Confessions and reflections

When I was asked by an ex colleague, “So what are you?”, I chose to misunderstand the query and said, “A copywriter.” So he smiled at my naiveté and said, “Nahi, nahi,  I meant what caste are you?” So the famous case of my twin surnames confusing people of my origin was at it again.  But did it make a better person if I’d acquired a-so-to-speak brahmanical status thanks to matrimony or did it increase my prowess to churn out award winning campaigns if I was born a ‘baniya’? In a conversation with a very well read friend who has strong opinions on the caste system of India and how it manages to infiltrate all spheres of our living, it got me thinking how I had never gone beyond getting irked every time someone wanted to know what caste and sub-caste I belonged to. Why didn’t I read up more, why didn’t I want to take it up the way I want to campaign for cleanliness and hygiene in and around the city? Or it really doesn’t make any difference to me if  a Dalit ...