Monday, August 15, 2011

The problem of being a South Indian in a Bschool.





The day of announcement of the results. Thank god you are admitted. At last. Some relief. College pal phones you and after formal congos says ‘Meesaya eduthuru. Northie ponnungalukku mesa irundha pudikaadhu” (Wipe your Moustache off. Northie girl doesn’t get along with mushy guys).

You see him as a savior. Do that. Think you look like ‘Thillu Mullu’ Rajini and stand before amma. After a brief shock she adds, “ Oh. Anga ulla manjal vachrukken. Poi theichi kulichiko”. Arghhh.

Airport. Adieu Sennai Madharaas. In the flight an old lady with the specs ,” Krupya thoda hut jaayiye . Mujhe saaman rakhna hei” . A padikkathavan Rajini appears again withinself . Smiling you say, “Yes . Yes. Thank you”. The lady is puzzled. Again minutes before landing when your eyes are fixed on to the refreshing pair of waxed legs , the air hostess with her glass of water whispers , “ Kursi. Thoda aage”. The reply was “No. Thanks”

At the end of the day 1 you update your Facebook wall with any of these three phrases.Ek gaav mein Ek kisaan raguthaatha.. Raha.. Raha”, “Arrey yaar!!!” ,” Roti, Rajma and Aloo L

Anshul, Arnav,Abhinav, Arnab, Ayush, Amit, Ashish. Ankit. Confusions of India. RIP Anands, Aruns, Karthiks, Sureshs & Rameshs.

The next day someone asks you , “ Are you a Maddu?” Mallu misspelt you thought . Madras = Maddu. Mallu, Kaddu, Golti likewise. Whattey explanation. Appo Salem na enna Sallu va..? Podango.

You are astonished cum annoyed to know that Keralites can understand,talk,walk Hindi you bloody fellow. People from AP can speak broken Hindi. Kannads speak even Marathi. Dei. Ennagada. Naama ellam onnunu nenachen? Appo naan than out aa? Oh Gaaaawd.

Class rooms are nothing less than night mares. A girl in the class is on the way with a smile. Says something. Before you could decipher that, a Villain with a loud voice crosses and declares, “Usko Hindi nahi aathi hei.” Otha Dei.

No where connected to the mass the world looks deserted. When the entire class bursts out in laughter for a professor’s joke in Punjabish Hindi you are busy nudging the next fellow , “What yaar. Kya yaar. Bol yaar”. The chap makes sure that he doesn’t sit in your vicinity for any of the future classes. It becomes a routine and over a period of time it becomes almost involuntary. You bang the desk and start laughing loud enough so that Prof makes a special note of you, though you don’t get a single bit of it. Desperate class participation you see.

You pretend to be the calmest guy in the class. Little the other people know that you penned a love letter in Class V and the cc of the same was sent to the Maths teacher. A typical last bencher you hurled pieces of chalk at the miss and in UG college you proudly used to claim the prettiest faculty , “En Figure”. Distant sweet memoirs. Vaal is suruttified.

Morning before you even get up you think of the day’s menu. “Aloo parantha & Dahi”. That Idli, Pongal & Meduvada floating on a plate of Sambhar at Ratna Café in Triplicane flashes across. The same weekend you travel 50 Kms up and down for a Andra full meals.

Water sprinkled on a banana leaf. You are getting emotional. Rice piled. Hand drilled. Hole made. Podi put. Ghee vittu. You are disturbed. Thinking of the Home and Amma for the first time in 40 days. Eating the first vaai of Rasam. You are about to cry. For the first time in life you tip Rs.30.

You’ve never been a great fan of Rajnikant. Sans Baadsha. But when people tease you with The name for every single thing you do you feel more connected to him. Some youTube videos for the rescue. Blue neon/Led lights flashing S.U.P.E.R S.T.A.R and then a

R
A
J
N
I

Goosebumps. And the only solace.

You try desperately to learn some Hindi but fail again and again. Frustrated, you see the famous

Vadivel comedy tracks and hit the sack.

Dhanyavaad.

80 comments:

ILA (a) இளா said...

hahhahah. Great writings

ARUL VEL ARASAN said...

That was an excellent one. I can understand ur feelings, same blood a year ago

Vignesh said...

