Different Stereotypes:

So what is “difference” or “being different”? I did not want my article to come with a safety “disclaimer” but maybe it is better this way. I am not here to comment on the “northies” being chased out of Maharashtra or them being brutally murdered in Assam and Manipur. Nor am I here to give my insights on the age old “north-south” debate. They say stereotyping is nothing but assimilation (reducing differences within a group) and contrast (blowing up differences between groups). Maybe that’s true or maybe not!
Media, to some extent, is responsible for the glorification of this stereotyping of people and their differences! So there is a Masterji in Padosan, with all the I-am-the-loser because I-am-from-the-south humor. And all the characters of Chak de with that let-us-be-Indians sarcasm or the north family and south family war in ek duje ke liye. Or for that matter those sarcastically funny south indian characters in comics books like Tinkle digest who are shown to be all Hindu priests and all orthodox, all the time. Stereotypes! But yes when it comes to reality everyone knows that in the present scenario, Bollywood is only money and is short of brains given the astoundingly original and fresh Telegu and Tamil flicks being produced.
In this North-south never-ending debate the east and the west seems to be slowly subsided though. Like a student clears his doubt in class and a conversation slowly develops between him and the teacher and the rest of the class evidently goes off to sleep! So do I suggest a south, a north, an east, a west and a north east stereotypes’ clash? For god’s sake, no!
Like in the word “assimilation”, the term “North-East” itself is very misleading. The seven states (Sikkim now regarded as the 8th) are taken as a single entity, which is definitely not. The cultural diversity in these states is but gothic. The languages/dialects spoken, the ethics and the varied beliefs of the communities in this region surpasses the word “cultural diversity” itself in all its sense. I am not sad that Bollywood is unfair in not including them as in humor (or mockery or as otherwise)! But yes these people are surely taken for granted, by Bollywood or otherwise. I am not proud of the fact that they are underdeveloped, yet I am not ashamed of it either. Because whatever is the case, I cannot say Delhi or Bangalore is my birthplace. I received so much from them that Delhi or for that matter New York has not given me so much!
Inhabitants from the “mainland India” fail to know these places or is ignorance really a bliss? People seem to be anticipatory of these places and the people out there (as in we all are about aliens from Mars). I am by now tired of explaining to people where Imphal (the capital of Manipur) is. Once I was asked by this friend if my house is on the peak or the foot of some mountain! Somebody else did enquire me if we can find any sea (as in the Caribbean Sea) out there! So then, should I distribute India maps to show where I was born or the world globe to point out the various seas on the earth? I don’t think that would be wise.
So people from the “North-East” eat fermented food (the odour is hideous to many others); but so does all the mongoloid races in all the east countries. Let us forget about being unfair, but stereotyping based on taste buds is yet another something! If there are bamboo shoot pickle recipes, there are also bamboo, cane and silk industries. The upbringing is generally more open, frank and self dependent. Girls are more open and marriage is totally an individual’s choice. So the stereotype goes as those wearing western dresses, hippie-cultured and soccer playing. I don’t play soccer and I write poems, so then Am I out of place? Which stereotype do I follow then? I am different then, since I do not fall into one of those many patterns. “Differences” can be so tricky sometimes!

When I was in high school, I used to be a tinkle-digest fan. They showed a shaven-head-pony-tailed and fat bellied priest Tenali Raman and his wife as typical (stereotyped) south Indians. I learnt that here names are really long because they include the father’s name, the grandfather’s name or even the village’s name. My curiosity knew no bounds to discover more of such names and the places itself. I knew about Mysore and its kings from my history classes. Tipu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore looked so appealing in the TV series with his huge kingdom, his huge durbar and all the battles he won. I thought of south India as idli-dosa and strict religious disciplines and temples with all their festivities and Onam snake boat races and Carnatic music and the Kathak dance. Now I came to know that they were actually all true, and that I still need to learn so much more. The stereotype is idli-dosa but yes the Konkani fish and prawns served (as in my room mate’s house in Udupi) are heaven’s recipes. So there! Stereotypes are again different from the reality and the truth.
This friend of mine thought “Naga” is a word derived from the word “nanga”, naked for Hindi (What? And, oh no dear!) Apparently they don’t need any clothes running around, naked among the trees in the jungles and hills! One time, this person thought of the nagas as a group of terrorists (as in LTTE). Poor them who are misunderstood, poorer them who are ignorant! Another friend “guessed” the Manipuri language has no script of its own (little did he know there are two Manipuri scripts!). So again, imagination and guesses are different from facts! Surely, ignorance is bliss; but this friend of mine knew of Ratan Thiyam, the famous theatre personality from the “North-East”. I suppose it has less to do with regions than it is about people and their individual logic.
This friend of mine thinks my community service is a waste, while I find his playing cricket a worse waste. I don’t even want to think on how “different” our opinions will be on other issues like regionalism or politics (given that he is from Lucknow and I am from Imphal). The stereotypes that we follow, and our individual views are sure to clash. Rather than comparing our differences, I feel it is better if I start to adjust myself to the fact that people can be different and that they should be. Or else I have to start stereotyping myself as a different stereotype. Don’t even get me started on the North and the “North-east” (and their different stereotypes)!