Conversations

When the eyes answers and questions

more than words do

When that curve on lips tell

a bigger story

When your fingers within mine

are the best reassurance

And the mere touch of toes

is enough to cause the tingle

A gentle caress on the head

shows all the care

And that hug, that hug 

seems the safest place

When silence is a thousand conversations

And a naughty nudge marks the end of all the fights

Love,as you taught

Love, as we lived!

Saraswati 

And Still we hear it...

As promised, I have the saaga of the Caste System, for us.

Its been two days here and it has left me high and dry. I am not drawing any conclusions here about our country but merely sharing an experience, just an exxperience..

                                                 

Not that we were never aware of this problem before but seeing it being practiced hard to the core is wonder and amazement in itself. Our first encounter. A degree college Brahmin "professor". His analogy"Just like each there are good and bad varieties of seeds of rice , so are humans". Wonder what is he teaching at his college.

The small village of Barpar is divided into four sects separated by wide roads,crossroads, the muslim area, the harijans, the SC/STs and the Brahmins. While Gorakhpur as a city sees so much of development, women wearing jeans and shorts, Barpar have Muslim women who havent crossed there area of their tribe ,forget going beyond barpar. If brahmins, they havent crossed the boundaries of their homes, thanks to our very old Pardas System.THEY ARE LIVING IN A RADIUS OF 200 M. 

Hell yeah! the good part is the Sarpanch tenure is rotated among these SC/ST/RELIGIONS/TRIBES. It has it's own pros and cons. Too late to get in that debate for the it keeps the people in harmony and secularism. That's what we are, aren't we, a secular state.

Saraswati

Not 60 Years Back!

A series of posts, for you and for me. My experiences at one of the smallest and oldest villages of India, Barpar, an India away from India, in the corner of Uttar Pradesh, tells it's own story. A living history of the country. Something I thought ceased to exist is in life and form, Barpar.

  In parts. here is the first one-

Ah! the Saaga of Caste System. Yes, there is a lot to write on this but a small part of this brutal system, which deserves a special mention. A story that shook away the pride of everything.

Moosahar -heard the name before?!. It is a tribe of people who kill the rats -which gather in the rice field after harvesting- to eat them. Yes it is true! And there are 10 lakh of such people in India. One such village was were we had been to today. Till an year back they hadnt heard of electricity ..Not that they had very frequent power cuts.. no no..THEY HADNT HEARD OF POWER AT HOMES..Reason-they are the untouchables of the village, not to be talked to.

Thanks to an OLD couple who adopted that part of the country, opened a school there. The couple say "till last year students from higher caste wont sit with them, share lunch box/eat beside them nor play with them. But now with education, the divide is decreasing. They go to each other's place and play. This recieved a wide criticism from the higher communities around. They said if you educate them who will do the labour job, but we were persitent and we see the change.  It is little but it is there." 

This community is known for making beautiful woven baskets, which are sold in cities at prices much higher than they are bought at. Poverty struck them so hard that a father charged money from her daughter to drop to her hospital for tuberclosis treatment.

She died! Because she couldnt visit the doctor the next time! Because

she didnt pay him the last time and he didnt take her the next time! They exist! They all do. Very much in our own world having a world of their own!

Saraswati