From Mumbai to Cork, bai: ‘My spice threshold has gone down’

Maanadh Naik is a stand-up comedian who moved from India in 2018Maanadh Naik in Cork city. Photograph: Provision Maanadh Naik, who moved from India to Cork in 2018, had quite a shock at immigration in Cork airport when he heard an Irish accent for the first time. “I was used to American English that you would see in sitcoms, and then posh London English, but I had never heard Cork English,” Naik says, “When I heard the immigration officer speak, I went, oh my God, I don’t understand what he is saying.” However, he adapted quickly and developed an ear for Irish English. He describes his childhood in Mumbai as sheltered. READ MORE“My school was next to my family’s apartment. The university I did my undergrad at, the University of Mumbai, was around seven kilometres from our place. I made the decision to move to Ireland having not lived anywhere else.” After finishing university he did a work placement, it was during that placement that he decided that he wanted to go abroad for his master’s. He chose Ireland partly because he felt familiar with the culture having attended a Catholic school, St Thomas Academy, in Mumbai. However, a lifelong inclination to go against the grain was arguably the deciding factor in his decision as many of the people he grew up with had gone to the US, UK and Australia for their master’s, and he wanted to go somewhere he saw as less conventional. “In 2018 Ireland was not the most popular choice. I don’t like doing things that everyone else is doing.” His decision to move to Cork was also because of his aversion to following trends. “But where was everybody going in Ireland? Dublin. So I thought, you know what, I’m going to go to Cork. Where does everybody go in Cork? University College Cork. So I went to Cork Institute of Technology (now Munster Technological University). It was all purely to rebel.” [ From ‘the wettest place on Earth’ to Limerick: ‘I had to learn to say sorry when I’m not sorry’Opens in new window ]Upon arriving in his student accommodation, the reality of having moved halfway around the world to a country where he knew no one hit him. “I rang my parents to tell them that I had made it, and I just broke down to my mum.” He told his mother that he wanted to come back but she said that he needed to figure it out and, besides, she had taken out a large education loan to get him there. However, he quickly made friends with other international students on his course – people from countries like Brazil and Mexico. “I was forced to get out of my comfort zone.”Maanadh Naik in Cork city. Photograph: Provision Halfway through his master’s he secured a job that sponsored his visa as a data scientist. After his university accommodation tenancy ended, he moved into digs with an Irish family as he wanted to immerse himself in life in Irish culture. “I thought I would live with them for seven months, but you won’t believe it ... I lived with them for six years.” Soon after he moved in the Covid-19 pandemic happened so he ended up spending a lot of time with his host family and they all really bonded. For the past seven years he has spent Christmas with them and he refers to them as his Irish family. He has always been a big fan of stand-up comedy and a few years ago decided to give it a try at an open mic night in Cork. “I went to an open-mic night purely to get over my fear of public speaking and because I wanted to do things that make me uncomfortable.” [ From India to Ireland: ‘The first day I came to Dublin, I felt like I’m home, like I belong’Opens in new window ]While Naik says it went “as bad as it could have gone”, as he was about to leave someone who worked there approached him and told him that he was funny and to return the next week. He saw this as an opportunity to meet people after the pandemic as many of his friends from his master’s had moved away. Over time he got better at stand-up and today he regularly does gigs around the country and has opened for famous comedians like Chris Kent, he will soon appear at the Dublin Fringe performing his new show, From Mumbai to Cork-bai. Though Naik says that he has not experienced racism in Ireland, he has had experiences where people come up to him after a gig, particularly in more rural areas, and tell him that he is one of the “good ones”, and that it is the other immigrants that they are against. Despite this he does not believe that Ireland has a widespread racism problem. “Hate sells, love does not and that is the problem.” Every year he returns to India for a few weeks to visit family and friends, but since living in Ireland his family have had to make some adjustments for him. “My spice threshold has gone down. So every time I go home, my mum has to make a separate batch of food for me, which is less spicy.” At present Naik feels pretty settled in Cork, he recently got his Irish citizenship and is enjoying the opportunities it gives him to travel around Europe. He would maybe consider moving to Dublin in the future as there are more opportunities there for comedians but as of now he is considers Cork his home. IN THIS SECTION