Being the diverse country that it is, India and its people have always been classified into various religions,castes and groups...and to identify which group you belong to, your last name is more than enough. Now, what came along with that package were also stereotypes.
Whether its the warm hearted, loud mouthed Punjabis, the miserly Gujaratis, the eccentric and always inclined towards the arts Bengalis, or the fact that all South Indians are Brahmins and are strict disciplinarians ...we can't seem to escape these stereotypes even though we know that there are many exceptions to the generalised rule. But since this is my blog, I shall only rant about the stereotype thats been associated with me since birth.
My name is Pranav Shetty. Yep, I'm a Shetty. Now,ever since I can remember, the moment I introduced myself in this manner, I have always received this standard response, "Oh! Your a Shetty, eh? So, how many hotels do you own?"
Yes,'coz thats what Shettys are known for. Thats the stereotype thats been associated with my name all my life. And if you actually think about it, it is in a way justified. Because about 85% of Shettys are hotel/restaurant owners. Of the remaining 15%, around 5% are underworld dons (the ones that are called "Anna"..meaning brother) and the remaining 10% have,what we can call the "other" jobs.
So, my response has always been with an apologetic smile, "No, I don't own any hotels. In fact,nobody in my immediate family owns one."
Some of 'em would accept this reply...'coz its true. But, there are some idiots who go like, "What!?! Stop lying man.You can tell me the truth, I'm not gonna come there and ask you for a free meal!"
Idiots, I tell you.
Idiots, I tell you.
The worst incident happened about a year back, when I had a welding workshop session in college. Surprisingly, my classmates were ignorant about the stereotype until I had the above,exact conversation with my workshop teacher.Soon, the news spread.
About a couple of hours later, my faith in grapevine and exaggeration increased ten fold, when an idiotic classmate of mine came up to me and asked me the exact whereabouts in Goa, of my two hotels which went by the names of Hotel Alfredo and Hotel Alberto.
While a part of me mulled over as to why a Shetty would give Spanish names to his hotels, another part of me decided that enough was enough. So I came up with an alternative...I changed my way of introducing myself.
Now, my introduction goes about like this, " Hi, I'm Pranav Shetty...and no, I DON'T own any hotels!"
Bah! I know its kinda lame. But, its sure does work as an ice-breaker ;-)