In the canteen today, while I was eating, I heard a firang talking. Thats pretty usual here as there are so many exchange students around from all over the world. But then I heard things like "butt-her naan has butt-her in it and saambhaar and chhatt-nee are south indian dishes". This made me curious and so i turned around to see the firang who was this well-informed and was making it known to others that he was this well informed. It turned out that the speaker was actually an Indian who was with the firangs and was educating them. Hee hee serving comes naturally to us. Imitation comes naturally to us. Almost every phoren-returned Indian has an accent. I sometimes wonder that maybe if they talked in their language, firangs wouldnt understand them and so they mimic and later find it tough to get out of that habit.
Some of the firang girls who come here adapt to the place. Some of them are very gorgeous and some of them are well just plain pale (or gori as they call it) - mousey eyes, washed out hair and stuff ( he he m just too proud of the way we are ;-) )
We had a batch last semester who were seen everyday in very pretty salwars and paayal and danglers and stuff. And saris too!! They had a collection. I cant wear a sari without help !:-D And cant walk in it without help :-D And these firangis were seen cycling in those saris!! :-D
I guess its mainly the excitement of trying out a new culture. But it also helps them in a way. You see letching at girls is also a part of our culture. I once saw a man riding his bike (he was almost in his 40's.. believe you me thats the dangerous species.. they are the major letchers). This firangi girl was wearing decent sleeveless T-shirt and jeans and was coming from the opposite direction on a cycle. He turned all the way to watch her. Ah I so wished that he crash his bike in a tree but then he must have been very experienced in letching.
V-TV's ghar mein maa behen nahin hai kya ad couldnt have been more perfect!
My friend told me about a girl who was eve-teased in a bus. She retaliated by jumping on his feet with her heeled sandals 3 times before getting down :-D kudos. Imagine the pain the man must have suffered for a week :-D Awesome
psst psst.. I still cant access the blogspot but I can still read comments cos of the mail alerts :-D So dont ditch this site please :-D
11 comments:
people just generally dont get the accent... most "indians" try to get one to look good in the eyes of the "foren" people :P but then this is just a point of view, coz after being on two trips, i still dont have an accent (thankfully :)) but many of my frnds do tend to catch on something :P
I have been trying to get an accent and failing miserably T :-p
(of course trying for a brit accent in US is li'l difficult ... :-D )
... while changing accents might be indian passtime... letching is a world wide sport, trust me :-)
@ aashish
its a real pleasure to meet someone who has been there and stil has no accent. My friends V and S came back without accent and it was nice to talk to them like in the old days :-D
I would like to hear sanjana talk too after she returns:-D
@sanjana
My fault really. I lost sight of the "boys wil be boys- @$#$#$" theory. Thats universal aint it! ;-)
"butt-her naan has butt-her in it and saambhaar and chhatt-nee are south indian dishes"
just too good..=))
and yeah those firang girls trying out indian outfits...they really make a mockery of indian dressing sense :P
and do away with these word verifications..painful to post comments and plus half the time i get them wrong
" You see letching at girls is also a part of our culture." Can you specifiy what you mean by "our" here?. Who else are you considering with yourself as "our". Is it the group of people who like to letch, of whom you consider yourself to be one, or something else?
Since your title names India, I suspect you are considering LETCHING a part of Indian culture. I really doubt your knowledge of Indian culture in that case.
@reader
I obviously meant the men of India where I stay by the way and belong to and about which Im equally passionate as you are. Now please dont tell me that u guys put your head down with respect when a girl passes you!!! If you really do I would like to meet you. Its an honour!!
That line you quoted obviously had sarcasm dripping from it and was a comment on a true state of affairs and I expected you to understand that easily enough. Check out the blank noise link on this page if u have doubts abt letching and more heinous crimes of the kind. We face it so we say so.
And its not the statement thats worth getting passionate about but the issue that was addressed.
cheers
first things first... I do not put my head down in respect and neither i turn my head to stare at them. More important i have no intentions to meet you. I felt pulling the name of India does not fit to bring forward all issues. Sense of pride is anyway less among us about our nation and for every single matter need not pull her in. BTW dont you think girls stare at guys too, if you say no, i just have a smile as answer in advance and , who else than u know that smile will have sarcasm dripping !!
