this is not to say that there aren’t delusional tamils/brahmins of the kind boston mahesh mentions.”

Yup, originally I had thought that ‘tambram’ was offensive and discriminatory and all that jazz. But when I had went to university and associated for the first time with other tamils who for the first time were not of my family, i realized that there are cultural signifiers that set myself apart from the other sri lankan tamils.

If I grew up in family that had certain ways of doing things, certain linguistic differences and culinary choices that I have in common with someone else who is not necessary from the same region as me, why is it a crime to identify with that person through a common name?

culturally, if I have a similar upbringing to someone from bombay who happens to be ‘tambram’, and I happen to be ‘tambram’, what is wrong with identifying it?

It’s not simply ‘tamil’ because as I found out in uni, I did not have the same degree of commonality with a tamil from the same area that my parents are from (sri lanka), that I did with someone all the way from bombay who happened to be ‘tambram’.

(I’m sure not a lot of you US-born tamils realize that as almost every tamil you meet in the US is indian and tambram.. in canada it’s different.)

visiting a sri lankan nonbram’s home was as disimilar (it was a revelation when i found out that most tamil people actually danced! (gasp) during weddings) for me as visiting say the home of a telugu person. yet I am allowed to acknowledge the latter.

I mean I grew up around white people, so the only time I was allowed to engage in my culture was with my family. is it my fault that my ‘upbringing’, as i understood it, rests on a certain identity (tambram) other than my regional identity? I mean, I can’t change my family upbringing, can I? and nothing about it entails oppressing anyone, for that matter.

#178

Been there, done that already. Results appear to confirm Francis Galton’s theory of regression to the mean. Drat and curses! Foiled again!! Not to mention my weak attempt at a troll…

The smell of fish in Mambalam station is mostly one of rotten fish. Quite obnoxious unless if it is surstromming ( Swedish rotten fish) – in which case it is amazing. The fishy smell that I was referring to is the odour found in a fresh fish market. The aroma emanating from some aroused women is quite similar – hence the insinuation.

I don’t believe I know any Latin Catholics in the U.S.

you may – although quite unlikely that the LCs talk about their affiliation. First names between LCs and SCs are different.

funnily, my primary association of fishy smells is with railway stations in madras (specifically, west mambalam). but your insinuation gives ‘happy journey’ a totally different meaning

As for me, I was raised as a vegetarian and for long it was simply a psychological barrier for me to eat any kind of meat. Even during formative ages, I was pretty vocal about not acknowledging my caste and all that.

Only recently, I took the bite into all kinds of meats (yes pork and beef too) out there and I dont feel any less or more hindu because of stint of inner rebellion. I am at peace and I think I liked lamb meat the best followed by fried fish. I almost choked on uncooked salmon sushi, even though that kind of smell isn’t totally alien

Also,

think that there is a stigma associated with enjoying fish in India. not where I come from. A fishy smell is such a turn on

Ewwww!

“I’m a PunjBrahm” = I am a most superior form of life, higher in cosmic status even than the Scythians, which is why you need to know I’m a PunjBrahm.

As an example of the first, married to an example of the second, I swear upon my curd-rice this is all true…