The New Indian Express
Saturday, May 22, 2010
zeitgeist
Your Saturday
Magazine
Practically
Marzipan
Aishwarya Subramanian
A terrible
caste
counting
exercise
A
few years ago I spent a sum-
mer vacation in England
with some British friends.
Since they had grown up there,
one of the things we discussed
was what information about India
one picked up from the English
school system. Inevitably the sub-
ject of caste came up. I brushed it
aside, saying that while I was tech-
nically a brahman it wasnt some-
thing I thought about very much
that I didnt identify myself as
a Hindu in any case that had
there been any sort of relevant
regulatory body for this sort of
thing I would have been demoted
long ago for my irreligious, alco-
hol-drinking, beef-eating ways. I
then said that I had discarded my
caste identity altogether.
And then I immediately felt like
an idiot for saying it. Because of
course an upper-middle-class,
upper-caste young person living
in Delhi isnt going to think about
caste very much; its never been
thrust upon her notice. And this
whole idea of discarding ones
caste is extremely desirable, but
its not one-sided. If I casually
claimed caste did not bother me,
would it really make any differ-
ence to the way I was treated by
people for whom it was a factor?
(Answer: no). And was I being
blind to the more invisible ways
in which caste affected my life?
(Answer: yes).
So yes, Ill do what
other people are
doing and write
Indian next to my
name. I only hope
that Ill be able to do
it without becoming
too complacent
Ive been thinking about this
recently because of the various
arguments over including caste as
one of the factors in the census.
Briefly, the political parties all
seem to want this information
about us. Its easy to see why. Oth-
er people have protested against
this, among them Amitabh Bach-
chan. Apparently Bachchan has
stated that if he is asked about his
caste hes just going to reply In-
dian. Theres now a whole move-
ment called Meri Jaati Hindu-
stani to convince people to write
Indian or its equivalent when
questioned about their castes. A
number of people who I know
have resolved to do this and are
trying to get their families and
friends to do the same. And it is
encouraging to see.
If someone tries to ask me
about my caste, Id like to go with
something completely nonsensi-
cal. Sinapistic (literally con-
cerned with mustard. Mustard
does concern me) or Canine or
Left-Handed. I will probably go
with Indian (or why not Hu-
man?) just to reflect solidarity. I
genuinely believe that counting
caste as part of our census is a
terrible idea.
And yet its all a little too glib.
That one minor act of protest may
make a huge and important state-
ment if done in conjunction with
thousands of others, but it costs
me less than nothing. What I am
afraid of is forgetting something
that is important to me to know;
that the belief that I can just throw
off my caste identity like that is
itself born out of various privi-
leges. My acknowledgment of this
fact many not strike a huge blow
against the caste system, but I
dont see how were to move past
the system without it.
So yes, Ill do what other people
are doing and write Indian next
to my name. I only hope that Ill
be able to do it without becoming
too complacent.
The writer is a student of English
literature. She blogs at
http://bluelullaby.blogspot.com.
bluelullaby@gmail.com
I think its neat how the words bud and get come together to form the word
budget, especially when there is no j sound in either bud or get
Are the spider
monkeys on drugs?
S the new code
: Its ridiculous! We never talk about
anything serious or relevant, its
just nonsense from start to finish.
If anyone overheard these conver-
sations, theyd say we were...
K: Brain-damaged spider monkeys on
drugs?
S: See? Thats exactly what Im talking
about. Stop saying things like that!
K: Why? Whats wrong with brain-damaged
spider monkeys on drugs?
S: I am not going to have a conversation
with you about brain-damaged spider mon-
keys on drugs or Squirrel AIDS or...
K: Squirrel AIDS is serious stuff, I saw it
on YouTube.
S: I just want to talk about something with
intellectual maturity and depth.
K: You mean like science? I dont know any-
thing about science.
S: Do you have anything serious, relevant
or important to say? About anything?
K: No.
S: Well call me when you do.
S: So obviously the serious relevant impor-
tant conversations arent happening.
illustration: tuhin chakraborty
Letters to the editor
Dont try to generate power at the cost of rivers...
