The week gone by has been a sombre one for funny men and traumatic for their families. The grim reaper claimed three, Asrani, Piyush Pandey and Satish Shah, all in the space of a few days. Asrani sahab I never worked with. I didn’t know him and personally didn’t go for his brand of comedy, but he had a lengthy, fruitful career as an audience favourite. Piyush, the advertising genius with his razor-sharp wit and the heartiest backwards laugh (“AaaaH! AaaaH! AaaH!”) I’ve heard, was generous, perceptive and warm. My association with him was brief but great fun; I wish I had had more to do with him. His demise was saddening because I’m certain he had a lot left to give. Satish’s going, however, hit me hardest, not only because he had been a friend for over 50 years but also because he was the

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