It’s sad to say, but the caste system is still in existence, even in the 21st century. Now, I’m sure there are some who are all for it, and of course, there are others who aren’t. It was a system devised in ancient times, and probably made sense then, but in today’s world, well, I don’t see much point for it. There are those who are born into the system, and aren’t all too thrilled about it. It places certain restrictions on certain things, and these restrictions vary in kind and severity among the different castes. Some are really silly I think, but that’s another story for another day.

Those who are born into it, have to deal with it the best they can. This is not such an easy thing to do, when you look about you and see all these people who are unencumbered. And all these people tell you, ‘Don’t give in to it’, ‘Fight’ etc. It’s not that I think these are wrong suggestions. Completely opposite. I sometimes think it’s necessary to go against the system. But the thing is, these people who aren’t stuck with it and give these suggestions, they make fighting sound like it’s so easy. The reality is far from the truth. Of course, there are people in the caste system who don’t care much about family or anything, and so have no qualms about burning all bridges and moving on. For the others, family is a big deal. For many many years, your world is built solely around that family, and I’m not talking about grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins in the 100th degree. I’m talking about your immediate family, your parents and siblings. They’re the ones who have always been there for you, and will continue to do so forever. As a part of the caste system, they (predominantly parents) are going to believe strongly in certain things, while the kids won’t really agree with that. So there will be discussions. But you don’t want to ruin your relationship with them, or really hurt or upset them. The people who give this advice should, at least for a moment, imagine themselves in this person’s shoes. Now, many people have given me this advice, and backed it up with lots of statements. This isn’t taking a jab at them or anything. Far from it. I appreciate these people for caring about me, for wanting to help me. I’m just making a general statement, for those people who know others in a situation similar to me.

The other thing is time. When you say ‘fight for your happiness’ etc, you have to give it time. The situation becomes very delicate. Nothing can be expected overnight. It might take weeks or even months for some change to happen. These kinds of discussions can’t take place over the phone or instant messages. It has to be face to face. There simply is no other way to it. With persuasion, and support, things can happen. But the time has to be spent. You are, after all, somewhat going against the people who brought you into the world, guided you, nurtured you and supported you through all your ups and downs. Ideally, you want to find your happiness, without hurting or upset them, and actually getting their support and blessings.

So, I’m not quite sure why I wrote all this here now. Just suddenly felt like getting it out of my chest. And now it’s done.

P.S. I definitely don’t mean to step on any toes here, because caste can be quite a sensitive issue, like religion, which incidentally, gave rise to the caste system in the first place. Not quite sure why I put this down here either.

P.P.S I’m saving rants about the caste system in general for another day. That should be lots of fun!