She was told to get married at 15. She had other plans.
In this week’s episode of Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, Mayim and Jonathan sit down with Zarna Garg — internationally beloved standup comedian, New York Times bestselling author of This American Woman: A One in a Billion Memoir, and America’s first Indian immigrant mom comedian — for a conversation that is as funny as it is moving.
Growing up in India, Zarna was unimportant. She was the youngest of four, born into a culture that had no use for her big mouth and witty banter. When her mother died suddenly, a single option surfaced: marriage. She wasn’t even fifteen years old. Her father expected her to abide, but what followed was one of the most unlikely origin stories in comedy.
She began sleeping on friends’ couches to avoid becoming someone’s wife. She thought it would be two or three days, but she made it last for two years. Her father was a rich and powerful man; many of her friends’ parents didn’t want to make him an enemy. And some agreed with him! She was turned away because her ideas about choosing her own life were considered dangerous.
Now she sells out theaters and makes people feel seen in a way that only Zarna can. It all started when she stopped talking about high heels and trusted that her voice would make us listen and laugh.
In this episode, they also explore:
