The TamBrahm Spunk (1)!

So this popular page called ‘wearetambrahms’ on some social media attracted my way to the sweet TamBrahm ways of life! And I just discovered that they have a blog here so obviously, I follow them now! The self-deprecating humour and comments on the funny and interesting ways of life in a normal middle-class TamBrahm household is their charm. And you must visit them to know what I am talking about. 😀 Inspired by their stuff, I am now starting a new category here called TamBrahm vs Not-so-TamBrahm…a few snippets from the life of a TamBrahm with a multicultural upbringing (ME, in case you didn’t make the connection)! 

For all those of you who didn’t understand a word of what I said, here is a tiny explanation. TamBrahm basically means Tamilian-Brahmin. People who belong to the state of Tamil Nadu in India and are pure-breed ‘Brahmins’ by caste (:P). It is neither their ethnicity nor their caste that is the topic of conversation in my posts or on the Wearetambrahm blog. It’s just that they are funny people with a funny dialect of Tamil and have silly, special, adorable ways around life. I am a TamBrahm myself but I grew up in Gujarat and lived for long in Maharashtra and then moved on to Karnataka (just Google these states if you are interested in geography)! So I have a multi-cultural upbringing but I am well aware of the routines of TamBrahm mamas and mamis (uncles and aunties) and find them extremely amusing. This is a one-time-only explanation and for other posts that follow this one, please just read this one AGAIN (I should remember to link this post with the rest that follow…:P)!!!

Had to attend a TamBrahm wedding! Sigh!

The sheer number of mamas and mamis in those pattu veshtis and pattu pudavais! The bare-chested mamas showing off their poonals and chatting away about the occupation of the ambi who’s getting married to their chamattu ponnu and the madi-saaru mamis discussing ambi’s kudumbam and his sisters who are ready for marriage is a fun bunch of people to hang around.

(it’s not fun to be their topic of conversation or to have the conversation diverted eventually to you! It’s just fun to listen to it…)

So I literally hop from one group of mamas to the next group of mamis (and Repeat!) and gather information about the bride, the groom and all the gossip surrounding both families and stories about how the wedding was arranged!

(Because love marriage is not even an option for the ambi and the chamattu ponnu!)

All this took less than an hour, mind you! That’s the rate at which the mamas and mamis gossip…they keep it quick because they don’t want to miss out on the next pandi…they constantly crane their necks to keep the samayal mama in sight.

One bare-chested pancha kachcham veshti mama walks my way. I try to run in the opposite direction. My saree dampens my speed and the crowd heading towards the kaapi counter steers me in a completely opposite direction. It’s like trying to swim upstream in a fierce river…you have no choice or control over where you will land eventually! The mama is heading downstream though…so he catches up!!! Nightmare!!!

“Enna kondai…padippu mudichitaiya?” (Have you finished your education child?)

(That’s the question I was dreading…I knew where this conversation was going…)

“Oh…eppadi irukkel mama? Paathu evalovu naal achu!” (How are you mama? Been ages since we met!)

(I basically try to steer the conversation in a different direction. I realized after I had spoken that it was of no use. )

“Nee than busy-a irukkai! Padicchu first rank thane vanginai?” (You are the one who’s busy! Did you study well and secure the first rank?)

(Never understood the TamBrahm obsession with ‘First Rank’…it’s like an eligibility criterion for everything in life! I smile awkwardly…and probably nod! And mama continues the conversation…)

“Pudavai-la latshanama irukkai! Appadiye amma jadai!” (You look beautiful in the saree! You look just like your mother!)

(As if I ever questioned my genotype…of course I look like my mother! But now I’m just waiting for the Golden Question…And here it comes…)

“Adutthu unnoda kalyanam thane?” (The next marriage in the family will be yours, right?)

(There!!!!!! So many things I wanted to tell mama…but well, it will be of no use…I must concentrate my energy on escaping instead!)

Takes a TamBrahm to laugh at a TamBrahm! 😀

Apologies to those who didn’t understand most of it…you would need a separate dictionary to understand these conversations! 

Cheers, have a nice day!