Movie Review: I Am Love (Italian: Io sono l'amore)

All I could get from this modern day retelling of Madame Bovary is way to a woman's heart is through her stomach.

Overriding stereotypes

I keep listening to these stereotypes that Indians are cheap. They bargain for everything. They are nosy. etc... But I believe such stereotypes kill regional stereotypes. For example, my native place, Mangaluru(Mangalore), has exactly opposite stereotypes.

1. Mangalureans don't bargain
When I was young, I heard one of our neighbours complaining about their relatives who were staying with them. They went shopping and to this Mangalurean's utter mortification, started bargaining with the shop keeper. And the humiliation was complete when the shop keeper -who guessed their region based on their accent- contemptuously said, "This isn't Bengaluru. Nobody bargains here in Mangaluru".

2. Mangalureans always go dutch
I visited the home town after spending few years in Mysore for my studies. I met some of my friends there and we went to a restaurant. I took the bill. One of my friends immediately admonished me, "Is that Mysore style? We always split the bill here. There is no sponsoring business".

3. Mangalureans have stiff upper lip
I think this was said by a non-Managlorean Kannadiga and corroborated by a non-Mangalorean Tuluva. We supposedly don't mingle with others or make friends easily.

Tattoo

[I'm in general indifferent to tattoos so I wonder why I dreamt about them]

It was day time and I was in an open land. There were a tree and a concrete bench. The chair next to that gave the impression of an open air barber's shop. The tattoo artist asked me to sit in the chair. I don't remember what I was wearing. But I thought of tattooing the lower legs. They appeared shaven and lighter toned instead of the actual hairy dark legs. I don't remember seeing the artist or their tools. I suppose I was asked whether I would like to have something. I said I'd have a sandwich from Subway.

Then I woke up.

Tasting customer

[Hawker]: These oranges are good. Ten for fifty rupees. Please taste this. It's sweet and fresh.
[Peels off an orange and gives me a slice(?). It's bitter or sour or whatever but not at all sweet]
[Hawker]: Shall I pack you some?
[I]: Okay.

Dravidian Girl and Indo-Aryan Boy

[I overheard few words]
[DG]: ... Kumbha Mela ...
[IAB]: It's Kumbh .. Kumbh
[DG]: Yeah, yeah, whatever ...
[I]: [Attagirl! always end a word with a vowel.]

Beyond Humility

[She] : Excuse me, where is ...?
[I]: It's not in this lane, maybe you should try the lane parallel to this.
[She]: But I was told it's somewhere here
[I]: Hmm... this one is ... and that one is ... I guess you need to check the parallel lane
[She]: So, you are not sure
[I]: I mean it's not in this lane but yes, I'm not sure...
[She]: Okay, I'll ask the shopkeeper then
[I]: Sure
[She]: Thank you
[I]: Uh...No problem
[I parked the car and while getting down saw her walking towards the parallel lane]
[I went inside the house and after some time I came out to buy something from the shop across the road]
[I found her returning to the same lane and again checking the buildings around and talking over the phone]
[Shall I?]
[One can buy this thing for as cheap as Rs. 5000  and provides so much independence so, why wouldn't she buy one?]
[I]: Excuse me ...
[She] Yes ...[over the phone] Just a minute, I'll get back to you
[I]: It says you have to go straight in this lane, cross the junction and at the T-junction ahead, it's on your left

Heterosexual eating partners

What makes two men feel comfortable with each other? Probably, the tougher question is what makes two men feel awkward with each other? When we observe people around us, we either feel at home or neutral. We may start disliking some after we know them more intimately but what if we feel certain coolness with people whom we meet for the first time? Do we sense a potential romantic rival? Could be, but what if the feeling is mutual?

One drawback of forming a group is that it brings our other friends into the equation. Now, you need not feel friendly with your friend's friend. That was what happened when my on and off lunch eating group included a person with whom I wasn't much acquainted. As I mentioned before, most of them had become lunch boxers but once in a while they wouldn't get their boxes and I'd get the company. That's how I met this colleague who also sometimes wouldn't bring his lunch box.

We hardly conversed when others were around. But at one time, as his family was out of station, he had to come down to the cafeteria to have his food for few weeks consecutively. During that time, it used to be only him and me giving company. There was nothing to talk. There was always an awkward silence when we had our food. Considering my reflection of myself as not so sociable animal, I would bring up one or two topics with great difficulty. But that would end in couple of sentences worsening the awkwardness. It was a torture for me as I thought it was my responsibility to do some small talk and it would tax my mind coming up with topics.

Then one day, when it was just us, he sat down in the chair diagonally opposite to me. That would never happen. You would always sit in the chair directly opposite to the other in general. So, the next day,  I took my lunch delivery after him and made it a point to sit down diagonally opposite to him. On the third day, he took the lunch delivery after me but sat directly opposite to me. Thus the awkwardness of having to watch or avoid each other's face restored.

This continued for several months. We not only gave company for lunch but sometimes even went for snacks in the evenings together (of course, most of  time there were others). One day, when it was just the two of us for evening snacks, out of the blue he asked me what I was planning to have. I said something. He just sponsored me. I didn't know how to react. We always went dutch. So, the very next day, I sponsored him. There ended our sponsoring friendship. I thought probably he was also trying to overcome the awkwardness in our eating friendship. However, that hasn't changed much between us. It's more than a year now. Possibly, we do talk more than couple of sentences. However, the awkwardness is still there.

I've observed his worldviews are much different from mine. He is a believer. However, I do get along with people who are like that. But people who don't hold the same views as mine, still are interested in subjects that I'm interested. He isn't. Do we instinctively detect that we differ intellectually and therefore the awkwardness?