Yeah… no. Your family is casteist
Many liberal tambrahms I speak to, believe they grew up in a caste-blind family. While that in itself is bad if it were true, what’s worse is, I bet it’s actually not even true. So, I created a test. Take it. If your answers tend to yes, chances are your family was casteist af.
- Was the word “non-brahmin” part of your vocabulary?
- Was the comedy of Cho, Crazy Mohan, SVE Sekhar and Kamal considered better than that of Senthil, Goundamani, Vivek and Vadivelu?
- Was P. Susheela highly appreciated, but L.R. Easwari not so much?
- Was SPB highly appreciated, but Malaysia Vasudevan just a tad less?
- Was watching a Solomon Pappaiah patti manram considered slightly déclassé?
- Were other Tamil dialects considered lesser? for instance, “oothu” < “udu”?
- Was veshti (god forbid you call it vEtti) good, lungi bad?
- Was your domestic help (aka “servant”) sweeping and mopping the floors of every room in your house, except the kitchen and the god’s room?
- Cigarette smoking was considered bad, but beedi smoking was unthinkable?
- Was going to tuition a badge of shame?
- Was learning from guide books (like konAr thamizhuRai, Cliff Notes etc.) a badge of shame?
- When the gardener or the domestic help addressed you as “lord” (“sami” in Tamil), did you just not register anything and go about your day (like you were indeed entitled to be their lord)?
