IT SEEMS that we are unable to keep pace with our oral literature. While there are many notable efforts to record our oral literature of the immediate and not too distant past, the present prolific production of oral literature is accumulating by leaps and bounds, leaping and bounding away from our grasp. One example would suffice: The life and work of comedian extraordinaire, Habeeb Khan. If we were to capture every thing he says on stage (notwithstanding his everyday communication, which is more numerous and much longer than his stage discourses), it would fill tomes.
Habeeb Khan can make you laugh in some seven languages, and his mimicry of countless accents is awesome. When he articulates the word ‘bustenhalter’, there is no need for a German/English Dictionary; you will get the picture; a graphic picture. That’s the hallmark of a true comedian.
As a storyteller, he would piece together his presentation in such a way as to lead the audience on to a resounding climax. He would take the unfamiliar and connect it to you with his extensive vocabulary, like the skilled and consummate storyteller he is.
Khan subscribes to no groupings, which, he says, are usually single-minded, narrow-minded, leading to antipathy. And for him to connect to his audience; for him to execute his jokes; for him to extend his satire throughout the whole gamut of human experience, he is wary of any religious and ethnic tags and labels.
But, he declares, “I am Guyanese, first and last, from here in Guyana to wherever I travel — Canada, USA or the Caribbean. I am Guyanese and proud to be a Guyanese.”
His ‘nation’ jokes will always find a Guyanese ahead of the others. And he’s dead serious. Well, most of the time. At other times, he puts “lash pon dem Guyanese foh show dem dem stupidness.” But as he loves to repeat, he is first and last a Guyanese. That is the main reason why he is still here, while the others have gone to ‘Region Eleven’. As he stoutly declares, “I have a responsibility to my country’s culture, because I love my country, and my country loves me.”
It is not easy to tell a joke. According to Khan, “Humour is a serious thing; you got to be very careful with word construction; psycho-analyse de crowd…But I get through because of body language. However, being a stand-up comedian is not easy.”
He is no stranger to heckling, and never shies away from it. Rather, he feeds off it, capitalising on it. On the subject of language, he said, “You don’t need to be vulgar to be funny; you don’t need to be vulgar to crack a joke. If you’re in command of the language, you can polish the vulgarity and still connect to a particular audience.”
And Khan has been successfully connecting to audiences the world over, whether it’s the Caribbean, Canada, or the USA. He’s worked with Norman Beaton, Eddy Nassey, and Sammy Jerrick (Together, they were called the ‘Four B’s’) and many other luminaries in the field of entertainment.
He loves making people laugh. “Deh pay me to mek dem laff. Heh-heh!” So everyone is happy. It’s the making of a successful arrangement.
A great deal of his mimicry involves adding words, phrases and verses to set pieces of dialogue and song. Khan could mimic the greats like Billy Esktine, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra, paving the way for him to appear on stage with the likes of Boris Gardner, Sparrow, Ben E King, and Mahalia Jackson.
If Khan’s public life can fill volumes, then his private life could fill bookshelves. He has fathered 14 boys and two girls. Children are his touchstones; they keep him in touch with the vogue, especially in respect of language (slang of the day) and culture (minibus culture) and more. Fourteen children and grandchildren! What an audience! And a whole lot of talking! A whole lot of oral literature to be preserved!

(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)

What’s Happening:
•    The current issue of The Guyana Annual magazine will be dedicated to Braithwaite. Tributes, reviews of his publications, and related articles are invited for possible inclusion in the magazine.