Manjal comment by mum & vadivel clips perfect!!:)
ROFL!:-)

Lava (Sanskrit: लव) said...

good one da! you will get there!

Unknown said...

Awesome.. I am feeling the heat here too....

subbu's said...

Hindi nahi maalum ?

Prakash said...

Me too felt these when I was in Mumb ai..though it was not an MBA most of the things I can relate to myself..enna vaazkaida idhu :) :(
ennala mudila..you better try to learn Hindi da...

Andrew said...

Nice one da :-)

Unknown said...

bahut achcha. tumhara Hindi utna kharaab nahin hai!

Anonymous said...

konjam bayama irukku na !!!!! :-)

Gopi said...

Machi... Awesome... Same peelingu da... U r growin better & better...

Mu Su... said...

sooper... sooper... same peelings!

lazycoder said...

Seriously speaking I am a Northie guy and could not understand some parts of your blog but nicely written also I would like to stress that I have studied in Chennai for 3 years during my schooling and over there the same thing used to happen with me ... More of Tamil, tamilian jokes and stuff due to which you feel disconnected from the class.

oh well!! guess we need to adjust everywhere :) .. adjusting to Kannada these days.

Pavithra said...

Good post! :) That ws funny and kind of sad at the same time.

Venkata Ramanan S said...

Hey all! Thanks for the comments :)

@Umesh: Friends helped. Google translate ka hindi bahuth karab hein :D

@kavin: enna bayam da?

@lazycoder : Yeah. Am not blaming. Just a lesson for the next gen :)

JSTHEONE said...

Wow wow wow... hatsoff sooper :)

V J N said...

its not alone a problem in B school.. It can happen to anyone once he gets out of Tamil nadu.. A well written article. For all those who just read and laughed at it must go through the comments and carefully read author's previous comment. Lets not do the mistake what our previous generation has done to us. After all learning a language is always a + for us. its not alone a problem in B school.. It can happen to anyone once he gets out of Tamil nadu.. A well written article. For all those who just read and laughed at it must go through the comments and carefully read author's previous comment. Lets not do the mistake what our previous generation has done to us. After all learning a language is always a + for us. e once he gets out of Tamil nadu.. A well written article. For all those who just read and laughed at it must go through the comments and carefully read author's previous comment. Lets not do the mistake what our previous generation has done to us. After all learning a language is always a + for us. its not alone a problem in B school.. It can happen to anyone once he gets out of Tamil nadu.. A well written article. For all those who just read and laughed at it must go through the comments and carefully read author's previous comment. Lets not do the mistake what our previous generation has done to us. After all learning a language is always a + for us.

sabarish said...

Mera Beta aapka beta. Aapka beta Doddabeta.. Poda dai...

Unknown said...

y blood???? SAME BLOOD...

sarpalan said...

:-) Excellent writing.

VIJAYA PRABHU said...

awesome,..

Humanitarian said...

dude! you hve given words to my Bschool life. Awesome narration. Every word of it is true.

eppadikku,
majburila hindi kathukitta tamilan

Unknown said...

I completely luvd it..superb post..Same Blood.. :) :)

Sriram said...

Golden Words :) lol

Pauljeba said...

awesome post man.. enna alavechiteengoo.. B school situation truly captured :D

jammy said...

excellent writing....pinniteenge ponge

Venkata Ramanan S said...

Thanks for the comments.
@Humanitarian : eppadikku,
majburila hindi kathukitta tamilan
LOL :D

Anonymous said...

It's very good

MSP said...

Awesome man!! Enjoyed every bit of it!!

Rajesh Dharmarajan said...

Too good! I could relate the "rajinikanth" thing to myself! It happened exactly the same way for me! :D

sriram rajagopal said...

awesome one!!

sriram rajagopal said...

awesome one ! :)

Samba said...

Heh. Indha post oda link FB sharing la poitruku... :)

nadathu machi.

Unknown said...

Ultimate kalaai hai! :) Nandri hai... :D Hum banega Raincoat family!!! :D :D

Pavan said...

