Let’s be clear – Indian fingers are a sweaty, sticky mess.

We shovel Dum Biryani into the black hole of our mouths with all five fingers, lick the sticky-sweet syrup from Gulab Jamun with our index finger, and wipe the sweat off our brows and the crap off our backsides with our fingers.

Indian fingers get free run to explore at will into every crevice, nook and dark corner. 😉

As every desi knows, Indian fingers boldly venture where American, British, French, Russian and Swedish fingers dread to enter.

South Indian Brahmins are the worst – They get their orgasm at the end of every meal by turning the palm inward, extending their tongue out and licking their way up from the end of the palm to the tips of the fingers in slow motion until their glistening saliva starts cascading off the fingers in a torrent on to the empty plantain leaf plates.

Finger-licking is a beautifully choreographed albeit ugly act that South Indian Brahmins learn as toddlers, even before they learn to balance on their two feet.

Indians Use 5 or More Fingers to Shovel Dum Biryani into their Mouths

TouchID – Like a Dream

Given my South Indian lineage, I approached the TouchID fingerprint sensor on the new iPhone 5s with mucho trepidation.

So you can imagine my great surprise when the TouchID fingerprint authentication sensor in Apple’s new iPhone 5s worked like a charm even with my not-so-pristine Indian finger.

If you do it properly, the TouchID sensor takes less than a minute to record your fingerprint into the iPhone 5s.

Keep any finger on the sensor (if you’re curious, I used my thumb). Wait till you hear a vibration, lift your finger up for a second and place it on the sensor again. After doing it a few times, the iPhone 5s will prompt you to move the angle of your finger so that it can get the full print. You can see the red lines of your fingerprint fill up on the screen as the device records your fingerprint.

Once the TouchID registers your fingerprint into the iPhone 5s, you can unlock the smartphone by placing your finger on the sensor/home button for just a second.

You can also use your fingerprint to approve purchases from iTunes Store, the App Store, and the iBooks Store without having to enter your password.

I purchased an old favorite L.A.International Airport (Susan Raye) using my fingerprint but iTunes still asked me to enter my password and verify my credit card information. Maybe, it’s done only the first time you use your fingerprint (instead of a password) to buy a song, movie or book from iTunes.

Although TouchID worked well with my fingers, I’d strongly encourage you to wash your hands before registering your fingerprint with the device.

If my memory serves me right, you can store up to five different fingerprints on the iPhone 5s.

While there are reports that TouchID has already been hacked, the process of tricking the iPhone 5s into unlocking the device is complicated and requires the hacker to have both the phone and fingerprint.

If you’re not comfortable with TouchID, there’s always the option to punch in a 4-digit access code to unlock the phone for use.

Remove the Plastic Sheet

When I first tried to get the iPhone 5s TouchID to record my fingerprint, it did not work despite repeated attempts.

As I was talking to AppleCare tech support on a separate (iTunes) issue with the iPhone 5s, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not removed the thin plastic cover on my new smartphone.

Once I removed the plastic sheet off the iPhone 5s, TouchID worked like a dream.

So if you have a new iPhone 5s, make sure you remove the plastic sheet before embarking upon the TouchID fingerprint registration process.

Bottom Line

To all those who still think the TouchID fingerprint authentication sensor in Apple’s new iPhone 5s is just a gimmick, please go easy on the weed.