Who Am I (Regionalism)

I donno if this is a correct question. But really ....think about it....who are we?
On paper i am Maharashtrian, as my surname says so ! ... but really how much does my regionality matter ?

Some of you might say much! Some of you might think....what impact could regionality possibly have ?

I will give some real examples. In December 2009, i came to Pune. And i was looking for a home for rent. I was house hunting with my friend Chandrashekhar Dhakite.

Mr.Deshpande's home: -
Mr. Deshpande wanted to rent his home near Vanaz corner. Initially, Deshpande looked @ me suspicously. It was as if he was trying to make out ...to which region of India i belong. He had a bad experience of North indians (a north indian in his locality had created a violent scene), staying in his colony, and was not ready to rent his home to North Indians. He was more supicous of me. But when i told him my name....he kind of looked relieved. Later there was a smile on his face and was talking as if we were close aquaintences.

In another incident, there was lady who had couple of rooms which she wanted to give on rent. She was showing us rooms and through out the session she was talking to my friend Chandu in marathi and was avoiding me. Only on few occasions she talked to me and that too in Hindi. Feeling curious i asked "kaku, mi marathi ahe....tumhi maazya shi Hindi maadhe ka bolta ahat?" (Aunty, i am Marathi, ...why are you talking to me in hindi ?) ...to this she replied ... "Ahoo,......mala watla tumhi UP-BIHAR che.....tumche te kesanchi style and daadi baghun vaatla!" (u look like u r from UP or BIHAR ....i thought so because of your hair and beard style!)

After these incidents i thought....SHIT!!! ...had i really been a North Indian, finding a home would have been a difficult thing here.

In another incident, i once went to barber's shop. Actually he was not going to work that day. But i requested him to have my hair cut - in HINDI of course! And soon we were having conversation about different hair styles. And in between he asked "Aap, UP ke ho kya?"(Are you from UP?) .... now i could not resist my curiosity. I asked him "Nahi mai ...proper Mumbai ka huun....kyon bhaiyaa?...aapko aasia kyon lagta hai?" (No i am from Mumbai ....why dude ? ....why do u think like that?)
He replied "Nahi bas...aaise hi muze laga aap shayad wahan ke ho!" and he smiled.

Since then i started thinking....wat is it that triggers people to make assumptions about someone's regionalism ? I quickly came up with a survey asking my friends what did they think about my region, when the first time they met me and were not even knowing my name!

Surprisingly, 50% said they thought i was North Indian. 50% thought i am a proper Mumbaite or Maharashtrian to be precise. I asked them the reasons for their assumptions. Here is what they had to say: -

All those who thought i was north Indian was because of my appearance: - i.e., me being fair in complexion, very small hair cut, and beard style. Maharashtrians generally do not try such fashionable beard styles. This is what they had to say.

All those who thought i was Maharashtrian was because of my Hindi accent. They say its very typical they say. Some of them also thought so because of me being round faced.

Surprisingly, one of my friend thought i was a MUSLIM ! - y? - coz of my beard style again !

But, is it really important for us to think about, a person's region? Does a person's region determines his background or his nature? Why are we so biased on basis of certain points that are actually not so important? or are they really important ?