There are a number of alternative methods available for power generation today (Dam site cursed, May 15). They may be
expensive, but then a proper allocation of funds in the budget can solve that issue. We are already facing a lot of issues related to
nature and environment. Why do we want to generate power at the cost of rivers? C Divakaran, Thiruvananthapuram
Dam will prevent flood
The Athirapally fall is the by-product of Perin-
galkuthu dam. If the proposed dam is built, we
can prevent flood in the monsoon, caused due to
overflowing of the Chalakudy river. It will also
help us get water during summer. If any river
in Kerala is full of water in summer, it is because
of the dam in that river. In the 1950s, some people
were against the construction of the Peechi dam.
Now Peechi dam gives drinking water to Thris-
sur and its surrounding areas.
Seby Joseph, Thrissur the scholarly analysis of the nitty-gritty of
Find a solution
Your cover story was an eye-opener. It high-
lighted the travails and tribulations encoun-
tered in the proposed construction of the
Athirapally Dam. It has been more than 27
years, but still the issue remains unsolved. If
the dam is constructed, it will kill the environ-
ment and also unsettle the tribals in the area.
Its time we found a solution to this issue.
Jaya Venkitachalam, Chennai
multiverse
Conversations
Kuzhali Manickavel
is the author of Insects Are Just Like You and
Me Except Some of Them Have Wings. She
blogs at http://thirdworldghettovampire.
blogspot.com.
and relevant to our daily lives. What do you
27 years, not 17
The intro under the photograph of the water-
fall says, Central Keralas Athirapally dam
was first proposed in 1983. Seventeen years
have passed... It should be 27 years, not sev-
enteen years.
K Anantharaman, Coimbatore
When media cross the limit
This refers to Star-crossed lovers struck by
cameras by Ashley Tellis (May 15). Beyond
most neglected groups, the outlook of the offi-
gay marriages in Manipur, the article should
keep media managers (both print and elec-
tronic) pondering as to whether they can think
of a self-imposed code of conduct to draw a
line where their efforts to improve social be-
havior and educate public trespasses the right
to privacy of individuals, families and social
groups. The awareness that the common man
(includes woman and transgender folk) is not
as thick-skinned as those who always enjoy
limelight even at the expense of silly talk
K: Obviously.
S: How about we talk about normal things
in a normal way? Maybe if we stick to normal
things the conversations will stay normal.
K: Ok.
S: Tell me what you did today.
K: Ioh, nothing.
S: Tell me.
K: I dont think I should.
S: Tell me and Ill decide whether we should
pursue the conversation further.
K: I was trying to make candy by melting
some old Bournvita.
S: And?
K: The neighbour aunties hair caught fire.
S: Ok, thats a conversation we dont want
to have because it will probably go into non-
normal areas. I better hang up.
K: Ok. I need to go apologise to the neigh-
bour auntie anyway.
S: Call me if something normal happens.
K: Will do.
S: So I take it nothing normal has hap-
pened.
K: Not really. Something normal almost
happened and I almost called you but then the
normal thing became very non-normal.
S: Do you have normal conversations with
other people?
K: Sure. They talk about stuff and when I
get bored I hang up.
S: Ah. This is probably why you have no
friends.
K: Probably.
S: Lets talk about the budget.
K: Why?
S: Because its normal, serious, important
think about the budget?
K: I think its neat how the words bud and
get come together to form the word budget,
especially when there is no j sound in either
bud or get.
S: Forget the budget. Lets talk about pov-
erty.
K: I want to make a movie about American
poverty called GhettoDawg BlingBling. I want
to promote it by adopting a lot of poor white
children.
S: Forget poverty. What books have you read
lately?
K: I dont read.
S: Then Im going to tell you about a book
Ive read. Im going to tell you about this book
and were going to have a normal, intelligent
conversation about it. Ok?
K: Ok.
S: This book was about a guy-
K: What was his name?
S: I cant remember.
K: Was it Juniper?
S: No.
K: Isnt that neat how you cant remember
what the name was but you can remember
what it wasnt? Imagine if that was how we
introduced ourselves. Hi, My Name Isnt Ju-
niper.
S: Youre doing it again.
K: Isnt it neat how your name isnt Juniper
and my name isnt Juniper? We have that in
common. Same pinch.
S: For the love of God please stop.
K: In school, some girls used to say same
pinch kreech-kreech. What is a kreech-
kreech?
S: STOP IT!
K: Sorry.
S: Maybe we just cant have a normal con-
versation. Maybe its impossible.
K: Maybe we should talk about how I set the
neighbour aunties hair on fire. It sounds way
more interesting than that book you read.
should guide them when the subject they
handle is likely to intrude the individuals
private life.