Funny but extremely victim centred..Jus because Northie folks produce more children and many speak that tongue,People down south needn't feel so victimised.Its because those northie folks can't speak English that they resort to hindi.And I don't understand with this obsession to hindi.English is almost a de facto universal scientific language.Relating to english is a lot easier than to hindi.We just have to come out of this victim mentality of not knowin hindi.Be proud of your mother tongue.Funny but extremely victim centred..Jus because Northie folks produce more children and many speak that tongue,People down south needn't feel so victimised.Its because those northie folks can't speak English that they resort to hindi.And I don't understand with this obsession to hindi.English is almost a de facto universal scientific language.Relating to english is a lot easier than to hindi.We just have to come out of this victim mentality of not knowin hindi.Be proud

Anonymous said...

Aloo roti, aloo masala,aloo sabji, aloo rice . otha! aloo Juice is the only thing they have left. Aloo ki bachans. They know only 2 things namely aloo n hindi

Bala said...

Superb....in fact, till the time you leave TN, you make fun of Hindi speaking fellows....(indikkaran)and never try to learn Hindi...then unltimately you regret a lot for not learning Hindi...

ravi said...

Just reflects the inferiority complex that the post anti hindi generation has. The previous generation fought so hard for their language that the next generation just does not understand because they want to desperately fit in the image created for modern-India. I have faced so many A-holes when I came to study in US who speak Hindi even around their American friends. They are just arrogant and treat southies like piece of crap. So yeah, its going to be some getting used to, but blaming the previous generation is unacceptable.

Saravanan Palanisamy said...

Anubhavitthu eluhti irukkirirgal...

Gowtham MK said...

semma article. Same feeling.

Gowtham MK said...

semma article. same feeling.

Saravana said...

Intha bloga paartha udane kharagpur la pongal-sambar paartha maathri irunthuchu :D sooper,!!! peelings likewise :)

Saravana said...

Intha bloga paartha udane kharagpur la pongal-sambar paartha maathri irunthuchu :D sooper,!!! peelings likewise :)

Shankar said...

i worked for 2 years in baroda and now in delhi to study further. prior to that i studied the so called MECH engg from cbe. i accept all the frustrations that u have undergone/are undergoing.the funny part is `in different parts of the so called "uttar india", the dialects are different'.Comprehending the regular hindi(hindi prachar sabha)and the local dialect is a damn funny experiance. சுட்டாதான் நெருப்பு, பட்டாதான் பொறுப்பு.

Udayarajan said...

The same experience which I had during the first week in Mumbai and first month of my Internship in Gurgaon..... Indha hindi paasangla bomb vachu kollanum.......................

Sunder said...

Sooper stuff sir :-) . Can think of atleast 3-4 ppl from B-school who were at the receiving end :-). The only time they 'expressed' themselves were during "South-Indian day" celebrations grooving to "Nakamuka", "Saroja Samaan nikalo" and Thalaivar tracks :-)

Venkata Ramanan S said...

@Rajesh : Yes. Rajni is me. Rajni is you.Rajni is every Tamilian. Il be proud from now on :)

@Mahesh: Raincoat Family hein :D

@Anony : "Aloo roti, aloo masala,aloo sabji, aloo rice . otha! aloo Juice is the only thing they have left" ha ha.. Nicceeeyyyy :)


@Sundar : Nice u have south indian day. My school & my bad this batch only 3 thamizhans :( prolly thats y u see this post. Lucky u.

@Ravi & @Pavan I beg to differ. Outside TN just with English n Tamil we are done. We r noway connected to rest of India. We were never taught n we never learnt. But I feel the next generation shouldn't err. Well, everyone loves their mother toungue. Infact I feel proud wen sumhow comments me a "Tamil Veriyan da nee".. But. But.

suresh said...

Lol ... nachinu irunthudu ... hindi theriyama figure kudah paesah try panra kashtam iruke ... koduma sir athu

suresh said...

Lol ... Nachinu iruthichi ....Hindi theriyama figure kuda paesa try panra kodumah irukeh ....

Unknown said...

absolutely true feelings... and I was ther a year ago..

vinod said...

Sema Post... ROFL!!!!

aravind.k.rajagopal said...

Word to Word is real!!!! I have faced and experienced each and every incident mentioned here!!!!! Awesome post bro!!!

Anonymous said...

