"Buy the best COCK"

Believe it or not, this is the wording of a large printed advertisement draped over the front gate of the boys' high school near the shala.  It refers to "Cock" brand fireworks, which apparently are the best.  We are in the middle of the Diwali festival, in which the igniting of fireworks and even small bombs is practiced with religious devotion.

Another favorite brand of mine is "Intellectual Hair Perming Irons," on sale now at "Loyal World" in Mysore, "where shopping is a pleasure."  In fairness to India, I should note that this fascinating product comes from China.  It is good to see, after the Cultural Revolution and its repercussions, that intellectuals are now respected there.

But back to the topic of the best cock.  Robert Wright wrote a controversial book, "The Moral Animal," arguing, among other things, that women are biologically driven to an attraction to financially successful males.  I will not go there.  In part because I have several female friends who are attracted to outstanding guys who are deliberately or otherwise living in poverty.  But I do wonder why some young Indian guys are surprisingly attracted to me, even physically.  I wonder if my white skin ("fair" skin is very popular among some Indians), and my perceived wealth (I am not really wealthy at all), is actually a turn-on, rather than just a magnet for gold-diggers. 

Comments

[Alan Little]

"... women are biologically driven to an attraction to financially successful males. I will not go there. In part because I have several female friends who are attracted to outstanding guys who are deliberately or otherwise living in poverty."

Are we talking here about beautiful young girlfriends of advanced male ashtangis? Let me follow your example of favouring honesty over political correctness. What women (by and large, doubtless with numerous exceptions etc. etc.) are attracted to is not financial success per se but status, of which financial success is just one possible measure. Advanced male ashtangis have very high status within their particular subculture, with the added major plus - compared to most middle aged alpha males in most other groups - of physically attractive bodies. And theirs is a subculture in which there is an unusually high proportion of beautiful young women.

I doubt if there are many straight male ashtangis who haven't noticed this and been motivated by it to some degree at some point. There are plenty who don't have the honesty, either with themselves or with the world at large, to talk openly about it. It's ok for me to do so because I'm happily married (to a non-ashtangini, as it happens) - it seems to be one of the ruels of the heterosexual mating game that it's only ok to discuss the rules when you're not yourself currently in play.

Being happily married doesn't mean I don't still enjoy going to yoga workshops and hanging out with hot yoga chicks.

[Caroline]

+Might I venture to say (since I'm also happily married and not in the 'game') that perhaps it's not the status itself that is intriguing, but rather the qualities that have been the basis for status.

The most attractive quality would be that indescribable spark that some people exhibit, that passion for life, even with all of it's idiosyncracies. It could be that this quality is also fundemental to success, though success isn't necessarily compelling in and of itself.

For example, a guy who's inherited a bundle, but isn't persistent, isn't passionate, well, that would be boring. But someone who is excited about life and learning, now that's interesting.

(Really enjoy your blog, btw)

[Alan Little]

Caroline,

Completely agree. I take an evolutionary view of the matter and would say something like "attracted to qualities that would have led to [success/status/high ability to support children] in a stone age hunter/gatherer band". So things like athletic prowess (= ability to hunt well), charisma (= ability to motivate others to hunt/gather well), intelligence (= ability to come up with better ways to hunt/gather). Money is just one indirect indicator of a person maybe having demonstrated some such qualities in the past (or, as you say, having had ancestors who did)

Re senior ashtangis, both male and female: I remember years back when I started going to astnaga workshops, thinking "these are people I want to be like. If this stuff attracts/produces people like these, then it must be worth persevering with". The bit about the hot chicks was secondary.