Masala mayo with touch of wasabi…

Mayo Japanrsquo I suspect has an onoff button in her head Once you switch on the video camera pointing it towards her she herself switches on almost simultaneouslyItrsquos probably a personality type And itrsquos her YouTube personality that she promptly shares on my video adorably gesturing with her hands to introduce herself first ldquoNamaste mein Hindi bolne wali Japani ladki hoonhellipIrsquom a Hindispeaking Japanese girlhelliprdquoThatrsquos precisely who Mayo ismdashwhile I joke that her Hindi is indeed better than many Indians I know in Mumbai particularly South MumbaiBut shersquos also an Internet sensation in India from Japan wherein the lsquolike share subscribersquo buttons on her viral videos inevitably run into several millions Why soBecause through social media shortsvideos of Indian cooking travelling dancing chatting up desi celebrities like the film stars of RRR NTR Jr Ram Charanmdashshe might be acquainting Japanese viewers to Indian popculture She ends up immeasurably endearing Indians insteadAs the young chirpy Mayo pronounced maayo Japan neacutee Hitoni tell memdashall of this started just like thatShersquod finished school with no idea about what to do next Her dad who used to regularly trek in the Himalayas and was fond of India suggested ldquoSince you have no career plans anyway why donrsquot you just study Hindi Yoursquoll enjoy itrdquoldquoMazaa ayegardquo as Mayo recalls it She enrolled for BA in Hindi at Osaka University Upon graduation took up a ldquoboring corporate jobrdquo at the consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers PWCIn order to remain in touch with the language still she began to upload ldquovyakaranrdquogrammar videos teaching Hindi to Japanese folks online This is how her YouTube journey began in January 2017As per the last estimate YouTube the worldrsquos second most visited website after Google has 80 billion videos uploaded since it launched in 2005 Therersquos evidently an onscreen jungle out thereMy sense with YouTubers is if they consistently post videosmdashoften over time something or the other clicks anywhere on a scale that peaks at Justin Bieber Therersquos that pivotal moment when they break into their chosen niche eventuallyWith Mayo this pivot happened about three months after her first post ldquoI was making meaningful videos until thenrdquo but there arenrsquot that many Japanese takers for Hindi learningThere are enough Indians in Japan who play Holi though Mayo recorded those celebrations with her in it in March 2017And boom her online profile had exploded in Indiamdashldquovideo phat gayardquo as desi YouTubers term this phenomenon She was struck by the ldquoadrenaline rushrdquo Three years later she quit her job at PWC to pursue her hobby as a fulltime professionThis includes dancing to mainly TeluguTamil tracks ldquoYup thatrsquos 6070 per cent of the songsrdquo Mayo tells me Which I find odd since Hindi is her spoken languageldquoThis is because South Indian films have been popular in Japan since Rajinikanthrsquos Muthu 1995 Baahubali was a superhit RRR was a mega panJapan hit People love the energy of South Indian songsrdquoMy favorite Mayo clip is where she explains the difference between sticking your pinkyfinger out in Japan and in India I get her to explain again In Japan it signifies going to be with your lover In India it means going to take a leakPublic loos by the way is the big distinction she makes between India and Japan Mayo says ldquoWe consider cleaning toilets at home the same as cleaning our minds In Japan yoursquoll find the cleanest toilets no matter where on the highways in the villageshellip In India not always sordquoThink German master Wim Wendersrsquos meditative Japanese film Perfect Days 2023Mayo frequently travels across India chiefly creating content ldquomostly solotripsrdquo But her Japanese friends equally seek her out to travel with to IndiaAn enduring image of Japanese global tourists is usually of a large quiet group that huddles around a guide holding a placardldquoJapanese people are shy Unlike Indians who are overwhelmingly friendly and welcomingrdquo Mayo points out like a quasiinsiderAs travelling companions go you probably canrsquot find a better Japanese than the forever chatty cutesy Mayo in Indiamdashwho wonrsquot just show you around but will also have desi fansfollowers clicking selfies with her as she swiftly navigates crowded streetsMayo of course is not the only such foreign contentcreator to become a celebrity through YouTube in India I enjoy the Caucasian American lsquoBiharirsquo Drew Hicks lsquoIndia Drewrsquo equallyMayo names many others such as lsquo40 Kahanirsquo from Korea who like Drew has a thick Bihari accent or other Koreans lsquoAoorarsquo lsquoKorean Dostrsquo or Mayorsquos own parttime dancing partner from Japan lsquoKaketakursquoShersquos clear about one thing though ldquoSome foreign YouTubers see India as passion Some as merely populationrdquo As in easy market for likessharessubscriptions The latter donrsquot make it in the long runItrsquos the same with art isnrsquot it And in its own way whatrsquos any content if not art anywayMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass cultureHe tweetsmayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paperatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params