Friday, March 27, 2009

Hybrid Theory in Practice

Inter racial relationships - ah now that's a topic that can always start up a fiery discussion or in this case - a blog. My former flatmate Sandman has written in detail about InterRacial Relationships - and it has been discussed ad infinitum,ad nauseaum and also generating lots of ad sense revenue too I expect.




I'm sure you're thinking everything that can be said about it has probably been said. Topic Closed.. right? Nope - what about us the products of those very relationships? The author of this blog (I am already referring to myself in the third person - signs of a good writer I'm told) too is one of those products and I shall venture forth in writing a lighthearted piece on this hitherto unexplored facet of inter-racial relationships. Any offence taken by you the readers will be met with a light hearted reply. :).


A little background information before I delve into the heart of the matter might be helpful. I'd be using Mizoram (a hotbed of inter racial marriages) as the backdrop for my ruminations. Now Mizoram is this peaceful little sleepy state in the North East region of India. Over here the localites (Mizos) are genetically bred to be antagonistic towards outsiders especially the ones from the plain areas of India and are referred to as "vais". (There is a long story to be told here as to the "whys" but lets save that for later).


Now over to the mid 1970s which is when my father who is from Bombay and my mother who is from Aizawl (the capital of Mizoram) met in Secunderabad where they were studying theology. They ran around some trees, flowers bloomed, brothers vowed revenge and in October 1979 I was born in Aizawl,Mizoram (to cut a very long story short). I was given the very non vai sounding name of Amos Lalremtluanga ; I used to hate having my name start with the letter A. I was always roll number 1 or 2 in school. Always a target of teachers to pick on when asking questions " Roll Number 1 - what is 30 plus 29 " .. (spare a thought for my brother Abel who was ALWAYS roll number 1 unless there was a Abdul in his class and in Mizoram that was pretty much unlikely).


Anyway times rolled by and for all intents and purposes and in mind body and soul I grew up as a normal Mizo kid - hunting lizards, climbing trees and falling down from them, stealing gear knobs from Jeeps to use as marbles, licking battery acid from those very Jeeps. But physically I didn't look like a normal Mizo boy. My nose was long. My eyelids were hooded (Yep I've never been called a chinky..dunno whether I should be sad or happy). Slowly I became aware of the Vai/Mizo divide when I got teased by other kids for being a Vai. When you are a kid you don't feel Vai or Mizo or Japanese - you are just a kid so these things probably didn't bother me much cause I don't remember ever taking offense or running to my parents and crying in their arms.


So in a nutshell I never really had any racial issues to face as a kid. I infact was called a "sap" (a fair skinned foreigner) once but in Mizoram "saps" are placed on a higher pedestal than vais and are highly desired as bridegrooms. I studied in Mizoram till the fifth standard and then our family moved down to Bangalore for three years and then came back to Aizawl and that's when the fun really started. Now this time I now looked really vai - no chances of me being called a sap now. My hair was curly, i was dark skinned (the hot summers in Bangalore took their toll) and my nose put Julius Caesar's nose to shame.


So the day came when one day in class only the Mizo students were asked to go out and practise "sarlamkai" - a popular Mizo dance form. I naturally got up to go out and then one of my teachers told me to not go since I was a vai. It was rather embarrassing but one of my friends dragged me along with him anyway. I practiced the dance but that very same night I dropped a piece of red hot coal on my toes (Don't ask me how) and my toes got swollen and I couldn't dance anyway.


And then once on the way to school I hopped onto a bus and two girls from my school stood next to me and one of them said to the other in Mizo "ka bula vaipa hi chhelo eee" (This vaipa standing next to me is so goodlooking). Good thing I had not forgotten my Mizo or else I wouldn't have had any reason to grin madly from ear to ear). As Borat would have said - " Great Success!" But there were also sad times too ,for instance there was this time when a Mizo-Vai riot broke out but I had to go to school and some teenage boys tried to pick on me but became terribly confused when I replied to their taunts in fluent Mizo.


And one time at the Bharat Scouts and Guides camp in Tanhril a mystified scoutmaster asked me in English " Are you a Mizo?" Joining the Scouts was at that time was mainly a Mizo thing ( I still can't figure out why that was the case). And this other time when I was ranked in the Top 10 in the Matriculate Exams I couldn't apply for an MBBS seat since I was a hybrid. It is an entirely different story that I wasn't interested in studying MBBS (I at that point wanted to retire to an island in the Caribbean Sea with the money I got from well wishers). Older readers will recall the controversy when IPS Officer Kiran Bedi got her daughter admitted to a medical college under the Mizoram Quota. These vais are so shameless I must say. Kudos to my parents who tried their best to get me to study MBBS - they whipped me and fed me only baibing,bekang and water for one month. I never gave in.


