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Friday, July 22, 2011

Chp 358. History of STUDS in Mizo Society, 1980+

Who is a stud? The exact definition may differ from culture to culture, but at the end of the day, a stud is one who is surrounded by women or can easily be with any chick he wants. As the universal Bro Code aptly puts it – A stud is respected by all other Bros.

Yes you may find this post a tad sexist. Like how my friend Jerusha would say, “If a girl sleeps with different men, she is labeled a whore, but if a guy sleeps with different women, he is called a stud? That’s not fair!” Or as my friend Amos would say, “If a girl sleeps with different guys, she is called a whore, but if I do the same, then suddenly I am called gay? That’s not fair!”

A stud is a guy other guys respect, especially by us nerds and geeks. While we slogged our asses off during engineering exams, he was constantly on the prowl, always in the company of women. We respected him and envied him at the same time. “Don’t worry nerds, study hard for your exams and you will get all the bitches you want later,” he would tell us, as he took the assignment we did for him with one hand, and held the hottest girl in college with the other hand.

Oh we hated him right then. Because we didn’t want any female dogs. Why the hell would we want female dogs? We just wanted to speak to women, that’s all. But even though we never actually understood him, one thing’s for sure – We may have hated him, sometimes even loathed him, but at the end of the day we respected him!

In our Mizo culture, the word we use for such a person is “Luck”. Yes, it is derived from the English word, and it means exactly that. “Tlangval luck” means a guy who has a lot of women admirers or one who has no difficulty appealing to the opposite sex. There is hardly any moment in his life when his relationship status remains “single”.

In Mizoram, things are different.

I still remember being asked by a friend in Bangalore when he saw me play a riff of “Hotel California” and end it with the intro of “Sweet Child of Mine” – “Dude! You’re bloody amazing with the guitar! You must be having a lot of chicks after you, back in Mizoram huh?” Hahaha! Nopes. In Mizoram, women don’t give flying crap if you play the guitar or whether you're in a rock band. Because 90% of the guys can play the guitar over there. It’s as if we were all born with our fingers clutching an A minor chord and the first time we cried in the hospital bed, we probably did so in tonic sol-fa.

Nah, things are different in Mizoram. There are actually different time periods when a person with a particular designation was considered a stud. Every profession had an era of being deemed a “Tlangval luck”.

Here are some of them, and the reason why many Mizo children (like me) had once upon a time dreamt to become just like that person, so that we too would be surrounded by women. Ah… the dreams of a folly youth!


1. The TV Antennae Twister

This is as far as I can remember. During the early 80’s, Mizoram, which was not even a state then, was just starting to develop. The insurgency led by the MNF was slowly coming to an end, and few “privileged” people started buying TV sets. There was only Doordarshan channel back then, but Mizoram being situated on a high altitude and lying between Burma and Bangladesh, we could get (free) channels from Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and even Korea, simply by adjusting our TV antennae reception!

That’s where the Antennae twister stepped in. He’s usually around 20-25 years old, jobless, clean shaven, smokes like hell, skinny, and really got a badass talent of climbing up the roof and twisting the TV antennae to find a particular channel. Women used to sigh in admiration as he twist and twist and twist… androgenic sweat dripping off him as he turned the antennae… switching from Burmese channel to Korean to Bangladesh… ahhh… ohhhh… ahhh…

Watching the women squirm in ecstasy, that was when a lot of kids decided they wanted to become just like the antennae twister when they grow up. And maybe that’s why a lot of guys started training by practicing with their little antennas first…


2. Driver/Handyman

The mid 80’s saw the signing of the Mizoram Peace Accord, and Mizoram became a state. Employment rate started growing and more and more people bought vehicles. Of course people who had vehicles were considered affluent, but they were not considered “Tlangval luck” because most of them were married and had a family. But the drivers were not. And boy oh boy, they had all the women!

Whether you drove a private vehicle or a government vehicle, being a driver was the new definition of being a stud. My dad was working in the Power & Electric department then, and I used to go with him during his tours across Mizoram. He usually moved in a convoy of 4-5 vehicles. And during those tours, I spent more time with the drivers, probably because I have three elder sisters and no brother, so they were like the elder brothers I never had.

