I was reading Cyrus Broacha's 'Average Indian Male' and it occurred to me that he hadn't analysed the South Indian male adequately. And being a malayalee I cannot claim an authority over the whole of South India but from my 30 years of experience with Alpha-males from the Kerala region I guess I know them quite well. Before I begin, let me assure you I will be discussing pure breeds alone and my representation of a Malayalee alpha male is not the second or third generation Non- resident Keralite living in other states of India or the Middle East ( popularly known as GULFF), or Europe and the United States. Though occasionally few traits transmitted from the true breeds over generations can be evident in these half- breeds. My favourite case studies for this study would be my dad ( his soul rests in peace) and my pop-in-law ( a soul that can never rest in peace). Now I have few cousins, uncles and other assorted relatives who exhibit more or less the same traits, for me to conclude the reliability and validity of my experiment. For the purpose of comparison I have chosen two case studies from different educational, geographical, cultural, ethnic, caste, creed, complexion ( my dad and dad- in-law). But the end result will show you irrespective of the differences they conduct themselves quite the same. So let me delve into some bizarre antics of the Average Mallu Male.
1) Table manners- An average Mallu male is quite particular about his food, he can't be enticed by viagra but can definitely be coaxed by over- priced exotic tasteless fish ( like pearl spot for instance). He would constantly quote the price of the fish during meals on the table and remind his kids how tactfully he bargained and got them a good catch. An average mallu male would also insist on sitting at the head of the table and in rarest or rare cases some alpha male would request they be served in a different plate than others to mark their supremacy. Their wives require exemplary surveillance skills. An average mallu beta female seldom eats peacefully with her one eye looming over her husband's plate asking him dutifully if he needs refills, which he replies in grunts ( like hmmmmmm - if its a yes and hmm hmm - if it's a no). A traditional alpha male finds it hard to confine his food to his plate. He drops his food around the table sometimes strews the table with fish bones and curry leaves which by the end of his meal is dutifully swept by his wife or daughter but never him. Taking one's own plate to the kitchen is unheard of in average mallu culture and modern husbands doing so are still frowned upon and considered henpecked husbands in many parts of the state.
The end result of every meal is a dissatisfied beta female and tortured gamma prodigies who find it hard to relish the taste less over priced fish.
2) Stand up or mind it !- An average mallu alpha male expects people to stand up when he enters a room especially the women, the young and those who rank socially lower than him. If the audience wear a tradional lungi ( aka 'mundu') that is folded up revealing one's legs, they are expected to drop it down to show respect to the alpha male. Many wives have been restricted from visiting their homes for the reason that a brother or uncle of hers did not stand up and let his mundu drop down when the Alpha male visited them. But if the Alpha male grants you the permission to sit down- you can, provided you don't lean back and relax yourself. Occupying 1/4th of the chair and a posture that indicates you are leaning forward eagerly listening to the alpha male can earn you brownie points ( like a packet of dunhill, a jasmine roll on, yardley powder or Fa soap).
3) My money is my money, your money is my money- The alpha male controls the primary and secondary income of his family. The secondary income though perhaps more than his, will never be identified as an independent source. A joint account in a mallu family is always a hoax, for the account would always be operated by the alpha male. The alpha male still believes in feudalism and curbs minor revolutions budding in his household with the use of leather belt, cane, chappals and bare hand. Prowess and aggression is considered as a sign of manhood and hence gamma prodigies get dutifully caned for asking bare necessities ( which they will be then eventually granted). The beta females constantly suffer from Stockholm syndrome. They earn money yet deny the ownership over their earnings, and defend the alpha males reverentially.
4) Narcissus is my true god- The alpha mallu male is always in love with himself. He lives in a world of grandiose plans. He believes he is the neatest and cleanest man on earth and despises every other males especially those of other cultures. There are of course exceptional behaviours that he rules out ( like peeing/shitting under his favourite coconut tree is considered bonding with nature). He conducts himself as he pleases. In his encyclopaedia of conduct, things work his way and never the vice versa. His mistakes are lessons for learning and others mistakes sheer stupidity.
5) Oh I am modern yet close to my roots- An average mallu alpha male will ask for curd rice and lentils ( aka kanjim- payarum) or fish curry meals after a dinner at pizza hut. The logic being his stomach will get constipates if he is denied of his daily diet. The problem is that average alpha mallu male finds it very hard to accommodate new habits alien to his culture but also wants to pass the message to other cultures that he has updated himself. So he force feeds himself noodles with chopsticks and stuffs himself with pizza all the while criticizing the backwardness of the neighboring South Indians and average North Indians, only to get back home and ask for his favourite fish curry meals, kanji or dosa. It is no different when it comes to dressing.
A proud mallu though might be well accustomed to jeans, shirts and other accessories needs a lot of air circulation for which he prefers wearing his bizarre colored lungi ( with pink flowers and purple butterflies more like a bedsheet) which he manages to procure on his every visit to Kerala dutifully even when he resides abroad. This attire is suitable topless showing off the hairy chest. There are a lot of advantages to wearing a mundu or lungi as evident from malayalam movies- you can lift it with your feet in the middle of a fight- that's sheer style, you can remove it and tie it over your head when you attack your enemy or are totally drunk, it is very easy to remove and throw when you are in a hurry to rape, in fact unfolding a lungi and tying it again is a strong message that the guy is ready to fight. A lot can be written on the politics of Lungi.