@ reader
if u have followed my blog long enuf u would have realised how much sense of pride i have in the country too.
And this is how eve-teasing has been lightened in all spheres and thats how ppl refuse to recognise that its a serious crime. They just say that girls also do that or girls were wearing obscene clothes and they were asking for it. Girls dont go around groping men's private parts fyi. boys dont get """" molested """"
If u just choose one line and make arbit comments that cast aspersions, then all i can say is check out my very 1st post here:
http://chaltechalte.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_chaltechalte_archive.html
which says very sweetly - like it or get out.
I dont promote this blog anywhere and ppl who read it are those who are my friends or those who have maybe liked what i say and have come back to it. And maybe since then have gotten to know me and so understand my viewpoint.
Im not writing the history textbooks forgodsakes
First time in my life I came across someone who writes but with a feeling that readers either should like it or get out. Then there is no necessity of comments and I did a mistake. I am sorry for that. I didnt realize that to read a article, I need to read from the very first post of the blog. Such disclaimers should be at each page may be. Well, I read your blog, from very first. But as you say, like it or get out, so no more comments.
To clarify somethings, I never said girls wearing provocative dress is the cause of eve teasing. I do have some conservative dressing sense but that does not allow any one to "grope" or "molest" girls who likes to wear western attire. Eve teasing starts in minds of perverts and not anyones dress.
You never addressed what I said. I didn't like the fact of saying "It happens only in India" or "our culture" to address some bad issues. I love India, may be more than required and thus wrote the comment, but was not aware of the formula 'like it or get out'.
How many countries have u visited or studied before concluding "it happens only in India" ? Do you know the status of women, the rate of crime against women and more prominantly children in different countries? My comment was no way against your protest against those crooks who touch women like wolves but against your attitude to pull the Nations name in it. But again like it or get out. I didn't know that. Apologies again.
I read ur blog, as you had mentioned, well , may be you like the sceneries and places of tourism in India , but not sure which part mentioned "much sense of pride i have in the country too." . Not the blue eyed hunk soccer players I guess, India is not good at soccer. Nice thing here is that you can write "the country" not my country.
Lastly, I think you are so right in writing against some vice , some evils commited by some people, not all though, i agree again, mainly men does that, and that does not mean no woman ever does unacceptable gestures to men, or stare at men wearing very attractive outwear. But you are so very WRONG in dragging India's name here. I didn't like it and and so i follow the get out path set by you in your blog. I think India also gave that option, like IT or get out. For your strange mind, which will take the last sentence in wrong way, by IT, I do not mean groping girls or molesting them, I mean the richness of India.
When I write my posts, I dont follow a pre planned structure. I start with something and as I recall something I add them. The beginning is thought out but the end is never fixed. Its spontaneous. And my titles also have no fixed structure. Sometimes I write them first and then the post or the other way some other time. So here the title was connected with the accent putting issue as i rembr plus for no other reason than that its a catchy title. The post was written in a much lighter vein and u have made an issue out of it.
Surely if this is my space I have the right to say things my way. I wrote what I felt.
If I was so fed up with India, I wouldnt have told my mom that I dont want to marry some foreign settled Indian but would like to settle down here inspite of "" all the insecurities we face here now"". This communication with u reader is an aspect of a larger problem we face. Why should we justify everytime that yes we are as patriotic as you are when my father and forefathers have spent their lives in the country's service!! Its much easier for us now to actually get out of the country as u say instead of staying and wearing our patriotism on our sleeves. But then we belong here so we stay inspite of everything.
Loving a country doesnt mean not pointing out certain aspects. If u say u have read all my posts and have found only decriptions of good cities and hunks, then u havent really followed.
Its actually meaningless to argue sometimes.
It was nice knowing u :)
Have people forgot "A thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever...."
Big fan of Keats ;)
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