During the tours, I used to just sit with them and listen to their campfire stories as they exchanged stories about their conquests and sexcapades, about the many virgins they "conquered" at this village and that village etc. And they weren’t just bullshitting. Wherever we went, while my dad and other senior officers were working inside the local office, these drivers always managed to find a village damsel they could take to their rooms. I was young then, but I understood.

And the best part about being a driver was that sometimes many of these drivers, especially truck drivers, had handymen. The handyman acted as the wingman. Now what better ways to score than having the stud reputation of a driver with an equally cool wingman! Ah, it was Paradise for them. That was definitely their era. In my mind, the studification process started right then.

So after we got back from one of those tours, I told my mom I wanted to become a driver when I grow up. She nearly had a heart attack. Strangely, my dad never took me along on his tours again…


3. SDO/JE

With more employment opportunity and Government sectors opening, the late eighties saw a sudden surge in a new stud category – the SDOs and JEs. The SDO (Sub Division Officer) and JE (Junior Engineer) bachelors were the center of attraction at every function, regardless of whether they were in the P&E dept, PWD, PHE, etc.

Maybe it was because of their lifestyle and the way they partied, even till today, if you go to any Mizo house party, people will be doing the “SDO dance”. And yes, to have an SDO or JE son-in-law was the desire of many Mizo parents back then.


4. Doctor

During the 90s, the stud crown was passed on to the doctors. Hell yeah, they not only saved lives, but made lives, if you know what I mean. They were that “lucky”.

In fact, I think more than the girls, it was the mother of the girl who was more in love with the doctors – most of them would do anything to make sure their daughter married a doctor. Now this kind of fight and attention, every guy loves, right? And so, many of us slogged hard for various medical entrance exams, hoping to become a stud one day too.

In addition to that, I was hooked to Robin Cook novels those days, so I really used to think doctors had an extremely glamorous lifestyle. After school, I was probably the only Mizo guy who had never even kissed a girl, and the ambition of becoming a doctor only became stronger.

But then, after the entrance exam results came out, I got into Guahati Medical College (GMC) which is a well reputed college, but I got a much higher rank in the Engineering entrance exam – So after much consultation and contemplation, I told myself – Ahhhh chuck it. I’m a nerd. And I’ll always remain a nerd. I’ll die alone, unknown, unconquered, unridden. Let the other guys enjoy, maybe this is my fate.

And so with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to GMC, lost the opportunity to become a stud, and dwelled even deeper into NerdDom and became a Computer Science Engineer. After graduation, I went back to Mizoram and everybody thought I took a four year course on how to install Windows. Now which mother would want their daughter to marry somebody like that huh?


5. Pastor

Ahhh now this is one stud who isn’t a badass and yet commands deep respect. He’s the apple of every mother’s eyes, the gem of the locality, and sometimes even the entire local community would go around searching for a fitting bride for him!

Take this scenario for example. Guy comes across a beautiful hot girl. He asks people around about her, and learns that she is extremely homely, devoted to God, sincere, honest, and all other things nice and sweet. He doesn’t think, “Dayymm, I gotta nail that” or “I gotta marry her”. Instead, the first thought that comes to his mind is, “Yeah, she’s perfect for our Pastor. I gotta fix them up!”

See, that’s how Pastors roll. Wicked! You come across such a girl and you do not hope that she likes you. Instead, you hope that she likes your Pastor! See? Bros before Hopes! Yeah, even the Bro Code works perfectly fine here.


6. IAS

IAS (and recently MCS) bachelors are another batch of studs who have no difficulty in finding a partner. I think they are currently the reigning stud-pions in Mizoram.

Line up a couple of suitors for the hand of a girl, and the one with an IAS designation will blow every competition away for miles. They are like the Terminator of bachelors, powerful and feared. Some are humble, some are badass, and some are humbly badass. All in all, they rock!


Conclusion:

So where do we copywriters stand in the stud ladder? Well, for the fact that most people in Mizoram will not even know what I actually do for a living (the term “copywriter” does sound like somebody who spends his whole day in a government office copying files and writing them out manually into a new document right?), I guess we don’t even make it to the ladder.

