India, Nov. 27 -- A Memoir for Misfits, Vir Das, Emmy-award winning stand-up comedian, actor and singer, addresses issues of identity and adulthood. These are weighty matters presented like a song sung by one who knows it is going to end but who also realises that while it plays, someone will dance, cry or smile. The short prefatory note mentioning that the book's subject is a fool immediately endears the author to readers, all of whom are possibly also seeking answers in various stages of their own lives.

So how did Das discover his ability to make people laugh? As a student at Lawrence School, where teachers encouraged his talent as a speaker, Das, who, in the age-old tradition of Indian schools, was routinely ragged, turned to humour ...