Friday, December 23, 2005

I confess I am a...

listener of Christmas Carols..CORNY to be precise [Christmas on Rhyming Notes, YES!!]. First my defense:

1) NO, its not some colonial hangover. Well, it possibly is, but i havent really heard too many Jain songs for Mahavir Jayanthi, so i will stick to the most popular [Ganesh mandal rehashes of popular bollywood movies to ganeshish proportions notwithstanding]

2) Yes, i studied in a convent school. I was that kid who solemnly stacked the hymns book in her schoolbag everyday, and even yelped joyously when the nuns chose my favorite one to sing in the morning prayers.

3) And no, i dont always like christmas carols, especially when the retailers give the step-sisterly treatment to thanksgiving and insensitively play christmas songs during TG.

I, simply put, enjoy the christmas carols. I do have my radio switched to the station that plays the most of it. Some would say its my childhood denial syndrome kicking in, that when as the only ‘convent-bred’ kid, i could get away with singing “sound of music” and still be patted on head for singing like those choir-girls for xmas. To be fair, Xmas carols are not too hard on the ears, and i truly feel there is a magic to it. So while the rest of the country decides to call it a celebration of festiveness or some such lame stuff, I will tune my music station to xmas carols and light a fire in the fireplace of our californian rented home [aw you chicago-folk…dont balk!] and pretend i am in an enid-blyton novel. Which probably makes it a literary-hangover more than a colonial-hangover.

Coz i know, atleast where i come from, retailers will bravely put out christmas logos and share pedas under the christmas trees with customers. And know all is well in the “Merry christmas” land.

Delirious from overdose of office-gifts for the festive season,
me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

one of the most racist blogs i have come across in recent times.. would make a good study for a psychologist ..

here are some xamples of ur tambram streo types.. u will find that everybody is a engineer with schooling from padma seshadri..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar#Some_Famous_Iyengars_in_Recent_Times

oh.. i think u r suffering from an infriority complex..u wannabe a northie but u r a tambram...so u r one of those desis in US who try hard to be a US ..talk in a fake accent etc.. who claim "india is a sucky country" etc..but when u r 40 and old u would realize that you are always a tambram and will bever be accepted anywhere else.. and then it would be too late..

maybe if u stopped ODing in Ayn Ryand and talking "like a rebel" you will find out that tambram members have diversified into every possible field indians have gone into...for such a small community the visibility/accomplishment level is dispropotionately high..

on ur opinions about questioning rituals god. have u imagined how it would look like if some teenage chic goes and talks to a Physicist with 2 Nobel prizes.. "oh..i think einstein is cool and all..but like.. i think E = MC..that way too cool than MC^2."

if u dont know anything about religious texts except for your superfifical observations how would u even begin arguing..

PM said...

jeez..some basic points dude

1) dont comment on my blog as anonymous, seriously. Besides being plain silly to go around nameless, it simply doesnt motivate me to respond to any weirdo who walks in here and decides to sermonize.

2) The blog you commented on isnt even about Tambrams. You even read the blog you comment on?

3) Spare me the Tambram parade, puhleeze. I dont care for the traffic, and sentences like "so u r one of those desis in US who try hard to be a US ..talk in a fake accent etc.. who claim "india is a sucky country" etc." hardly provide a compelling or intelligent enough argument to respond to.

4) It surprises me that a take on tambrams is automatically and weirdly interpreted as anti-Indian, anti-religion and what nots. I simply cant imagine the lame generalization logic that fuels such attitudes, so will let that be.

5) Its a take on Tambrams-period. There are takes on Puneris, women, men, sports-fans, golf-fans and entertainment fans that have been generated by me, both on this blog and elsewhere. I wonder how vehemently you'd have brought up your "anti- hindu, anti-india" sentiments if it was a take on pune or mumbai-folk.

6) I wish to clarify no part of my blog, its plain to see. I disclaim no part of my background, and am proud of all that has contributed to it. I would love to see how many raise their shackles if i wrote the same blog and just shifted the base from Tambrams to smtg else.

If a take on singlehood [Bridget Jones] diary is digestable, so shall these blogs as well. I claim no literary similarity, just of the will to do a spoof or a take on the said category.

Jeez@brigade,
Peps

Anonymous said...

Peppy,

I am no tambram but the comment about "desis in US" makes a lot of sense to me. It is a very good analogy.

Growing up as a tambram gave you so much knowledge about them. So you are able to make fun because you know it so well. Seinfeld and many of the other standups work because they are so detached from the object they mock about. And they mock so many things equally that they dont come out so biased.

You make it appear as if you hate being a tambram and you are taking out your anger. The hatred comes out more than the humor.

Selective stereotyping is racism. Even if it is under the pretext of humor. Infact instead of being prejudiced something you know so much, why dont you learn something new and spoof it. It will put things under a better perspective.

On the other hand, just try spoofing something else like mumbaikars or puneris and you will probably know what i am talking about. The reaction will be just the same.

PM said...

Like i said, I am proud of all that contributes to my background, my tambram origins included. And yes, I've posted on women and immigrant indians as well, and havent received 'touch-me-not' remarks [interested points, yes (wink@maria)]. Which is why tambram defensiveness annoys mes me. Heaven knows i mock the 'Mumbai is the only city in India' mumbaikaars, but i guess goodnatured leg-pulling that i get back takes kinda put me off the track on what to expect.

I dont plan to comment any further on the topic without following the 'defensive' pattern, and that is so not the point of the blog. If i am denied the right to take a dig at a community i know best, only coz i belong to it, thats too racist methinks. and well, too bad for the rest.

tongue firmly in cheek,
peps