have you noticed how there are always more women around a pani puri stall than men? ever wondered why? now a pani puri might be called a 'gol gappa' in the north or a 'puchka' in the east (i don't think its exists in the south!) but the phenomenon is the same.
and as kids i remember how the girls in the convent across the street from our 'all boys' school would crowd around the street vendor who sold tamarind and wood apple and amla (gooseberry) and such like. i don't remember us guys having any such favorites when it came to food. i think the only thing that we guys showed a clear inclination towards in school was the 'much thumbed salacious' books we read surreptitiously. (this reads much better than saying 'we loved reading porn')
now most of us believe that this is because of our social upbringing which makes boys act differently from girls. but i tend to disagree. i think it has more to do with the way men are 'wired' differently from women. (most women will read that as 'men being weird as compared to women' and i wouldn't blame them :-) )
now most of us believe that this is because of our social upbringing which makes boys act differently from girls. but i tend to disagree. i think it has more to do with the way men are 'wired' differently from women. (most women will read that as 'men being weird as compared to women' and i wouldn't blame them :-) )
i notice this so clearly in our kids. our son is currently going through his cricket phase where he literally eats, breathes and lives cricket. i mean, he can't hold a bat to save his life, but when did that ever stop him? why, he even sleeps cricket. just the other day when i was trying to wake him up he mumbled 'its a four!'. he will catch any unsuspecting adult and start off with his own analysis of various teams and players and styles and matches and strategies and scores and what have you. we pity the poor person who's trapped and gasping like some fish stranded out of water!
but his sister cares two hoots about cricket. she loves music and dancing and dressing up and wants to try on different hair-styles. she loves coloring. she is not as keen on using the computer unlike her brother, unless its for watching her favorite dvds. (during our recent weekend trip, while all the young girls were dressed up and learning to groove to the latest filmi numbers , my son made his irritation clearly felt and went off to practice shying at the stumps by himself!)
and i don't think either my wife or i have put any of these ideas into their heads. we usually just go along with whatever they enjoy or would like to try their hands at.
i am convinced boys are just 'wired' differently from girls. don't you agree?
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8 comments:
Hi,
You said it right, men are wired differently. Guess it is the law of nature and comes down from cave man times and dates back to the days of evolution from the ape (some have stopped midway during evolution). Life would be so much easier if people just understood this rather than make the other half of civilisation look at things their way.
And by the way, pani puri is called just that down South and is equally popular. I, personally, can't do without stuffing my face with it atleast once a week. Miss that when I am here in Dubai. You do find them here, but I guess the plastic-gloved-clean-hand that dishes out the puris takes away some of the taste. I know this might sound ludicurous to some of the disciplined health freaks, but eating by the roadside in India is extremely enjoyable.
I agree. Men are weird ..err..I mean wired differently! Hahaha...
But you will find more men hogging on Vogue or Cosmopolitan or Femina than women! Its just that they try to hide it and try to show their nonchalant macho side!
interesting post...raises some good questions; the problem is this nature vs nurture thing can never really be answered fairly; Even if you are not bringing in those different preferences, the world around is constantly reinforcing them. for e.g. kids largely see male cricket teams and female beauty pageant contestants; Is it such a big leap to subconsciously understand that men play games and women dress up? I am simplifying ofcourse for the sake of argument...but you get my point..
Nice blow btw. Liked your piece on retail also.
music - i completely agree with your view about road-side food in india. the pani puris in the swanky restaurants don't taste anywhere as good as the real stuff on the roads! :)
~nm - i agree that men too love surreptitously reading women's magazines. but they are usually reading 'ten ways to improve your sex life' or the 'know your body' letters :)
apu - i agree that its a nature vs nurture thing and there is no right answer. but i still can't figure why after watching 'chak de india' (which they have watched at least 30 times) my son wants to start playing with hockey sticks but my daughter wants to listen to the songs and know all the players' names and remember their lines?
aaww, you think so??? Yes yuo're right...men are surely wired differently...
And pani puris exist and is very popular in the souht...at least In the Bangalore I know...all nooks and corners with their gaadis and chaats....
And my son will surely love yours....he's totally into cricket and just can't nuderstand why girls stand in corners and gossip and waste their time...
@prats : i change my opinion of the south! i am a changed man now :)
my son's crib about girls is that they are not interested in talking about cricket at all!
correction...
at my place my husband and son are the biggest gol gappa fans....i guess evolution is taking place
read quite a few of your posts....
BRAVO
@gazal : good for mankind! if men become more like women i guess we would have less strife in the world. (but i don't know if they could handle the PMS and the labor pains!)
keep dropping in!
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