Men wearing shorts are often looked down and considered municipality sweepers, inferior and unmanly- shorts have no politics to be mulled over. The same applies to the moustache a mallu male adorns trimming it and curling it using his favourite coconut oil. Minus the moustache the mallu male loses his prowess the way Samson felt helpless without his hair ( refer old testament in bible). Moustache if viewed in the right way is the antennae for the mallu male- he twists and plays with it when aroused, in fear, when nervous, while plotting revenge- the direction his eyes faces determines his mood. The manliness of a mallu male solely rests on his moustache, lungi and the number of bad words he can swear oops and not to forget the number of pegs he can ingest ( after all we top the charts in alcohol consumption).
6) Relationships- It took me years to conclude with these findings. In Kerala the dad's side of the family is always full of vamps and villains and mom's side with angels. Dad's side of the family be it an aunt or uncle will always crib, torture and use un-parliamentary words just because they are the dad's side of the family. While mom's side of the family are by nature forgiving and loving people who give, give and give. They respect the son-in- law and serve him the best of best while the daughter-in-law gets royally disgraced because that's how the dad's side behaves. For this reason kids always long to visit their maternal side where they are duly adored and loved while going to the dad's side can be a nightmare. A common theme in mallu movies and mallu families is the rivalry over property issues and death of the alpha male- head of the family. These fights sometimes legal battles extending to two generation revolves around the division of land and property. Every alpha male will have a story of being betrayed by some sibling over some land issue which is the sole reason for Kerala topping the alcohol consumption charts ( that and some pending dowry he has to receive from his wife's family).
The beta female is the most subdued, psychotic, depressed and convoluted creature in this community. Despite her education she is still a victim of this vicious torturous cycle. A lot more can be told about the bizarre antics of average mallu male but then my hubby thinks I am too critical about things and should stop doing this for my own peace but since this post was composed before this statement of his, I use my discretion to post this here. By the way my hubby is not a typical mallu male and I married him for this reason :)
A proud mallu though might be well accustomed to jeans, shirts and other accessories needs a lot of air circulation for which he prefers wearing his bizarre colored lungi ( with pink flowers and purple butterflies more like a bedsheet) which he manages to procure on his every visit to Kerala dutifully even when he resides abroad. This attire is suitable topless showing off the hairy chest. There are a lot of advantages to wearing a mundu or lungi as evident from malayalam movies- you can lift it with your feet in the middle of a fight- that's sheer style, you can remove it and tie it over your head when you attack your enemy or are totally drunk, it is very easy to remove and throw when you are in a hurry to rape, in fact unfolding a lungi and tying it again is a strong message that the guy is ready to fight. A lot can be written on the politics of Lungi.
Men wearing shorts are often looked down and considered municipality sweepers, inferior and unmanly- shorts have no politics to be mulled over. The same applies to the moustache a mallu male adorns trimming it and curling it using his favourite coconut oil. Minus the moustache the mallu male loses his prowess the way Samson felt helpless without his hair ( refer old testament in bible). Moustache if viewed in the right way is the antennae for the mallu male- he twists and plays with it when aroused, in fear, when nervous, while plotting revenge- the direction his eyes faces determines his mood. The manliness of a mallu male solely rests on his moustache, lungi and the number of bad words he can swear oops and not to forget the number of pegs he can ingest ( after all we top the charts in alcohol consumption).
6) Relationships- It took me years to conclude with these findings. In Kerala the dad's side of the family is always full of vamps and villains and mom's side with angels. Dad's side of the family be it an aunt or uncle will always crib, torture and use un-parliamentary words just because they are the dad's side of the family. While mom's side of the family are by nature forgiving and loving people who give, give and give. They respect the son-in- law and serve him the best of best while the daughter-in-law gets royally disgraced because that's how the dad's side behaves. For this reason kids always long to visit their maternal side where they are duly adored and loved while going to the dad's side can be a nightmare. A common theme in mallu movies and mallu families is the rivalry over property issues and death of the alpha male- head of the family. These fights sometimes legal battles extending to two generation revolves around the division of land and property. Every alpha male will have a story of being betrayed by some sibling over some land issue which is the sole reason for Kerala topping the alcohol consumption charts ( that and some pending dowry he has to receive from his wife's family).
The beta female is the most subdued, psychotic, depressed and convoluted creature in this community. Despite her education she is still a victim of this vicious torturous cycle. A lot more can be told about the bizarre antics of average mallu male but then my hubby thinks I am too critical about things and should stop doing this for my own peace but since this post was composed before this statement of his, I use my discretion to post this here. By the way my hubby is not a typical mallu male and I married him for this reason :)
4 comments:
That was a hilarious post with an element of truth.But these traits are prevalent in other regions too.Whoever gave them the title 'Head of the family' has made them believe they are the bosses.The modern one may cloak the basic traits but they are still there in his subconcious and manifest frequently.
The fault lies on the distaff side too by being submissive unduly and not putting their feet down at the silly tantrums.
The post brought a smile at the vanity of the few males harbouring exalted notions of their superiority.
I was just trying to sum up few men in my family and tring to contrast them with other South Indian men I have met. I agree some of the traits are shared by other cultures too. Regarding the fault on the distaff now that's a point I would like to delve into.
One rests in peace n the other won't rest in peace!!!! Hilarious ! Loved the post. I don't see myself fitting in any of them ... Sigh sigh !!
hey
enjoy the festive season ahead..
may you have a grace-filled Christmas and Happy New Year
Post a Comment