A Study of the Tsirout

 Anthropologists have long observed a curious new subset of the Nacerima known as the Tsirout. They’re easily recognizable by their traditional garments, often wearing linen pants and sandals. This subset of the Nacerima possess a unique ability to venture through foreign lands with unshakable confidence as if the lands are their own. One of such lands is Aindi but one must question why?

Upon arrival the Tsirout instantly pull out their talking rocks to document their experiences. Yet the tribe only chooses a select percentage of these experiences to share with the Nacerima. Immediately upon entering the new land they’re faced with luxurious huts, replicating those found in the west, several of which are taller than those in their native land. While exploring the Tsirout stumble upon magnificent parks and temples dedicated to foreign gods, created with a precision unfound in their land. Yet their gaze begins to drift, almost magnetically, toward corrugated metal and open drains. This is not accidental but rather ritualized amongst the Tsirout.

Their new discovery leads to their talking rocks promptly being pulled out and the result will be a story to tell their friends back in Nacerima about the poor living conditions in these lands. The resulting picture they take will carefully avoid the context of a 5 story shopping mall behind them. During their sacred “slum visit” the Tsirout speak in hushed tones about the “real India”, ignoring the glass offices filled with doctors, software developers and accountants. The wealth is treated as the entire identity of the land and thus becomes the defining aesthetic.

The Tsirout approach the natives with a strange blend of fascination and condescension. Many conversations occur in tones reserved for small children or training dogs featuring slow, exaggerated syllables and flailing arm gestures. Although fluency in the Tsiriouts scripts is widespread in Aindi, the Tsiriout treat it as an unexpected leap. When bargaining in local markets they launch into almost theatrical distress over matters of minor sums, foreign the impoverished Aindi to lower their price to land a sale. That same individual will later spend extravagantly upon returning to their native land, paying nearly 10x as much for the same product.

Thus emerges the central paradox. Many of the Tsirout claim to seek authentic experiences yet refuse to accept things that may be different from their preconceived notions about foreign land. They simply view foreign lands as spectacles. Thus many anthropologists have concluded that the tribe’s rituals are less about the land visited than the ideas they carry with them to these lands. The ritual is selectively observe, interpret, report but never listen or bend your criteria for observation.