Hyderabad, May 16 -- On May 10, Narendra Modi stood at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Hyderabad and handed the country a homework list - don't buy gold, carpool, work from home, postpone foreign holidays, use the metro, cut edible oil, send parcels by train.

Mainstream media, including television anchors, nodded solemnly. Nobody asked the obvious question: Prime Minister, what exactly is happening?

But two stand-up comedians did.

'Have you left anyone with enough to buy gold?'

Varun Grover, performing to a packed house, noted that 80 crore Indians live below the poverty line and 60 per cent receive free government ration. These are the people receiving an advisory about gold purchases. He joked about dragging garbage bags and...