who had been online friends for years finally met at our shows. Dalit people everywhere have faced alienation and we have created an environment where those realities are normalised. That feeling makes every day at work the best day and gives me hope,” says Gaikwad.
The collective, he says, also plans to produce comedy sketches, short films and feature films. “We aim to build a production house with an ever-expanding network of comedians.”
