apu

About me:

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Ph.D. (sometimes spelled Nahasapeemapetilan) is a fictional character featured in The Simpsons television series. He is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart (a subsidiary of Nordyne Defense Dynamics), the local convenience store. He is an immigrant from India, and, like most Simpsons characters, is a caricature of a common stereotype—that of the South Asian convenience store owner. His most defining characteristics are his exaggerated Indian English, his devotion to the Hindu god Ganesha, and his indefatigable immigrant work-ethic. His catchphrase is "Thank you, come again!"—cheerfully and dutifully repeated to customers after each transaction (no matter how unpleasant). His first name is an homage to the main character in the "Apu Trilogy" directed by Satyajit Ray. His surname, Nahasapeemapetilon, is a spoonerism of the name Pahasaneemapetilon, which was the surname of a school mate of Simpsons writer Jeff Martin. Apu has more episodes revolving around him than any other minor Simpsons character. [edit] Apu's family and background Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Apu is married to his wife Manjula, who bore octuplets: Anoop, Uma, Nabendu, Poonam, Priya, Sandeep, Shashi, and (Mama's clear favorite) Gheet. For more on Apu's family, see Characters from The Simpsons. Apu and Manjula were wed through an arranged marriage. Despite trying to wriggle out of the arrangement at first, Apu was won over soon after meeting Manjula and the two actually did fall in love. Later, Manjula gave birth (in the episode Eight Misbehavin') to the amazing number of eight children after receiving a larger-than-recommended dose of fertility drugs. Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage, despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature (he seems to be at his post around the clock), the strain of caring for eight children, and two instances of infidelity by Apu. He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha, and Vishnu. During Apu's wedding, Homer, in a misguided attempt to play on the bride and groom's families' fear of the gods, arrived dressed as the Hindu god Ganesh. The impersonation was seen through by one of Apu's relatives and failed miserably. Before his marriage, Apu became known as the leading ladies' man in Springfield, due to the fact that he holds a PhD and runs his own business. He also admitted, "I'm not much of a talker, but I love to listen. I also like to design and build furniture and then to have a discussion about where it could be placed in a room," which made the single women of Springfield go crazy for him. In addition to being Brahmins, Apu and Manjula appear to be Tamil owing to their first names and especially dark complexion; however, Apu has also been shown to be Bengali, which would be consistent with the title of Apu's sketch in the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", "The Jolly Bengali". Still, Apu's parents in the episodes "Much Apu About Nothing" and "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" very strongly appear to be Tamil. The name Nahasapeemapetilon seems not to be an actual name used in India, but its style and length make it sound like a name from South India. During the 1960s, while still living in India, Apu spent some time as a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in which capacity he became a friend of Paul and Linda McCartney. Apu's friendship with the McCartneys caused him to be referred to by some (mainly himself) as "The Fifth Beatle". They visited Apu in Springfield around the time he became naturalized. Apu is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and holds a Ph.D. in computer science. He graduated first in his class of seven million at 'Caltech'—the Calcutta Institute of Technology—going on to earn his doctorate at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology. His doctoral dissertation was the world's first computer program to play perfect tic-tac-toe (Bart Simpson ruined it years later by plucking a random punch card out of the box along with several others while commenting, "Hey, what's this one do?" Apu promptly pitched it into the trash). Apu began working at the Kwik-E-Mart during his college years to help pay off his student loan, but never left. He remained an illegal immigrant until Mayor Quimby proposed a municipal law to expel all undocumented immigrants, at which point Apu, with help from Lisa Simpson, successfully passed his citizenship test. During the early 1980s Apu was a member of the barbershop quartet The Be Sharps, which also consisted of Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble and Seymour Skinner. Upon the advice of Nigel, the band manager, Apu took the stage name Apu duBeaumarchais (a pun: "du beau marché" means "of the beautiful market" in French). Sanjay is Apu's brother who helps him run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay's daughter (and Apu's niece) is Pahusacheta. Sanjay's son is Jamshed. They all share the Nahasapeemapetilon surname. Apu also has another younger brother, who is only mentioned in the episode of his marriage. When Apu's and Manjula's parents were first arranging their marriage, Apu was shown as the oldest of three on a chart. When Springfield became over-patriotic and took the name "Liberty-Ville" in the episode "Bart-Mangled Banner", Apu quickly caught on. He renamed his kids Lincoln, Freedom, Condoleezza, Coke, Pepsi, Manifest Destiny, Apple Pie, and Superman. A few real-life retailers have attempted to capitalize on the Kwik-E-Mart name. For instance, there is a chain of "Kuik-E-Mart" stores in Minnesota. The Kwik-E-Mart chain was started somewhere in the Himalayas, where the world's first convenience store still stands on a mountain peak (even if that's not very convenient). Visiting pilgrims are allowed to ask three questions of the resident guru (of course, Apu's visit was rather spoiled by Homer's three questions, "Are you really the founder of Kwik-E-Mart?", "Really?" and "You?"). Apu is known as a legend in the realm of Kwik-E-Mart employment for working for over ninety-six hours in one shift. During the shift he experienced a hallucination in which he thought he was a hummingbird and tried to drink nectar out of Sanjay's head. Apu was fired from his job after Homer was poisoned by tainted meat he bought at the Kwik-E-Mart. He was replaced by James Woods, who was studying to be a convenience store clerk for a role in an upcoming movie. Apu was re-hired a short time later after he foiled a robbery attempt at the Kwik-E-Mart and saved James Woods' life. Apu was shot during the attempted robbery. The media attention and subsequent shower of donations at the birth of the Nahasapeemapetilon octuplets are a parody of the McCaughey septuplets. Apu has been shot numerous times. He may have been shot eight times in 1993, (after which, he claimed he could survive any type of caliber shot up to nine mm wide) and as a result, he almost missed work. In fact, Apu has been shot so many times the punishment is now just a $100 fine. It has been hinted that Apu is a nudist. Apu is vegan, and the hot dogs sold in the Kwik-E-Mart are actually tofu dogs. When Apu is shot and killed in Treehouse of Horror XVI he is immediately reincarnated as a cartoon rabbit, before being killed again. In The Sweetest Apu, before he attempts suicide, he looks at a tapestry depicting his past path of reincarnation, passing from a tiger to a snake to a clod (with a picture of Alfred E. Newman) to a goat with a hat before his current life, and projecting that his next life will be as a tapeworm, and the one after that as assistant to Lorne Michaels. Before marrying Manjula, Apu had some type of a relationship with Princess Kashmir. [edit] Quotes * "Thank you, come again!" * Reporter: "Apu, is it true that you're an Indian?" Apu: "By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear it is a lie!" * [To Krusty] "Sir, your appetite for pornographic magazines kept me in business. Please enjoy five percent off every purchase." * [To Immigration Clerk] "Now which way to the welfare office? I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I work! I work!" * [After yet another shooting] "Oh, the searing kiss of hot lead. How I've missed you! I mean – I think I'm dying." * [To Homer] "Please do not offer my god a peanut!" * [After being shot by Burns]: "Ugh, you got me, but I shall be reincarnated". [He turns into a rabbit] "HAHA! You can't kill a Hindu!" [steps on a beartrap] "Ahh! Help me Jesus!" * [To Marge] "You must always follow your dreams. Like my old dream of coming to America and starting a family... or my new dream, of ditching my family, and sneaking back to India in disguise!" * [To Homer, who has placed various candies on a doughnut, hoping to pass them off as "sprinkles"] "A Mounds bar is not a sprinkle. A Twizzler is not a sprinkle. A Jolly Rancher is not a sprinkle, sir. Perhaps in Shangri-la they are, but not here." * "Oh look. It's Mr. Homer, my favorite customer. Please feel free to flip through my Playdudes and eat my raw bacon and tell me to go back to some country I'm not actually from." * "I did not come to this country illegally to see it mocked." * [Marge places a bottle of aspirin over the counter] Apu: $24.95 Marge: $24.95??? Apu: I lowered the price because an escaped mental patient tampered with the bottle * Mel: You only live once! Apu: Speak for yourself! * [To Patty and Selma, after they each purchased a pack of cigarettes] "Smoke them in good health!".. .. width="425" height="350">......>