Is that last line reflect a dominant minorty bias in Kerala whose communist run govt herald's it "God's own country" --I wonder how Kerala became a country.
Umesh --- Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This stuff is really good. Highlights mine. > ____________ > > > So Mallus rule, do th-ey? The chatter out of India > is that Keralites are > heavyweights of the season. Malayalees, it seems, > hold several top > administrative positions in India. To flog some > mal-apropism from college > days, that's a pheno-menon extraordi-nair... > > At various times, much the same has been said about > *Kashmiri Pandits, > Tam-Brahms, Bihari or Bengali babus etc. We love > affixing regional raps, > nattering about accents, mannerisms, > characteristics, domination etc. * > > Fish-eating bongs, sambar-soaked thambis, > hard-drinking surds are all grist > for our penchant for exaggerated stereotyping and > hyperbole. > > It's true that occasionally a confluence of > circumstances puts people of a > particu-lar geography or ethnicity in > decision-making positions in larger > numbers. Sometimes, leaders are comfortable with > aides from their own neck > of woods. > > Happens in the US too, where, for a while, Texans > see-med to have a run of > the White House. More often, such aggregation is due > to happenstance than > design. Sometimes, such coincidences can lead to > happy results. > > There is this story about US Congressman Dan Burton, > who, fed for years by > Khalistani separatists, remained a ferocious critic > of India for what he was > told was New Delhi's discriminatory policies towards > Sikhs. > > One day, Burton met a Indian diplomat who handled > congressional affairs at > the Indian embassy in Washington who happened to be > a Sikh. Soon after, he > met another diplomat who handled the media who was > also a Sikh. > > Months later, the deputy chief of mission he met was > a Sikh. India's > economic czar at a conference he attended was a > Sikh. By the time Burton met > Manmohan Singh, Khalistanis had lost him. > > *You would think Indians would lose their > regionalist outlook when they > migrate abroad, right? But often it seems to get > accentuated.* Even among > collegiates. So there are different versions of the > rock song Hotel > California to suit every ethnic stereotype. > > The national upcountry version goes: *On a dark > crowded highway/brylcreem in > my hair/warm smell of parathas/rising up through the > air. A Mallu version > goes: On the road to Trivandrum/coconut oil in my > hair/warm smell of > avial/rising up through the air. * > > Then there is the old row about which regional > immigrant group is the most > enterprising. When Armstrong stepped on to the moon, > I've heard it argued in > jest, the first person he met was a Sikh mechanic > (or dhaba owner). No, > insisted another, the first person he met was a > Malayalee typist (or chai > shop owner.) Naw, it was a Gujarati motel owner... > > I personally think if Armstrong were to go some > decades from now, he would > meet a whole gallery of Indians working in dhabas, > motels, call centres, > universities, hospitals, financial institutions etc. > > There will be Patel doctors, Sikh typists, Gujarati > nurses, and Bengali > grocers. And they will be talking only one language: > $$$. Heck, when you are > teeming with a billion plus, you've to put them out > somewhere. > > Our parochialism came to the fore for me on a recent > visit to India. It had > been so long since I had been to a railway station > that I forgot all about > platform tickets. A ticket inspector who I did not > see while going in loomed > before me on the way out. Oops, I just forgot in my > rush to see off a > friend, I said. > > *"Catholic?" she asked, divining a hopeless error. > "Indian," I said stonily. > "Christian?" she asked hopefully, expanding her > vision a bit. "Indian," I > insisted. The end result of my doggedness was a fine > of Rs 253. Small price > for asserting Indianness*. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > Umesh Sharma 5121 Lackawanna ST College Park, MD 20740 USA Current temp. address: 5649 Yalta Place , Vancouver, Canada 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone] Canada # (607) 221-9433 Ed.M. - International Education Policy Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Class of 2005 weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/ ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Photos NEW, now offering a quality print service from just 7p a photo http://uk.photos.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
