That's right. I am going to start referring to myself as The Chameleon Tamilian. You will wonder, what's up with this guy and I am going to explain you just that.
See quite recently, I had a conversation with a gentleman from Chennai. This is what transpired. After sharing initial pleasantries, I introduced myself to him as Rajesh Anantharaman. Probably with a hint of pride, after hearing my name, he quickly pounced with "Are you from Chennai?". Not expecting that googly from the guy, I shot back with "No, I am from Mumbai". Thoroughly unsatisfied with my response, he quipped "But your last name is Anantharaman" (and thus, I have got to be from Chennai). With my final answer to this puzzle which was "Ya, my father was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu and moved to Mumbai in the late 50s and consequently, I was born here". With that, I very conveniently squashed the expectations of the gentleman with my being a non-Chennaiwala.
And this is the sole reason, I framed the words - The Chameleon Tamilian. I am just an imposter, trying to blend-in in a sea of Madrasis.
This probably holds true for a vast majority of the Tamil boys that were born and brought up in non-Tamil Nadu states (yes, I am looking at you DC) and thus they might have invited similar scrutiny while such conversations might have cropped up for them.
What gives an advantage to a Cham-Tam is the Global IT Industry. While our friends from Andhra Pradesh might be hogging up the IT limelight, there is a substantial population of Tamilians carving out a niche for themselves in a cut-throat environment. And this is where a surname like Anantharaman proves to be a blessing and a curse. With fellow Tamilians around, I get to sneak up on them and provide humor in a tense situation by "talking in accented-Tamil" that they might have seen/heard just in movies while I get (dirty/surprised/shell-shocked) looks for "having a last name like Anantharaman and not being from Chennai" . Now, you decide whether this is a blessing or a curse.
Conversely, when I am surrounded by Maharashtrians or I surround myself with Maharashtrians (whichever way you want to look at it, I am still the odd man out) and I start blabbering in 'accented-Marathi', I get (dirty/surprised/shell-shocked) looks for "having a last name like Anantharaman and mouthing off in Marathi". While I can be happy that I provide comic relief for this audience as well, I am stuck in a no-man's land.
I am who I am and while I may not be a "dikashan-kaapi" lover or a "true blue Marathi Manoos", I can happily say, if any given day in the unlikely event that I am stranded in the heartlands of Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra, I will wiggle my way out of trouble (or get into more trouble, whichever side you are on) with a sprinkle of Bambaiya-Tamil or a dose of Madrasi-Marathi.
If you got more such stories/episodes where your last name requires you to be from a particular region in India, do let me know. I would definitely love to hear from a fellow Chameleon Tamilian or any other "searching for an identity-non-native-sons/daughters".
Oru Marathi Pullai
See quite recently, I had a conversation with a gentleman from Chennai. This is what transpired. After sharing initial pleasantries, I introduced myself to him as Rajesh Anantharaman. Probably with a hint of pride, after hearing my name, he quickly pounced with "Are you from Chennai?". Not expecting that googly from the guy, I shot back with "No, I am from Mumbai". Thoroughly unsatisfied with my response, he quipped "But your last name is Anantharaman" (and thus, I have got to be from Chennai). With my final answer to this puzzle which was "Ya, my father was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu and moved to Mumbai in the late 50s and consequently, I was born here". With that, I very conveniently squashed the expectations of the gentleman with my being a non-Chennaiwala.
And this is the sole reason, I framed the words - The Chameleon Tamilian. I am just an imposter, trying to blend-in in a sea of Madrasis.
This probably holds true for a vast majority of the Tamil boys that were born and brought up in non-Tamil Nadu states (yes, I am looking at you DC) and thus they might have invited similar scrutiny while such conversations might have cropped up for them.
What gives an advantage to a Cham-Tam is the Global IT Industry. While our friends from Andhra Pradesh might be hogging up the IT limelight, there is a substantial population of Tamilians carving out a niche for themselves in a cut-throat environment. And this is where a surname like Anantharaman proves to be a blessing and a curse. With fellow Tamilians around, I get to sneak up on them and provide humor in a tense situation by "talking in accented-Tamil" that they might have seen/heard just in movies while I get (dirty/surprised/shell-shocked) looks for "having a last name like Anantharaman and not being from Chennai" . Now, you decide whether this is a blessing or a curse.
Conversely, when I am surrounded by Maharashtrians or I surround myself with Maharashtrians (whichever way you want to look at it, I am still the odd man out) and I start blabbering in 'accented-Marathi', I get (dirty/surprised/shell-shocked) looks for "having a last name like Anantharaman and mouthing off in Marathi". While I can be happy that I provide comic relief for this audience as well, I am stuck in a no-man's land.
I am who I am and while I may not be a "dikashan-kaapi" lover or a "true blue Marathi Manoos", I can happily say, if any given day in the unlikely event that I am stranded in the heartlands of Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra, I will wiggle my way out of trouble (or get into more trouble, whichever side you are on) with a sprinkle of Bambaiya-Tamil or a dose of Madrasi-Marathi.
If you got more such stories/episodes where your last name requires you to be from a particular region in India, do let me know. I would definitely love to hear from a fellow Chameleon Tamilian or any other "searching for an identity-non-native-sons/daughters".
Oru Marathi Pullai
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