I now end my tale with a few notes - I am now in Bangalore where I have been mistaken for an Arab - It must be the camel I ride on, a Malayalee(???), and a Nepali among other things. For added hilarity my father's relatives (cousins,aunts, uncles etc) consider me to be a true blue Mizo. I also don't/can't speak a single word of my father's mother tongue - Marathi. When I go to Mumbai (yeah it probably might've been changed to something else now considering the time taken to write this down) I don't feel like a Marathi at all. Probably what some of you might say is.. it doesn't matter what race you are as long as you are a good person. It's what you feel inside that matters. I dunno about all that but I'll always be a Mizo and I'll happily stick to my bai,bekang,vawksa rep and our Mizo girls (girl actually)for the rest of my days.


Note: I was having a conversation with a Mizo friend the other night and this person said to me " oh so you also like the taste of Mizo dishes too?" ... The insults still fly thick and fast :)



42 comments:

virgochhas said...

I dunno about all that but I'd always be a Mizo and I'll happily stick to my bai,bekang,vawksa rep and our Mizo girls (girl actually)for the rest of my days....

to the best of my knowledge, ur more mizo than many people who think they are above others cos they are pureblood...

to all those people who say 'vai vai vai..' .. AVA KEDAVRA

Bus 141 Rider said...

:) tih in tran teh ang. a ngaihnom khop mai nang hi chu thawnthu soi/ ziah hi i thiam ve hrim2. ka biography min la ziah sak don nia o.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peer Gynt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peer Gynt said...

Said everything i wanted to..and then some.. :D very nice..lighthearted yet not without pathos or passion. Three cheers to all the hybrids out there and may they continue to confuse and intrigue the pure-blooded :D ...keep writing...the signs (of a good author) are prominent :)

Mos-a said...

@Virgo - thank you kan ti mai dawn mi :).. Harry potter i chhiar hnem tawh ltk nih kha.
@Arimteii - thawnthu sawi hi chu a nuam lawm. Ka phuahchawp ngai miah lo ania aw.

@Zari - try again :)

@Achhantei - I wonder what exactly was in the comment that you deleted :)
D'ya mean to say you had as much time to waste as I did in writing this post and then some? :) . Yeah i'll keep writing. Dunno what im going to write about next. absolutely nothing. i already have writer's block :)

Peer Gynt said...

Oh nothin mysterious really, just added a word or two:) 'm sure the block's an even more prominent manifestation..part of the package. and whoa..insomniac, or early riser? either way, beware of stalkers :D

Anonymous said...

i want to know why post no.3 was deleted!!!!!

Mizohican said...

lolzzzz whatever people throw at you, do remember that you are wayyyyyy moreeeee MIZO than me and many others. Pure blood, my ass. Its what inside that really counts, and you have that within you.

Like how Russel Peters once said, "We'll soon be all beige" :D

And oh, I wonder what Zari typed and deleted. That would be interesting to know. hehehe.

Cheers bro. Racism is ugly and we should chop off its head wherever it grows, because racism begets racism and it becomes an endless cycle of hate and hostility.

Mizohican said...

"Not a random guy. Just random only."

:D

benjamin rualthanzauva said...

Sandman is a South Indian for he drinks only coffee :-)

Anonymous said...

Some good writing there! I say it's about time to let go of your day(night) job.

Calliopia said...

Nice thought-provoking post. Nice style of writing. Laid-back, tongue-in-cheek, trying to make light of the situation humour.

Don't worry too much about the hydrid thing. Trust me, everyone in life has some problem or the other which makes them feel alienated from others. Like I'm too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat, too ugly, too dark, too ngo, too shy, too young, too old, all that. Then there are the people have sth against me because I can't read/write/ speak Mizo properly, wasn't brought up in Mizoram, don't look Mizo or I was brought up in a village, wasn't educated in an English medium school, my English is so bad etc etc etc. Just don't let your hang-ups get the better of you.

Nancy Lalhriatpuii said...

Gorilla, vai i ni tih hi ka lo theihnghilh leh thin...

Great post!

Anonymous said...

Judging by your archive, I assume this to be your first post.. great start..
I've been called a Nathu, a Kancha and a Chinky from north to central India (Haven't been to the south much)and here's my take on the whole thing:
As long as there be races, there will be racism,
As long as there be nations, there will be nationalism,
As long as there be males, there will be male chauvinism,
As long as there be females, there will be... males.. hehe

Mos-a said...

