Bharti Singh has made a name for herself as one of the best comedians national television has seen. She has also been a part of several reality shows.
On a recent episode of ‘The Maniesh Paul Podcast’, Bharti exclusively gives the audience details about the hardships she’s faced.
Starting off their conversation on a shocking note, the duo revealed that Bharti was indeed a National level rifle shooter!
“Now even I laugh when someone says this. Have you seen a fat girl lifting a rifle and taking aims? Athletes are slim and trim, seen in tracksuits. Yes, but it is true. I used to be a rifle shooter and even competed at the national level 12 years ago. I have represented Punjab in Pune.“ Interestingly, Bharti also adds she got into college under the sports quota!
“We used to get free food from the government. I also got ₹15 per day. They used to give us three coupons of ₹5 each and we could get a glass of juice with one coupon. You won’t believe, I used to have one glass of juice, just to ensure I have energy to stand there for hours and practise rifle shooting. The rest, I would save. At the end of the month, I used to get fruits and juices in exchange for those coupons and take them home. I could hardly swallow that one glass of juice, daily. It felt like Diwali, the fruits would be all placed and everyone circled around waiting for one piece of fruit,” Bharti discloses.
The comedian also spoke about the extreme poverty her family had faced while growing up. She mentioned there were times when they did not have food at home. Bharti says her family is still not accustomed to the lavish lifestyle she can now afford.
While her brother sold goods at a shop, her sister and mother sewed blankets in a factory.
“I didn’t feel like going home. I would stay in college with my friends and eat at the hostel. I knew once I go back, I would have to face poverty. Live in that dim light.”
Talking more about her mother’s struggles, she revealed her mother would cook at other’s homes and also sewed decorative Mata Rani’s dupatta (a cloth used on Hindu Goddess’ idols) because of which there was the constant sound of the sewing machine at home. “I have lived in that noise for 21 years. I don’t want to ever go back there. I don’t have very big dreams but I keep praying to God that I am able to sustain what I have. We have eaten salt and roti but now we have dal, sabzi and roti. I just hope my family always has at least dal to eat. I will never want to face the situation or have my family go through that.”