Being a performance artiste isn't like keeping a diary or meditating, in the sense that it isn't a solitary vocation. Their listeners provide the oxygen for the careers of musicians. A stand-up comedian's lifeblood is his or her audience. A new play's prospects are killed if it's performed in an empty hall. And it's keeping all this in mind that singer Raghav Meattle and comedian Saurav Ghosh have embarked on a new tour, called Giggles and Rhythm, spread across Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. The idea is to take their respective art form directly to their fans, instead of the other way round.

The modus operandi involves selecting people they know, based on past interactions, from each of the five cities and organising a comedy show-cum-concert in their homes, which will be open to others on a first-come-first-served basis. The Mumbai leg is slated for this week, and Meattle tells us, "People who buy tickets will be sent an email about the exact address a few days in advance. Saurav will first warm up the audience with a half-hour show, helping strangers melt the ice. I will then perform a few songs from my album [2018's Songs from a Matchbox] and a few unreleased ones."