@sawmtei - a ropui ltk a kan delete ta mai nih kha. hehe.

@ Sandman - do i have to reply to ALL the comments on my blog hehe.

@ Sapna - nah ill keep my job for a while. Apparently my punctuation sucks. hehe.

@ Calliopia - i dont even know if i have a style. i just write write write write. ka post hma in grammar check turin ka rawn pe ziah ang che :P

@ Nancy - vai min ti leh elaw. a van na em. i thil chhiar khi i rilru ah a lut miah lo nimaw. :P

@ Blackestred - hey thanks. I stopped by your blog a couple of days ago. It wouldn't be entirely wrong if i said that "hey even other guys write about stuff... even I can do it" .
actually this is my THIRD attempt at a blog. first two were toilet so here's another attempt.

Mizohican said...

Yes netiquette demands you reply to every comment on your blog.

@ blackestred: This is not his first post. He makes a blog, falls in love and write about a girl and she dumps him. A la na lutuk thin a, a blog a delete leh a, then he starts all over from the beginning again. Hence this is his 23rd blog.

Ps. Kan rawn sawi lui vel mai mai a nih hi, tu emawni te te in rawn chhiar se, a tak tak emaw ti bawk se, nuam dawn eeee! bwahahahahaa!!!

Tetea said...

Great post! Chhiar a nuam hle mai... mahse maw, hetiang lampang hi chu sawi sawi mah ila Mizote hi kan rilru kan sawhsawn thei meuh lo thin.

Ka thil huat - Sap makpa atana duh, vai/mihang duh leh si loh. Mizote hi kan lo racist a ni!

Mos-a said...

@Sandman - so if i reply to your comment and then you reply to my reply i would then have to reply to your reply to my reply to your reply. Where does it all end :( . so stop replying to me.
Everytime Sandman watches Brokeback Mountain he blogs about it. Its a private blog.

@Tetea - min lo chhiar sak a i ti lawmawm e. I blog pawh ka lo en thin tawh a, Chennai/Madras ah hian kum 2 ka lo awm ve tawh thin a. I thlak ron post te khan lung a ti leng ve deuh. hehe.
nia ka post hi chu chutia serious deuh a rawn ziak pawh ka ni lo. thlahpawlh ho hi chu kan thran len na hian kan "identity" a hril duh viau. A mizo lo lama kan than len hi chuan kan mizo lo ni mai. :)
Racism hi chu kan debate reng dawn a..a awm reng dawn bawk a mahse US a black te an tihduhdah thin ang em em hi chuan a awm ka ring lo. Chuvangin tuman Mizoram a racial minorities te tan hian hma lak pawh an tum em em ka ring lo.(Burmese ho tih loh chu.. mahse kha kha chu a dan a dang leh deuh a.)

Aduhi Chawngthu said...

Good post. Keep them coming. Let's hope this blog doesn't go down the drain like the others supposedly did.

The advantage of being a hybrid? You can have the best of both worlds. Enjoy.

Zara said...

A ngaihnawm hle mai. Hnam chungchang hi a mimal rualin a vantlang fu bawk. Keini ang Mizo firfiak(!!!) inti tan phei chuan negotiate a buaithlak. Mahse hnam chungchang hi chu sociology-a kan zir dan chuan thisen thlahchhawn anih meuh laiin mahni mimal duhdan a kal thui viau. Mizo hmanlai danah pawh saphun tihte kan nei a.

I tawn ang tawng hi ka thiante an awm nual. Mizo inti pure blood aiin an 'ZO' tlangpui bakah Mizo culture zeizia an hre zawk. I thuziak hian ngaihtuahna min sentir khawp mai. Muangmarin ka lo ngaihtuah tha leh ang. Keini inla Mizopa ngei pawh ka beng bulah Mizo nula ngeiin he pa chu Mizo nge Naga anih mawle min ti ve fo tho ania....Lawm takin khawnge in kal dawn tih mai loh chu sawi tur a awm lem lo...

Mizohican said...

@ Aduhi: Hey don't tell him that! That "you can have the best of both worlds" statement! Because you'll unnecessarily by exciting him and get him all "horned" up, as he won't be thinking "Mizo" and "Vai" when you said "both worlds". His mind will actually be thinking "women" and "men". So, hushhh! :-D

@ Mos: See I am not replying to your reply to my reply to your reply to my reply.

