I was there in Hyderabad for Sankranthi on a long leave and had the pleasure to watch the film 'Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu'. In the film Mahesh Babu asks a modern Telugu girl (yet to come to a conclusion on the term 'Modern Telugu Girl/woman') "Puvvu isthe ekkda pettukuntave?" with profound sarcasm and logic behind it, this dialogue reflected my thought and mindset. Ordinary readers can also have their own opinions and criticisms after reading the entire post.
I seriously wonder if the word 'Telugutanam' is relevant anymore?. Dressing style of Telugu people has undergone drastically, Telugu costumes are now just a part of festivals and auspicious ceremonies and beware - we are not wearing them because of our love for telugutanam but as a competition with our colleagues, buddies and relatives to exude our pseudo respect to our Telugu culture.
The elite Telugu people are now allergic to Telugu films, they prefer to watch a Hindi masterpieces like JISM 2 and criticize Telugu films(as if they are Telugu Roger Eberts) , even though they haven't watched them and tries to make a point that He/She (Especially She) is cool because she watched JISM 2.
How do you name your off-springs? or how would you like to name your off-springs?. The Telugu names, which obviously are derived from Sanskrit have now achieved the status of 'old fashioned' and ugly to pronounce. We see children named on the same lines like the short pseudo names used in BPO employees while addressing the customers.
I am quite sure that 9/10 people don't even know what is the meaning of 'Desi' and its relative Telugu word. A colleague was changed her hair style and came with a straightened hair and some decorations which reflect the North Indian style (as claimed by her) and couldn't stop asking on why she called the straightened hair as 'Desi' and her so called desi influence. I was categorized as ultra conservative Telugu guy, i wonder if such thing exists or am i first one to be associated with such a title. And in the office premises it is fashionable to talk in 'Hindi', yes in Hindi because it pushes them into the elite club and people who talk only in Telugu do not have the previlage to be part of the elite club. They refine their verbal skills with some mix of Urdu and sometimes some shayari, the quality of these shayari's suck but you are from elite club and 'sab chalta hai' except talking in Telugu.
One shouldn't be shocked when one comes to know that a Telugu girl doesn't even know what 'Ugadi' is but celebrates Holi and the Holi is celebrated in the left liberal way. I see many wearing traditional costumes during the occasion of marriage, they were never part of Telugu culture but our ignorant Telugu people have embraced and preach me that it is telugu traditional costume and i feel like asking them 'What? Who told you that this is a telugu traditional costume?'.
Our changing food habits is the best example on how telugutanam has reached its final days. I can bet that 5/10 Telugu people will not even know the Telugu names of fruits and vegetables. I am not married, and there is a high probability that when i get married i could be deprive of the delicious 'Gongura Pachadi', so the one of the best things which i did in the last year is to learn how to make 'Gongura Pachadi' and if you are a Telugu girl and wondering what 'Gongura Pachadi' is ... then this post is written for people like you.
I seriously wonder if the word 'Telugutanam' is relevant anymore?. Dressing style of Telugu people has undergone drastically, Telugu costumes are now just a part of festivals and auspicious ceremonies and beware - we are not wearing them because of our love for telugutanam but as a competition with our colleagues, buddies and relatives to exude our pseudo respect to our Telugu culture.
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| Outsourced Telugu-tanam |
The elite Telugu people are now allergic to Telugu films, they prefer to watch a Hindi masterpieces like JISM 2 and criticize Telugu films(as if they are Telugu Roger Eberts) , even though they haven't watched them and tries to make a point that He/She (Especially She) is cool because she watched JISM 2.
How do you name your off-springs? or how would you like to name your off-springs?. The Telugu names, which obviously are derived from Sanskrit have now achieved the status of 'old fashioned' and ugly to pronounce. We see children named on the same lines like the short pseudo names used in BPO employees while addressing the customers.
I am quite sure that 9/10 people don't even know what is the meaning of 'Desi' and its relative Telugu word. A colleague was changed her hair style and came with a straightened hair and some decorations which reflect the North Indian style (as claimed by her) and couldn't stop asking on why she called the straightened hair as 'Desi' and her so called desi influence. I was categorized as ultra conservative Telugu guy, i wonder if such thing exists or am i first one to be associated with such a title. And in the office premises it is fashionable to talk in 'Hindi', yes in Hindi because it pushes them into the elite club and people who talk only in Telugu do not have the previlage to be part of the elite club. They refine their verbal skills with some mix of Urdu and sometimes some shayari, the quality of these shayari's suck but you are from elite club and 'sab chalta hai' except talking in Telugu.
One shouldn't be shocked when one comes to know that a Telugu girl doesn't even know what 'Ugadi' is but celebrates Holi and the Holi is celebrated in the left liberal way. I see many wearing traditional costumes during the occasion of marriage, they were never part of Telugu culture but our ignorant Telugu people have embraced and preach me that it is telugu traditional costume and i feel like asking them 'What? Who told you that this is a telugu traditional costume?'.
Our changing food habits is the best example on how telugutanam has reached its final days. I can bet that 5/10 Telugu people will not even know the Telugu names of fruits and vegetables. I am not married, and there is a high probability that when i get married i could be deprive of the delicious 'Gongura Pachadi', so the one of the best things which i did in the last year is to learn how to make 'Gongura Pachadi' and if you are a Telugu girl and wondering what 'Gongura Pachadi' is ... then this post is written for people like you.
Anna namaste.....
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at your post..I do not fully understand what you imply..do you want people to consciously put an effort to learn more about Telugu culture? I do not see any motivation for people to do that. I completely understand the thing about hypocrisy but my opinion is that change is inevitable if we are not exposed to Telugu culture as kids (schooling, at home with few exceptions). People are inherently insecure and give in to these societal protocols (if we can call that)
In essence, what I want to understand is this - waht is your take on the change part? You think we should put in an effort to understand more about Telugu peoples?
@gaddi
ReplyDeleteI am not trying to pontificate here, what i was trying to express is the ..
- hypocrisy which we have towards our culture
- Mix of Ignorance and pomposity which comes out very badly
- Change is good, but not under a mask (again, i am not trying to pontificate)
- I agree that people are insecure (which includes myself) but i am not trying to imply that people should be forced to follow a culture or tradition, i just trying to hold a mirror so that they understand what they are doing (sometimes, even i see myself in that mirror).
I wish the post was written in telugu. I do not understand your rationale behind this post, on what you want to convey. I would be happy if you can tell us what telugutanam is. Numbers like 9/10.. might be applicable in Bangalore where there are non telugus, but please come to Hyderabad, you can find people who can tell you what gongura pachadi is (they may not prepare for you) and I sincerely wish you get a spouse who can prepare such telugu delicacies. Finally, How many times you dressed yourself in real telugu traditional clad?
ReplyDelete