"Macho does not prove mucho"
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor
Shivaani Chakravarti: Only the women
Abraham Eraly: These categories are too broad. Isn't the temperament of the Bengali quite different from that of the Punjabi?There are such differences among south Indians too. Physical environment seems to be a critical factor in this-- that and the character of the people shaped by history. Punjabis are a singularly macho people, because oftheir fertile land and salubrious climate, and the combative life they have lived over the centuries as afrontier people. In the arid planes of the peninsula, the heat saps much of our energy.
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Reeta Sinha: No, north Indian men just think they are macho. South Indian men know they are.
Anasuya Mohanti: Macho men exist in all parts of India. It is unfair to say that north Indians are more macho than theirsouthern counterparts. What of the east and the west?
Farrukh Dhondy: Contrary to the interpretation my ayah gave the phrase when I was much younger, the taunt levelled at certainnorth Indian males reminding them at random times of day or night that "it is twelve o’clock", is one ofthe dial metaphors of Indian idiom. When one says baarah baj gaye one is actually saying "yourmoving parts or erectile tissue is pointing upwards." Not so much an insult, more an envious appreciation ofconstant potency and readiness. The opposite is of course not the South Indian male but the ‘chhukka’, a‘No. 6’ who dangles down the dial.
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Aman Gill: No. Who in the North can compare with the raw sexuality of Mamooty or Girish Karnad? Actually, maybe the menfrom rural Rajasthan or the tribal Gujjars of Himachal could! But if macho is supposed to imply aggressive andconstricting, then your regular North Indian male might win hands down!
Kalyan Raman: Obviously, the real question is: "Which of them beat up on their women more directly, often andeffectively?" Do we really need an answer? Show us, and tell us all, Barkha Dutt, in your inimitablyquavering tone. Reality bites, indeed!
Pauline Chitra Vellaichamy: I seriously thought machismo was limited to the Spaniards! Indian men - north or south- are by and largemama's boys! And guess who is responsible for THAT? Certainly not the father! Or the grandfather!!
Raji Pillai: Whether "macho" is meant here as a withering pejorative or a chest-thumping compliment, I abhorgeneralizations, so will refrain from making sweeping statements. But single women who have travelled in northand south India have reported by way of random anecdotes (statistical significance unknown) that they getpawed less in south India.
P.V. Subramanian: Dai! Yanna da kelvi? Rajni is macho! Chiranjeevi is macho! Even Vijayshanti is macho (ever seen her asinspector-amma?). But seriously, your average south Indian likes 2 things best: (1) Drink sambaar (2) Kickass. Thankfully he is not all out of sambaar, rascal! And what of our Mookerjees and Mahapatras who have maach4 times a day, I ask? What of them?