:D

EPISTEMOLOGY said...

Ni e, hnam hi genetic zawng ringawta lak chi pawh a ni lo. Racist lam ai chuan, kan ethnic feeling avang hian engemaw chu ala awm zel ang. US ah pawh ala reh loh zia pawh kan hria..! Rilru leh chhungrila Mizo tlatna hi a pawimawh ber mai. Tunlai hian Mizo thlah dik tak, ziarang lama Mizo na reng reng nei lo an tam mai. Nangpawh, i chhungrila i mizo tlatna hian mi tamtak ai chuan i MIZO zawk tih a tilang.

Mos-a said...

@aduhi - best of both worlds - yep you could say that but would it surprise you if I told you that I've never had a non-mizo girlfriend. hehe. Holidays were good though..got to travel out of Mizoram to Bombay and got to see a lot of places.

@kima/sandman - reply to reply to reply..zzzzz go to Goa and stop replying.

@Raldawna - ka thil ziah min lo hlutpui avangin i ti lawmawm e. Thupui leh Agenda nei deuh a ziak pawh ka ni lem lo mahse in ngaihtuahna te ka sentir phah te nih chuan ka rin ai deihin ka hlawhtling tihna ni mai!

@Epis - Pu Epis a meuh in a ron comment chuan ka blog chu hlawhtling thawkhat ah ka in ngai.(no sarcasm!). Rilru ah hian ngaihtuahna a inthen viau thin a - 'Khawtlangin ka nihna ang ang hian min pawm se ..Mizo ni e.. nilo e' tih leh 'Ka in ti Mizo ta sa sa.. hei ai hi chuan ka la inti Mizo thei hrim hrim ang.." tih te. Rilru hi chu a insual buai lo tur chu ania. Either you are a Mizo or you are not tih te pawh rilru ah a lang duh a. I ngaihtuah i ngaihtuah chuan i Mizo tawk lo te pawh mi in min lo ti thei ta a. Mahse chutiang a thil awlsam chu a ni bawk silova..

Jesleen Awmi said...

"My hair was curly, i was dark skinned"....are you free tonite?? lol...on a more serious note..you write pretty good..i va thiam ve i pa i chhun anih hi..and as for this issue..why is it even an issue..you have the best of both worlds...and hybrids are always gorgeous..u wud have to shed the paunch to fit into this category though..be proud u are half mizo and be equally proud you are part maharashtrian...gets kind tough specially for kids in mizoram though i know..but hey stay away from people who are bigots...i have many many frens who enjoy the best of two cultures and i envy them at times...its a beautiful world..and you can enjoy two beautiful worlds by being a part of it...you are lucky...as for never having been called a chinky..i have never been called a chinky either....i love sandman and his writings..but i always wondered how he encountered so many chinky related fights and issues..cuz i think most people are above that..its just a handful of rascist bigots that exist and trust me they exist in all cultures,spheres,...as for me i steer clear of them..i have no place for bigots in my rose coloured world..and amos you are a gifted writer..the flow is good life10

Diddley said...

thanks to boredom, you finally have a blog and a very long post in it too :)at least its not linked to any arsenal website now :D impressive, i piangthar a mi ah :D

guys dont take the post too seriously, amos is drawn to racist peeps who love to compliment on his good looks (as he thinks so ) :D , the only source of entertainment in his life, besides foolsball, since his former source of entertainment "girls" doesnt seem to interest him nymore since the outbreak of the gay community and brokeback mountain :D he is now UN afraid :). so dat expalins the reason as to why he changes his girlfrens more frequently den his undies :P. his interest had been male... like KIMA all along :D ANd so, from girls to gays to blogging about inter-racial marriage victims ( i swear dis is a matrimonial ad in the making, now he finally gets all the attention from the gays and girls feeling sowwy for him :P, clever eh :P. kima if i were you , i would pay attention to ya frens technique's :D

amos is very racist...with people who are poor in mizo spellings :P. although he learns most of his mizo from meh :P

well, seriously... regarding ya post, i will not pity you or ponder upon it coz i know your stronger then the rest of us. and yeah, your writting skills dont suck at all :) quite a good reflection of you, always happy and jumpy and yeah, always ready to make a joke out of the most terrible situations, and the worst part is, the jokes are always laughable :D and good ( okie dat was me jus trying to be nice for once ):)

gosh.... now the backfire comes stabbing :). ouch ouch ouch... please dont pay attention to the comment of this post comment :)

feddabonn said...

nice post. curious, though-what does it mean to be "more mizo" than someone else?

