I have always been on an identity crisis. I am a mother, daughter, sister, wife, daughter in law, a working professional. But I am yet to identify the true me. I don't know my destiny. Not sure if I am on the path that would lead me to any destination. Yet to figure out my aim in life. But then there is an identity crisis of the other sort that bugs me every now and then.
A couple of days ago I was asked if I was a Reddy. Many ask me if I am a Brahmin. I was also asked if I belonged to Telangana or Andhra. The very last week I was asked if I was a Choudhary. These are not the type of questions for which I have direct answers. I was born in Andhra Pradesh but did not live there. I was brought up at Telangana but wasn't born here. I can't associate myself to any one of the two states because I believe I belong to both the states. If truth be spoken, I am an Indian citizen and belong to India.
To talk about my caste, I am proud of my parents under whose upbringing, I never had to bother about my caste. It was not until my engineering that I got to know my caste. In a country like India where the caste hierarchy is strictly followed, I know very few people have the previlege of marrying out of caste. And I am one of them. I can neither relate myself to the caste I was born in nor to the caste I am married into. If truth be told, and facts be spoken, one's caste was based on one's occupation in ancient India. The rules of caste system were broken and the social hierarchy was infiltrated when people started venturing into various fields of work other than their family occupation. Technically speaking, my grandfather came out of his caste when he quit farming and took up a job. We have been rule breakers since long. So lets stop pretending and accept the fact. I am a software professional and so is my husband. According to me we are of the same caste. But no one would buy this logic. So be it. I don't want to fight or argue to prove my point. I am not offended when someone questions me about my caste. But I feel sorry for the present state of our nation. We say we are a developing nation and are yet stuck entertaining the age old demon of caste system. We are happily bound with the shackles of our caste and call us a free country. I can't marvel enough at our double standards.
Let us all build an identity of our own. But lets stop tagging ourselves with a caste. I think the world will be a better place to live in with a little less discrimination.
A couple of days ago I was asked if I was a Reddy. Many ask me if I am a Brahmin. I was also asked if I belonged to Telangana or Andhra. The very last week I was asked if I was a Choudhary. These are not the type of questions for which I have direct answers. I was born in Andhra Pradesh but did not live there. I was brought up at Telangana but wasn't born here. I can't associate myself to any one of the two states because I believe I belong to both the states. If truth be spoken, I am an Indian citizen and belong to India.
To talk about my caste, I am proud of my parents under whose upbringing, I never had to bother about my caste. It was not until my engineering that I got to know my caste. In a country like India where the caste hierarchy is strictly followed, I know very few people have the previlege of marrying out of caste. And I am one of them. I can neither relate myself to the caste I was born in nor to the caste I am married into. If truth be told, and facts be spoken, one's caste was based on one's occupation in ancient India. The rules of caste system were broken and the social hierarchy was infiltrated when people started venturing into various fields of work other than their family occupation. Technically speaking, my grandfather came out of his caste when he quit farming and took up a job. We have been rule breakers since long. So lets stop pretending and accept the fact. I am a software professional and so is my husband. According to me we are of the same caste. But no one would buy this logic. So be it. I don't want to fight or argue to prove my point. I am not offended when someone questions me about my caste. But I feel sorry for the present state of our nation. We say we are a developing nation and are yet stuck entertaining the age old demon of caste system. We are happily bound with the shackles of our caste and call us a free country. I can't marvel enough at our double standards.
Let us all build an identity of our own. But lets stop tagging ourselves with a caste. I think the world will be a better place to live in with a little less discrimination.
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