Sunday 24 May 2009

A dark handsome man and his wife!!!

"Hola, cómo está, señora?" asked the waiter to the dark-haired woman sitting at the restaurant table, and "What can I get you ladies to drink?", to her blonde friend sitting with her. The dark-haired woman gave the waiter a blank stare and replied "No hablo español". The waiter looked the woman over one more time before replying in English, "I thought you were Mexican ma'am, that is why I spoke to you in Spanish. The dark-haired woman replied "Sorry, I am not Mexican".

"Ekkada pattuko vacchevu ra, ee chikkani ammayini?? Maaku evvariki theliyakunda Iran velleva enti ra??" "Ey jagratha, ee chikkani ammayi na pellam ra!!! Telugu baaga artham avuthunthi", said the dark, handsome man. He was meeting this particular friend after a long time and had not had the chance to tell him that he was married to that 'chkkani ammayi" he was with. The friend turned red in his face and apologized to the lady.

The same dark, handsome man from the above episode and his wife were traveling in Switzerland. They were on the train headed to the top of the Alps from Interlaken. A Punjabi gentleman and his family were sitting next to them in the same compartment. The Punjabi gentleman looked at his wife and whispered something in her ear. They whispered back and forth for a few minutes and finally the gentleman turned towards the dark man and said, "Saab, aap bura na maane tho aapse kuch poochun? The dark man replied,''Haan poochiye". The Punjabi gentleman suddenly became very serious, he looked up and down at the dark man's wife and asked,"Saab, ye gori kudi ko kaise pakde, saab? Ye tho idhar wali lagthi hai?" The dark man could not contain his amusement at the question, and replied, "Saab ye gori kudi meri biwi hai, aur bilkul idhar ki nahin". The Punjabi gentleman got all haughty and replied, "Arre saab kya bakwas kar rahen hain aap, yeh tho idhar ke hi hai". The dark man's wife, who was quietly listening to the conversation up until then could not hold her amusement any longer either. She burst out laughing and said, "Saab main idhar ki ladki nahin hoon, par idhar ki hi ladki thi, tho kya hua?" The Punjabi gentleman went into shock and his jaw dropped to the floor. He profusely apologized and everyone had a hearty laugh at the incident.

The dark man's wife encountered such queries all the time. She would attend Tamil and Telugu gatherings, everyone would at first greet her in English and then go back to yapping away in Tamil/Telugu and ignore her. You see, they assumed she was North Indian and that she did not know Tamil or Telugu. She would attend North Indian gatherings and everyone would assume she was from, of all places, KASHMIR!! When she attended Non-Indian gatherings, people would assume that she was from every place on earth other than India.

You have probably guessed by now who that dark man and his wife are. Well, it is all true and though it was amusing most of the time, it sometimes created an "IDENTITY CRISIS". I started to wonder, who I was. Over the years I have got accustomed to the umpteen nationalities that I am mistaken for. I now tell myself, 'It does not matter what others think'. However, when I look at pictures of myself I still cannot fathom how people can think I look anything but, INDIAN . Can YOU????

. This was when I was mistaken for Mexican!!


Here I am Iranian. How crazy is that??

Here I am Swiss, black hair and all, go figure this one out!!!

12 comments:

Tasneem said...

You have international looks!
That's an asset.

arun bhatt said...

jaise khilta gulab,
jaise shaiyar ka khwab,
jsaise ujali kiran,
jaise van mein hiran,
jaise....

Venu N said...

'jiske bibi gori, uska bhi bada naam hai...'
I guess that sums it up.
Seetha, you really looked like a firangi in those pics--I guess the attire contributes to that impression.
Even I had to go through a few of such 'mishtook ho gaya' encounters in the US. There was a group of Mexcians in Vegas who smiled at me and started speaking to me in Spanish! In the U.K. , an Italian mistook me to be a local---perhaps because of the suit I was wearing--you know-that stiff upper lip kinda look that it gives :)

Stanley David said...

Seetha -- it must give you a real kick being msitaken for so many nationalities ...

but as a retired member of the International Casanovas Club, I can share a secret with you. If, as I suspect, all these queries came from observant (ahem !) men only, then the mystery is clear to me , my dear Watsona: these guys were all "fida" over you and the polite nationality enquiry was only a conversation ruse to get to know you better, Senora Frau la Enchanta......

But Seetha, jokes apart, you are blessed with an International Look, so be it, enjoy !!

Naresh said...

So let the International and transnational looks convert into a INTERNATIONAL brand ambassador , therefore the whole world is weaved seamlessly . And friendship prevails everywhere from Nation to Nation. Weeding out the spectre of terrorism !

Seetha said...

It does amuse me most of the time, especially when Indians think I am a non-Indian and are happily talking about me (in front of me) thinking I do not know the language. The look on their faces when they find out that I understood every word they said, is "PRECIOUS". If only I would have got a penny for every time that happened, I would be a millionaire by now, hehehehe!!!

Enarkay said...

Seeta you do have the firangi looks and the attire portrays the local look of the place you visited. No wonder they got fooled or did they?

Omkar said...

And here's my 2 cents -

First of, Stanley Sahib is right. I'd bet a dollar not everyone was mistaken ;-)

Secondly, most people have stereotypes. Internationally and to some extent nationally, Indians are identified as having a dark brown color. Even Indians think we have an inferiority complex as regards the "gora" color. In reality, the whole world has a weakness towards that swarthy, tanned bronze skin tone (Mediterranean), kinda the one you posess Seetha. Look at Hollywood leading men or Bond men, looks wise, only a few are Robert Redford types. Or look at Sophia Loren. Our B'wood industry subscribes to that same philosophy.

Finally, may I add - skin tone isn't the only thing going for you Seetha.

Faiyaz said...

Irani????
Or is it Irani Mukherji!

Louis J Rao said...

Seetha,
Hope one the brands spots you , you will give the Italian models or Gischelle Bundchen a run for their money.
I worked for international brands Luxottica Group ( Sunglass Hut more famously known )- Vogue,Versace, Prada, Bvlgari etc for their eyewear collections. Maybe someday an Indian brand can have you as their face - giving the international looks - as Tas mentioned.

Seetha said...

Louis
Gischelle Bundchen, hehehe! Awwww! that is so nice of you, thanks! Wouldn't that be great but I guess that is only a dream in this lifetime. Too late for me now, could have maybe worked in my younger days. I have some pictures that were shot in a studio here, hanging in my living room and people who visit my home always comment that I should be modeling. I tell them the same thing, "Too Late and No height".

Louis J Rao said...

Hey, height& weight no worry -- picture the beautiful face with an eyewear brand.
Put those pics on the blog,am sure you will get loads of appreciative comments - Faiyaz bhai , kya bolta tu ?