Jerusha said...

+feddabonn

If we really mean it when we say blood and race and pure/half blood or whatever doesn't matter, how can anyone then be more of a race (Mizo, vai, sap) than anyone else? I don't see how you're more or less of a Mizo than I am or vice versa. Sigh. There are so many things wrong with over-passionate opinions :P (But I can see how Kima can be less of a Mizo than you or most other Mizos)

And oh btw, I made a vai friend read the post because I loved it. Here's what she had to say:
"oh my god
he sounds so cute
he does look almost arabian
he's brilliant
and witty
and funny
sigh
and a tad rebellious
but i wouldn't blame him
and he's in love
sigh"

:-)

Mos-a said...

@Jes-lean: it's a non issue if you ain't a hybrid. Generally speaking it's an issue if you are a hybrid. Ever since I put up this post some friends have been telling me abt their bad experiences.I haven't had an opportunity to enjoy Maharashtrian culture since we've never lived in M'rashtra. I did once have a huge poster of Bal Thackeray on my bedroom wall but that was as far as it went.

@Marina - omg a Twilight fan posting in here. you're the closest as to finding out the real reason as to why I blogged on this topic. Don't worry I'll never reveal your insane adulation for that Twilight actor guy.

@Fedabonn - When I said "more mizo" i was referring to someone having in depth knowledge about Mizo culture,traditions etc etc. I didn't mean it in the actual sense of "having more mizo blood in you" :) . So going by that theory it's possible for a non-mizo to be more than mizo than a pure blood mizo.

@Jeru - me rebellious? erm.. in love? THAT was a very interesting observation. How'd you friend come about this deduction? Ka van hre duh.

Jerusha said...

lol you know how we women love jumping to conclusions just to romanticize the situation or the person :) Apparently, in this case it was the "our Mizo girls (girl actually)for the rest of my days" comment that triggered this particular conclusion.

feddabonn said...

@jesleen: i've never had an overt attack, though my sister had trouble with some of her lecturers in christ college!

@jerusha: ziggactly what i was wondering. but i guess i see what the cute arabian means.

@cute arabian: i see what you mean. :)

Mizohican said...

Ti khan post tha deuh i rawn ziaka, i duhtawk ta ringawt ami? :-P

Unknown said...

This is a good one….a very strong subject in gentle words and sounds very intelligent too.
I am myself a “hybrid”, but never was a concern and never will be.
Though both my parents are from two different places, diverse cultures and different languages too, it has not been a concern at all, well probably because theirs (my parent’s) was an arranged marriage and within the same community.

I have always wondered which language to support whenever there is a fight between the supporters of these two languages, which happens very often.

Finally it only matters what you want to be. I am glad you know where you want to belong to. Well, I have never been able to decide (confused…eh)

I am thankful that my mother has taught us, my sibling and me , to get used to both the different dialects and cultures. But even then at times there are people who look at us indifferently (well, I have loved to irritate them).

I hope the world becomes more tolerant, especially, in your hometown, where you say being a hybrid is a major concern.

A strong subject and intelligently scripted, as it is not offensive at all.

Mimihrahsel said...

oh wow.. ur a pretty good writer. maybe u should give me some tips :)

Mos-a said...

@ Mimi - thanks (i guess hehe) you have your big bro Kima to give you tips - he the man! I'm just starting out. Ziah tur pawh ka hre tawh lo!

Anonymous said...

judging from the traffic you got, i would'nt complain about being hybrid. for all you know you got yourself a huge group of blog readers.
i enjoy reading your blog posts.
wats with the name "angel dust and bones?"

Rita Zoye said...

Hey U!! good to know ure still alive, if not for Mimi i wouldn't have known... Cheers to her!!

I love it, I simply adore it.... Hybrids are hybrids wherever we are; always better to accept and make peace with life...I know you do!!!keep it up

Let them call or label whatever names they call for; b'coz somewhere around the corner, there is always someone who doesn't.

Anonymous said...

mizos are digusting racist bigots.There was this one incident,i was travelling by bus from Aizawl and this stupid ugly spectacled mizo girl kept banging on my seat backrest .Oh How i would have loved to bitch slap that cunt

Anonymous said...

BTW the only reason i am here is because my letter was published in the pune mirror today;something about mizos and vais

KymBawi Khuptong said...

Whatever is the cause, whatever is happening in your life and what people think about you, one thing is for sure that you stand out and people do notice you. So enjoy the limelight...^_^....and keep on writing. To hell with people’s ideology about you.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hi Amos - how do I contact you?