Abraham Eraly: These categories are too broad. Isn’t thetemperament of the Punjabi male different from that of the Bengali? There are suchdifferences among south Indians too.
Reeta Sinha: North Indian men just think they are macho. South Indianmen know they are.
Aman Gill: Who in the north can compare with the raw sexuality ofMammooty or Girish Karnad?
P.V. Subramaniam: Rajni is macho! Chiranjeevi is macho! EvenVijayshanti is macho (ever seen her as inspector-amma?)
Aman: Actually, maybe the men from rural Rajasthan or the tribalGujjars of Himachal could! But if macho is supposed to imply aggressive, violent andconstricting, then your regular north Indian male wins hands down!
Kalyan Raman: The real question is: ‘Which of them beat up ontheir women more directly, often and effectively?’ Do we really need an answer? Showus, and tell us all, Barkha Dutt, in your inimitably quavering tone. Reality bites,indeed!
Eraly: Physical environment is a critical factor. Punjabi men aremacho because of their fertile land, salubrious climate, and the combative lifethey’ve lived all over the centuries as frontier people.
Pauline C. Vellaichamy: I thought machismo was limited to theSpaniards! Indian men are mama’s boys! And guess who’s responsible? Certainlynot the father! Or the grandfather!
Raji Pillai (genome scientist): I abhor generalisations, but singlewomen who’ve travelled all over India have reported that they get pawed less in thesouth.
P.V.S: And what of our Mookerjees and Mahapatras who have maach fourtimes a day, I ask? What of them?
