Ten ways to know that you are a South Indian by heart

Hilarious as that sounds, this is serious business!!

Part genes and part upbringing, folks have certain unique qualities especially if they cherish being South Indian.

If you have the following symptoms, confirm yourself that you are a true South Indian by heart.

Old gramophone records – Your family house will flaunt the age old extinct gramophone records of M S Subbalakshmi and Bala Murali Krishna. These are eternal pride, so they will not be done away with; the record player may be out of production but the old records are here to stay for good!

Dusty unused Veena – Veena, the traditional South Indian musical instrument is a sign of tradition – a mark of respect; you will flaunt an old unused Veena passed on from generations. The guitars and pianos may have taken the front seat, but the old Veena remains untouched.

Idly cravings – This comes primarily from habits and lifestyle; you will cravefor idly no matter where you go. If you are overseas then this is a terrible doom for you. You will long and crave for idly as part of your routine diet. There is more to this steamed preparation than health!

The A R mania – You are smitten, gaga and obsessed with A R Rahman; you will essentially show off your great music collection that is a compilation of all the songs by the Mozart of Madras. This will often piss your friends off!

‘Ilaya’ revelations – You are constantly listening to Ilayaraja compositions while driving down to work. You find solace in Ilaya’s timeless music that is a unique mix of jazz and indian. You are always thrown into the nostalgic past while singing along to some evergreen hits composed by the Maestro.

The Saree fetish – If you are a woman, your style cravings will often waver to picking those classic Kanjeevarams for weddings. You will find yourself exhibiting the great collection of weaves while there is chance. You are the envy of many women who like the classy patterns in your wardrobe.

Jasmine garden – Yes, woman, you will wear those strong smelling jasmines in your hair in all the Pujas and Weddings. You may have straightened your unmanageable curly hair or coloured it whacky, but jasmines will be your crowning glory for those special occasions.

Sambar fixation – You would have moved to United States on study or work visa, but you will find yourself stocking up that sambar prepared over a weekend for days in a row; refrigerated, savoured and re savoured. What more, you will also force feed your ‘gora’ friends with irritable bowel syndrome; guilt free!

Enga Thalaivar! – You are that crazy Rajinikanth fan who constantly argues in open forums that Rajini is more than Chuck Norris of India. You will be proud to be ridiculed at that expense and are mostly catching up with old Rajini films.

Name obsession – Your ears will instantly catch any Indiian names that end with ‘an’. Despite all the other differences, you will try to bond with these folks and try to strike up camaraderie. Sometimes, all the ‘an’ s gang up against the rest of the human race!

Pun Intended! It is a total delight to be a South Indian!