Meet the new and improved Kumar.

Singapore's most famous drag queen has been making people laugh over the years - from Boom Boom Room in the 1990s to his current gig at Orchard Towers.

But in person, sans thick make-up, outlandish outfits and politically incorrect jokes, the 40-year-old strikes one as a level-headed person.

Credit for the new zen attitude goes to yoga, which he picked up recently.

'Trust me, I just started and I'm feeling really good about it. You have to find peace within yourself before you can go out and find happiness. Happiness is the only thing you cannot buy,' says the lithe entertainer, who performs at 3 Monkeys Cafe every Friday and Saturday night.

His new autobiographical stand-up comedy, Kumar: Stripped Bare And Standing Up, will be staged from this Thursday at the Esplanade Theatre.

He will deal with how he overcame his troubled childhood to become the entertainer that he is today. His parents were divorced when he was four and he was raised by his strict disciplinarian father who did not believe in sparing the rod.

Lest you think it is all heavy stuff, Kumar assures you there will be comedy as well.

'When I think about my childhood and what I went through, I can laugh about it now. I know some people will go 'Oh my God' when they hear my stories, but some will laugh.'

He adds matter-of-factly: 'Singaporeans will laugh when they get uncomfortable.'

He recently helped raise $30,000 for a charity for abused children in East Timor.

'I've been abused before in my childhood, so I can relate to them. After raising the money and seeing how happy they were, it also made me feel good.'

1 When did you realise that you could talk about your past in a show?

I decided to do it because a lot of people go through the same things as me, but they choose not to talk about it because they're afraid of what people will say. I'm trying to tell people that they are not alone. You know, when you're 40 years old, you can say something and people will tend to take you more seriously.

2 What was national service like for you?

While I was in NS, it was not very good. But after I got out of it, I looked back and thought that it was good for me. It made me a stronger person, more disciplined and organised. All my life, I've had to prove something to people so they'll stop calling me names like 'Ah Kua' (Hokkien slang for sissy). First day I stepped into camp, already people were calling me that. It's like, it has become my middle name, you know? Kumar aka Ah Gua. I always had to try to be better than people, because if you prove you're better, they'll stop calling you names. I liked proving that point because it also helped me grow.

3 What does happiness mean to you?

Live for the day and try to be happy for the day. I don't want to have everything in life or $10 million in my bank account. I just want to live happy now.

In the past year, some people I know have died. It made me realise that I'm not scared to die, but I want to be ready to die. Why do you want to think about what you're going to do when you're 60? Think about what you want to do today, because you don't even know whether you're going to be around tomorrow.

4 What advice would you give to someone who wants to find love?

Love has become so commercial. One thing is for sure: You cannot find love in clubs. Everyone just wants to pick someone up, have sex, say goodbye and 'I don't even want to know your name'.

Honestly, I don't know what real love is. I've had only two serious relationships and they messed me up big time. I'd rather have a good friend. It's more important to me than having a partner.

5 What is one side of Kumar that not many people know about?

I think I have a split personality. I'm very open on stage, but actually I'm very conservative. I think it's because of my Indian values.

6 How are you conservative?

I think we're losing touch with our own culture here. People are becoming robotic and overworked and neglecting their children. And there are so many foreigners here now.

Now, as a Singaporean, I feel like a foreigner in my own country. I go to Old Chang Kee and have to try to communicate with a China girl, just so I can buy a curry puff. And there are also too many ang mohs. Local girls marrying ang moh men, I don't understand why they want to do that. They always think the grass is greener on the other side.

7 What do you do when inspiration runs dry?

I'll end the show early (laughs). The inspiration is the audience. Every day, there's a different energy. I get inspired on the go. I don't lose inspiration as long as I don't lose the audience.

8 Complete this sentence: If I could live my life all over again...

I would do lots of charity work. I started doing it only two years ago. But I still want to be the same person I am today.

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