...which reminds me of that animation “Shark Tale” (with the voice of Will Smith) –

Sykes: Now I have to pay Don Lino protection, so everything you owe me, you owe him!
Oscar: How do you figure that?
Sykes: Simple - the food chain!
[Pulls out chart]
Sykes: On top there's Don Lino, there's me, there's regular fish...
Oscar: And that's me!
Sykes: No. There's plankton, there's single-celled amoebas...
Oscar: And then me!
Sykes: I'm getting there, I'm getting there... There's coral, there's rocks, there's whale poop, and then there's you.
Oscar: That's messed up.




Yup, in the Stud hierarchy within Mizoram, we copywriters are so messed up. Hehe…

Maybe there’s an important lesson in this. If you want to be a stud, then be one. Remember the old saying, “Nice guys finish last”? Yup that is so true. If you want to be a nice guy, that’s well and good, but don’t regret finishing last. I wanted to be a stud when I was younger too, but later chose the nerd path. And now, I am definitely not regretting that decision at all. What matters in the end is, regardless of who you are, are you happy? Once you learn the importance of happiness and job satisfaction, being a stud suddenly becomes insignificant.

Friday cheers! :)

41 comments:

benjamin rualthanzauva said...

Here.. first kiss after a year of working.

Mizohican said...

aweeeee

blackestred said...

Nice read.. Same boat here, but hang in there, Age of the geeks is on schedule!

Mizohican said...

hehehe... yes *puts on creepy voice* veryyy soon.... :D

Pixie said...

LOL!!!

We also drooled after the athelete in school!! How could you forget the basket ball player or the scout boy who went to Delhi to participate in the Parade on Independence Day?!! :P :P

The saying - Nice guys finish last - holds good for us gals too!! :P
nice gals always finish last! ;)



Oh and Thank you for stopping by Mr. Stranger!! :P

vana said...

haha Drivers..hmm.Poisa ngah ngah an luck.BTW it depends upon the view of the asociety

Mizohican said...

Hey hey... I do stop by regularly ok! :)

And yes, see how times have changed! People we used to consider the most eligible are definitely not so today. Who knows who it will be tomorrow??? :)

Mizohican said...

@ vana: hehe nia... but one thing is for sure. Drivers in Mizoram have a much higher societal standing than other places in India. I guess we can say the same goes for our domestic help etc. That's what I love about our society. There's hardly any class distinction.

zamzama said...

i never looked at life this way!

Mizohican said...

You did... subconsciously. you just didn't know about it... :D

Samuel Putarte said...

Kan naupan lai a driver leh pastor nih kan chak theih zia kha aw. A lunglenthlak. Dish/antena her tur hian kan khaw thenawm ah te hlawh nei in min chhawr thin, nileng thak te khan ka her peih thin, tun hnu ah hian khang hunlai khan ka lo taima ta ngawtin ka hria.

Mizohican said...

Pu Sangpuiipa, kan in rual reng a lo ni maw? :D :D :D

Hlua said...

i va ziak thiam mai mai e, ka chhiar chhuah vek chu!

ramesh prasad said...

Sipai i sawi hmaih :D

VaiVa said...

:D

daniel said...

I agree 'Nice guy finish last - to get AIDS' So cheer up all 'un lucky' guys.

Mizohican said...

@ Hlua: Thanx :)

@ Ramesh: "Sipai luck" was way before my time. It was during my granpa's time :)

@ VaiVa: :P

@ daniel: So true! :)

Chicco said...

Great post again! Hats off!
Sad to say this, but I was a 'stud' I guess and I agree, I could've been a better man now if I wasn't a stud then. :(
Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. Work harder to fill up the gaps (if you know what I mean)
It's better late then never.

Anonymous said...

Ziak ngaihnawm thiam reuh e! VaiVa hming thar Ramesh Prasad! :-)

zualbonez said...

hu hu hu ho ho ho...i missed the bus :)

-zualbonez

H.Vangchhia said...

STUD i hrilhfiah dan khi a tha hle mai. Thumbs up

Krista Roluahpuia said...

Ngaihnawm hle mai. Panchhe tuam doctor ini lova a lawmawm alawm!

Keipawh chanchin ka ngah ang reng..hahaha

meh said...

That part about guitars reminded me of something our church elder said, that during the 70s and early 80s, the composite of the Mizo male could be summed up as 3G (girls, guitar and guns). And growing up to rock music, the epitome of studliness for me has always been the wild-haired, lean bod, skintight-leather pants-clad rocker... scuse meh, gotta go google pics of yesteryears axl rose, jim morrison et al

Eveline said...

