Stop Your Hooking

Because Akka loves you, she feels like nagging your misbehaving kundis about something you should not do (via the AP and one anonymous tipster on the news tab):

Smoking a hookah may be as dangerous as cigarettes, the World Health Organisation said, adding that more research was needed into the link between the use of the water pipe and several fatal illnesses. It said that a person can inhale a hundred times more smoke – a mixture of tobacco, molasses and fruit flavours – in a hookah session than in one cigarette. Hookah, or shisha, smoking is a tradition in North Africa and the Middle East. [Linkaya]

I’ve heard so many people declare that smoking a hookah is “nowhere near as dangerous” as “regular” smoking, I had to post this. I hope those delusional darlings are reading this and realigning their thoughts accordingly.

Also, while the blurb states that Shisha is popular in North Africa and the Middle East, it is also popular with brown people, especially the annoying ones who won’t quit staring at Prince Cafe in Georgetown, at 3am when all a girl is trying to do is innocently get her mirchi Aloo Chole on. What is it with our people and the shameless gawking?

It would be one thing if this were Iowa circa 1968 and two lonely Namesake-era desis were curiously gazing at each other in a room full of Amreekans, the desire for recognition, i.e. that knowing “gang recognize gang”-moment apparent on their homesick visages, but this is D.C. and out of the sixty people at Prince, the only white guy is the Romanian Orthodox dude behind the counter. We have taken over. The “Arrrre you Yindian??”-bit is thus uncalled for in this uberdesi day and age.

Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah. QUIT EFFING SMOKING. That hacking cough ain’t attractive, y’all. Back to your regularly scheduled troll-baiting, spelling bee-dissing and witty comment-making then.

56 thoughts on “Stop Your Hooking

  1. I wonder how caste plays into hookah smoking in India? Do Tam Brahms do it?

    PG, No Tambrams do not do it. The Tambram caste strictly prohibits oral ingestion of tobacco.Other prohibitions in the Tambram caste are: – Dating – Spaghetti straps – Any profession besides law, engineering, medicine and astro-physics – Rock music. Only classical Indian music is allowed( prefrably Carnatic music only) – Watching any film star on screen besides Kamal Hassan, Hema Malini and – Shanghai silk – only kanjeevaram will do – California wine

    You are welcome

  2. PG, No Tambrams do not do it. The Tambram caste strictly prohibits oral ingestion of tobacco.Other prohibitions in the Tambram caste are: – Dating – Spaghetti straps – Any profession besides law, engineering, medicine and astro-physics – Rock music. Only classical Indian music is allowed( prefrably Carnatic music only) – Watching any film star on screen besides Kamal Hassan, Hema Malini and – Shanghai silk – only kanjeevaram will do – California wine You are welcome

    Don’t forget no sex or even cuddling while wifey is menstruating.

  3. Runa @ 51:

    LOL.

    We actually have a couple of hookah bars in NorCal, I know they’re probably everywhere, but I thought it was interesting how this ancient (unhealthy, disgusting, etc.) Indian tradition is being commercialized here in the US, but then (according to Yo Dad) Indian youth are only interested in hookah when they realize that western youth are doing it. Sigh

  4. We actually have a couple of hookah bars in NorCal, I know they’re probably everywhere, but I thought it was interesting how this ancient (unhealthy, disgusting, etc.) Indian tradition is being commercialized here in the US, but then (according to Yo Dad) Indian youth are only interested in hookah when they realize that western youth are doing it. *Sigh*

    Same reason why various publications of the illustrated Kama Sutra is regaining popularity in the bookstores of New Delhi.

    What comes around goes around — the world.

  5. This is not true im 14 and i live in russia i smoke hookah at least 3-4 times a week i prepare it my self at home hookah smoke is diffrent then ciggaret smoke you inhale ciggaretts but hookah u just hold the moke in your mouth and let it go…so it cant be as bad as smokeing its only bad if you inhale it most hookah smokers dont