It is very rare for stand-up comics to go hyper-local with their jokes. However, Shravan Nalgirkar from Latur in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has scripted an act that raises pertinent issues like drought and bad governance affecting his region, while actually raising laughs.

The video (above) of his performance was posted on the YouTube channel Bharatiya Digital Party.

Nalgirkar’s personal touch to the jokes and his comparisons of Latur with other major cities in the state, like Mumbai and Pune, gave the routine wider appeal. The real message, though, is that people have been reduced to laughing at the miseries inflicted on them.