The Caste System; its Lungs are Breathing and its Heart is Beating

Kullu is quite a traditional town according to Ankit. The caste system is very much in practice, and this surprised me a bit (but not that much) only because our chemistry teacher Ashok had told me in person that the caste system is no longer in practice. My human rights teacher Narender said it was in practice in very rural areas. Kullu is not in a very rural area not is it in a big city, so I expected it to value traditions, but I thought the caste system was getting out of Kullu’s system. But how more wrong could I be?

At the Kaleyli Orphanage for boys, we are going to help organize the personal information about the boys. First their names are to be noted, then their caste. Their caste is the second most important thing it hit me. You could be the kindest person in the world, but if you were a Dalit (casteless), ther isn’t much hope for you. In one way I am looking forward to start organizing their personal information because I will learn more about the traditional Indian society, and I will truly see for myself the caste system. On the other hand, though, it disgusts me that I have to classify the boys by caste. I feel like if I don’t protest against this it will be like I accept it. But things are different in India, especially in Kullu. I can’t just protest against a few thousand years of tradition, especially not as one of the few foreigners here. The only other foreigners are staying at this meditation place in Kullu where you stay for 6 months. Apparently a lot of Canadians go there, but they don’t interact much with the local community or go too far away from the meditation centre. It is supposed it be a rather big area that they have; we saw some when we went to the Italian restaurant. It is just nearby there.

But back to the issue we were talking about; the caste system. When it comes to marriage it is pretty much the same; you should marry someone from the same caste and it is all arranged by the parents. A love marriage (a marriage where you marry someone because you love the person) is a scandal! You can’t just love some one, you have to learn to love someone; and the only way to do that is through marriage. I am not so surprised, but deep inside of me it pisses me off. Even though I try not to show it because I don’t want to insult the local people, especially not since many of them are so friendly to me.

However, it is not like this all over India, but it is very much a reality in Kullu and there are many places in India similar to Kullu. I am so glad to have grown up in Norway where I don’t have to be dominated by the husband. The other day there was a day where the married woman was only allowed to fast and pray. She had to wear completely new clothes and new make-up. First, the mother at our neighbouring family said she had the day off. We saw this event as a rather positive thing, but when Fiona told us it was done for the health of the husband, we had quite a different opinion on the matter. There is of course no such day where the husband does the same for his wife.