New Delhi, March 30 -- A few years ago, someone got in touch with me asking if I would agree to be part of an interview series where authors are interviewed in front of a live audience by a person who has never read a book. I immediately agreed because I knew that this interviewer had to be interesting just for admitting that he doesn't read books. That is how I first met Kunal Kamra, who has since emerged as one of the most endearing and consequential comedians in the world. In tribute to his most recent show, a Shiv Sena squad destroyed the venue.

All these years, I was certain that Kamra was yet to read a book. So I was amused when, during his show, he held a book in his hand. It was the Constitution of India. He said he could say wha...