Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao once famously said that "Centre is a conceptual myth". The man of course was Andhra Pradesh's most beloved Chief Minister and one of the first leader to instill Telugu Pride in Telugus. I've always felt that this sort of a pride was important for everyone - to recognize that while we all belong to India, we are not necessarily defined by Hindi and/or North Indian culture but by our respective regional heritage (unless of course your regional history corresponds with the North Indian culture, for eg. Uttar Pradesh).
I do wonder though if that sort of a pride has run amok. As I spend time in India, and in particular in a place outside Andhra Pradesh, I realize that regional pride is very much alive, except it's some sort of a grotesque monster now.
A political party in Karnataka wants 30% reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector. A while ago, there was a call for non-Kannada movies to be released in the state after a delay so that they wouldn't compete with the Kannada movies in the state. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is, if you can believe, a party that's on the Right of the Shiv Sena!!! That's like someone being a better QB than Peyton Manning - it's unimaginable! The MNS apparently had their panties all up in a bunch because North Indians are immigrating into the state, and into Mumbai in particular. Not to mention the controversy about Jaya Bachchan not speaking in Marathi at a public function in Maharashtra and Amitabh Bachchan opening a school in UP instead of Maharashtra. And in addition, a lot of regional and caste based parties are popping up. Basically I think economic reforms have created a nice tasty dish to be consumed and everyone wants a piece of that pie for themselves and theirs.
Of course, personally I was pissed off at lunch today when I had to eat alone. Apparently all the cliques are set up, and they're all regional. (Except of course the Whites, who eat together!) Before you ask, the reason I wasn't eating with the Telugu clique is because I wasn't properly introduced yet, which I plan to rectify as soon as possible. But while I will admit that I love the company of Telugus and being a Telugu, even I'll admit that it'll be a sorry day when I'm deprived of hanging out with some Tamilians (I love Tamil slang) and some Kannadigas (who are the nicest group of people in the world - I'm yet to meet a single Kannadiga that rubbed me the wrong way) and some Malayalis (with their awesome accent) and heck, even the N. Indians. For that matter my boss is apparently a big NFL fan and atleast to get in on some of that NFL talk and would love to sit at the White table!
I do wonder though if that sort of a pride has run amok. As I spend time in India, and in particular in a place outside Andhra Pradesh, I realize that regional pride is very much alive, except it's some sort of a grotesque monster now.
A political party in Karnataka wants 30% reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector. A while ago, there was a call for non-Kannada movies to be released in the state after a delay so that they wouldn't compete with the Kannada movies in the state. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is, if you can believe, a party that's on the Right of the Shiv Sena!!! That's like someone being a better QB than Peyton Manning - it's unimaginable! The MNS apparently had their panties all up in a bunch because North Indians are immigrating into the state, and into Mumbai in particular. Not to mention the controversy about Jaya Bachchan not speaking in Marathi at a public function in Maharashtra and Amitabh Bachchan opening a school in UP instead of Maharashtra. And in addition, a lot of regional and caste based parties are popping up. Basically I think economic reforms have created a nice tasty dish to be consumed and everyone wants a piece of that pie for themselves and theirs.
Of course, personally I was pissed off at lunch today when I had to eat alone. Apparently all the cliques are set up, and they're all regional. (Except of course the Whites, who eat together!) Before you ask, the reason I wasn't eating with the Telugu clique is because I wasn't properly introduced yet, which I plan to rectify as soon as possible. But while I will admit that I love the company of Telugus and being a Telugu, even I'll admit that it'll be a sorry day when I'm deprived of hanging out with some Tamilians (I love Tamil slang) and some Kannadigas (who are the nicest group of people in the world - I'm yet to meet a single Kannadiga that rubbed me the wrong way) and some Malayalis (with their awesome accent) and heck, even the N. Indians. For that matter my boss is apparently a big NFL fan and atleast to get in on some of that NFL talk and would love to sit at the White table!
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