M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram
Inspiring initiative
Fishing with the flood-struck locals in
Maharashtra (May 15) made interesting and
informative reading. That a calamity like
flooding of dams was taken as an opportunity
to create livelihood deserves appreciation. In
our country where tribal populations are the
cials that the locals have a right to resource is
refreshing. It is an exemplary illustration of
committed officials and enthusiastic local
population conjuring a model of sustainable
livelihood.
Francis Kuriakose, Puducherry
Success story
The article portrays an inspiring success story
for all of us to emulate and implement for the
poor in our country. It is encouraging to read
7
Silicon
Tales
Farwa Imam Ali
is a journalist based in the US.
silicontales@gmail.com
E-sevaks and
of conduct
T
echies turn to internet editions of
their favourite Indian newspapers
and magazines to connect with the
goings-on in India. Some days the
news is good, other days it is bad,
and some other times it sparks impassioned
exchanges on a specific subject. The latter
scenario best describes what happened when
I mentioned an article from a leading Indian
magazine to a techie making what I thought
was a harmless comment about the changing
face of some techies in India.
In short, the article highlighted a group of
young techies in Bangalore attending weekly
IT Milans. Author Anil B Lullas definition
describes the Milan as a techie-adapted ver-
sion of the daily shakha held by the Rash-
triya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) across the
country. About 3,000 techies, most being RSS
flag bearers steeped in Hindutva, congregate
regularly to discuss current affairs, do yoga
and much more. The much more is what in-
terests me. For, to their credit the young as-
sembly of RSS members also performs mer-
itorious social service. And how does this
saffronised techie version 2.0 sit with com-
patriots in Silicon Valley, USA?
This is probably the first time techies
in the Valley are hearing about members of
the code-writing fraternity hobnobbing dire
ctly with political outfits. While the respon
ses I garnered may or may not be representa-
tive of the majority, the reactions are sharp
and diverse. Some Valley folks think it is
smart to use an available platform to make
your mark on society. So if you are imple-
menting tangible socio-economic services
directed at the poor or attempting to safe-
guard and restore the Indian culture maybe
the unlikely marriage of tech and politics is
fine says one group. Purely a matter of perso
nal choice says a second bloc which also asks
how these techies would react if their coun-
terparts from other faiths began congregat-
ing in a similar fashion?
Meanwhile, a third faction is plain uneasy
about the liaison explaining that social ser-
vice does not require a political identity and
that the agenda is questionable. Conspiracy
theories and hidden agendas aside, the fact
that folks in India want to step up and give
back to society is commendable. But is it nec-
essary to saffronise their endeavours? I plead
the First Amendment on that, but techie
friends think their Indian friends would ben-
efit more were they to establish a separate
apolitical identity to channel their energies
and ideas. Especially given the fact that much
of Indian polity is corrupt.
Hoping to start an intelligent conversation,
I wonder if I have stirred a hornets nest.
Members of the IT Milan may perhaps won-
der just what gives their counterparts in this
part of the world the right to pass judgment.
Rest assured this too is just a discussion,
much like the current affairs discussions at
the IT Milans! Frankly, it is nice to see the
financially successful Gen-XYZ think about
fulfilling their duty to the nation. And if IT
Milans fill this gap, so be it. The words to
focus on though, are duty to the nation. A
nation filled with people of varied class, caste
and creed. I guess techies in this part are wor-
ried that their counterparts noble endeavors
and right mindedness might get hijacked by
the political outfits garbed as culture protec-
tors. And if it did, what code of conduct
would these e-sevaks be writing then?
that all agencies have synergised with the
community to achieve sustainable livelihoods
for the poor tribal fisherfolks. This write-up
shows us the path for empowering ourselves to
become a well developed nation. Kudos to
Zeitgeist for publishing a motivating piece.
Shashi Shekher Thakur, by e-mail
Informative cartoons
The actionist by Bharath Murty (May 15)
was superb. After Kondapallis death in 2002,
the CPI (Maoist) was formed, merging other
groups. We endorse the views of Naipaul that
middle-class people are rather vain and fool-
ish as they can be shaped in any form. The
message Hate oppression, but fear the op-
pressed is true in letter and spirit. Remem-
ber Albert Camus statement that the Russian
Communism represents the exultation of the
executioner by the victim.
U K Atiyodi, Payyanur
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