The Malayali Touch

Be it the south indian stranger @ the Cafe Coffee day or the South indian receptionist @ the Computer Gadget store (to name a few), they have popped out the same question, "Chetan malayali yo?" Then with a blush they would accept the fact that i am a Tamilian the moment i tell them.Whether it is by my looks or by my name or by the way i speak tamil leads them to this doubt, i dont know. To get to the bottom of this, i had my ancestral line under the scanner, only to find that my Grandfather's sister's grandson is the closest in blood line who happens to reside in Kerala :) I also doubt whether i got that touch from the three sorties(comprising of 2 days each) to kerala that i did in the whole of my lifetime. A tamilian in reality, and a malayali by recognition, cool!!! i am enjoying this dual "States"manship as long as it leads me to something good and worthwhile. When it happens to be the North Indians across the desk, they have no problem in identifying,because they use the rule of generalization.Madrasi is the term coined by them for anyone from the four southern states of India(Madrasi => People from the province of Madras during the British rule.Sixty years of independence, four states have formed in the south, Madras got liquidated into Chennai, still the same name lingers for anyone from the south)By coincidence the Northies gets my state's capital right, and then i would go on to tell them that i am not a chennaivaasi(Resident of Chennai) but from the state of TamilNadu, blah...blah..