True! There is nothing wrong in learning Hindi.. No need to be so offensive about Hindi. People dont mind if you learn Greek or Japanese or German or French.But learn Hindi in TN.. gone..This attitude should change. i learnt Hindi in school..Thanks to my dad... though I didnt remember much of it, still it helped me to breeze through my early days in Mumbai..

Anonymous said...

wow that what a thamizhan feels when he gets out of tamilnadu, not just to the north, have felt the same way...nice...

Kamal said...

ROFL....great write up dude...sema

Ramjee said...

Maappu... Vachhitaangalaa Aappu... Same Blood, but 20 years ago! The first time in my life I orderd "Thaali" (In TN it would mean Mangal Sutra) for Rs. 40! As I tried munching the sweet dhaal, I wanted Salt and did not know the word to ask, and the server refused to understand anything from the word SALT that I kept yelling... Tried my Hindi (courtesy the Radio Cricket Commentaries of those days). White white hotha hai, powder powder hotha hai... hmmm (acting as if am putting it into the food and pointing the plate) Uuvee (showing palms open) he understood it with great difficulty and brought a "Katori" of salt!
Then again true to my Madharasi nature wanted to finish the meals with curd rice... again my explanations, white white hotha hai, liquid liquid hotha hai... and you should hear him say "Saala madharaasi kaala kaala aatha hai, sab kuch white white chaahiye..." Even today I laught thinking of those days! :))

Ragunathan said...

பின்னி பெடல் எடுத்துடீங்க.... loved every line of it :)

mathangi said...

I agree to what you ahve expressed and it's not any madraasis fault, it should be encouraged from the childhood. Atleast the current gen do not have to face this problem,and it's vice versa for the northies also. It's like Ek duje ke liye... and madraasis can survive anywhere and can pick up lang anytime.
A nice heart to mouth article!!!!!

Lavanya Raj said...

Excellent writing. I teared up at the end of it, not because of the emotions you tried to sprinkle on, but to the fact that you have done it so brilliantly. And I laughed all through.

Unknown said...

semma comedy la.... (naan mahan alla style)....

Anonymous said...

What an amazing post! Love it...

You gotta have fLike and tweet in your blog!! (You'll get better traffic...)
I'm jus sharing your link on my FB wall and posting the link on my twitter page :)
If u need help, i can help you..

Happy Writing...

Mahatma Anna said...

This abysmal situation will never change unless Hindi is made compulsory in Primary schools of Tamil Nadu. Btw, great wrting and very funny too.

alex said...

nice article ...xactly ure telling the fact. im also experiencing the same language problem in maharastra. we tamil ppl are broughtup in such a way with mostly 2 languages tamil and english. atleast hindi is a must , which i realise here now.

Anonymous said...

Very well written. Can totally identify with almost all of it.

Anonymous said...

Can identify with this! :D

Ramani said...

thats a great post!!!

Reality is fun..... :)


mera bohuth bohuth bisipelabaath......

Ramdev said...

well said friend.......

Venkata Ramanan S said...

Hey all !! Thanku for the comments. And @Ramjee Nagarajan Chaancey illa sir .. Sooper :D

prarthu said...

awwwwwwwwww!!!!!

Venkatesan Raghavan said...

Maapi MAAASSSS!!!!

dillu said...

xactly my situation ..... great writtings

pritha said...

this is really going to be my exact situation for me frm nxt week.. most worried

Venkata Ramanan S said...

@dillu & @pritha

Lol. :) Welcome. So which Bschools?

Anonymous said...

I get you!!
naanum hindi zero :D

Shyam Le Grand said...

SHYAM: superuappu..... Idhu dhan unma.....

Shyam Le Grand said...

super.....This is the truth....

மதி said...

Super boss.. same blood :-)

Sahithya said...

This is so hilarious :)

btw.. in your about me sect.. its INFJ and not INJF, The order ought not to be changed.Period.

Sahithya said...

This is so hilarious :) loved your writing !!!

P.S : In your about me section, it is INFJ and NOT INJF, The order ought not to be changed , for the psychologists sake :P

Venkata Ramanan S said...

@Sahithya : Oh. But how does it matter. Poova 'poo'num sollalaam, 'Puippam' num sollalaam ilaya? :P

Btw, thanks for reading. Always wanted to visit a psychologist.Glad I found one.