Ten years ago, I was listening to bad heavy metal, sneaking cigarettes out bedroom windows and cracking myself up more than any sane person should. Now, look at me. I'm married. And to a geek. Could I, as a 16 or 17 year old kid, have ever seen this coming? I doubt it. I consider myself lucky that life has turned out the way it has. :)

Zorami said...

Fyi, Geeks r d new studs

cheers!
A hot mizo chick :DD

Kunal said...

A good one dude....
but becoming stud is not in the domain of the abovementioned "stars" only. But as a rule it might be true!!!!!!
Mizoram is anyway incredible place....
Ur observations r simply superb

Hriatpuia Pa said...

Haha! Ka nui nasa mang e!

Helai hi a mawi zual - 'And maybe that’s why a lot of guys started training by practicing with their little antennas first…' lolzzzzzz

Tu ma la chuan ve lohna Sabengtungte pawh kan hriatchhuah phah lek lek mai a!

Lastly, congrats for not being the unridden guy anymore... :DD

luliana said...

Medical lo thlang ta la ka senior i ni dawn tihna ania(h)!! A va rapthlak dawn em! hahaha

Mizohican said...

@ Chicco: Times change people too :) In the end, what matters the most is how we pick ourselves up and continue with our lives from there. :)

@ TS Khupchong: lolzzz a nih duh hmel :D

@ zualbonez: haha you can still run after it :D

@ H.Vangchhia: lolz. Thanx :D

@ Krista: haha... Lo ni ta i la, engtin tak nge tunah hian kan awm mek ang le? :D

Mizohican said...

@ meh: True true. :)

@ Eveline: Indeed, see how people change. What we want to be or dream of becoming, sometimes it never works out, and many times it even surprises us when we look back at our past.

@ Kunal: Thank you! :)

@ Zaia: haha pu Zai, i lawm lai ber kher chu :D Dik ve tho chu a sin... lolzzzzz

@ Luliana: Ka junior i ni dawn tihna a ni maw? A va rapthlak leh zual em!!!!

mangbuhril said...

a good one, enjoyed reading it... in fact was waiting for the part where stud engineers come into the picture.. kima, this is not fair....hehe

OpaHmar said...

This has to be the baddest-assed post of all posts I come across recently,and probably ranked up there in my top5 of all times....
but to quote the (not yet) famous words of Leonard Hofstadter to Sheldon Cooper , "In the information age, Sheldon, you and I are the Alpha Males"
so ladies....come on...ladies??? ladiesss???

OpaHmar said...

This has to be the baddest-assed post of all posts I come across recently,and probably ranked up there in my top5 of all times....
but to quote the (not yet) famous words of Leonard Hofstadter to Sheldon Cooper , "In the information age, Sheldon, you and I are the Alpha Males"
so ladies....come on...ladies??? ladiesss???

Morgoth said...

Haha..good one bradar..
But I think, Pastor/Reverend still hold out against Civil Services Officer to this day. Btw..good info'. I've never known about the Antenna twister being a stud..lol..
One more addition; you didn't include the Assam Regiment ex-servicemen..

Mizohican said...

@ mangbuhril: Us engineer studs' time hasn't come yet. But it will soon. Very soon. Have patience my brother :D

@ OPa: Thank you for the badass comment. Just trying to do my badass thing here :D And of course Leonard is always right *BOWS*

@ Morgoth: I didn't remember that far back about the ex-servicement :D Thanx for stopping by bradaar. Long time :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Kim, you make us ( mizo women) look so shallow and kinda thick in the head....not fair! there are many of us who apppreciate and treasure the real studs: geeks.


-pi bmw

Mizohican said...

Hugz, pi bmw. This was just a humour post, and everybody knows Mizo women are not shallow. :)

Rascal Crowe said...

Ngaihnawm ve le!Antennae Twister erawh khi chu ka lo hre ngai lo. Naupan lai khan Chaltlang venglai ah kan dah a, Thundercats leh wrestling her chhuah tumin 'Tikhan a fiah em?' kan in au chhawng nasa thin.

Malina said...

Thu ziak sei deuh hi ka chhiar chhuak ngailo tlangpui ania mahse i really enjoy reading this post :) Antennae twister chhiar lai phei chuan nui chhuak huk mai :))

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So, I don't actually suppose this may have success.
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