Where Rivers Meet -

Prayaag – Sangam -

 At first, we were in a "guest house", which later came to be called a hostel. We were amongst the first younger members of the institution in its new and revived life from a small private one to a major state supported one. The building was hardly two year old but looked very old, due to all the economy of building expense by the owner of the premises (- we saw the next floor being built up while we lived there, and for two days and nights the stone crusher was going on leading to totally sleepless nights and worse, and most of the work was done using the labour that was cheaper than machines he had avoided hiring); much of the infrastructure was put in place later as we worked in our own fields (academic ones, of course), and we were the people who did the work (of managerial nature) to put those few things in place too. Hot water, washing machine,systems of kitchen, and so on, it was all wanting in the first few months. Halfway through that the two of us moved away to a house in a nearby colony, and a year later we left. 

 During those beginning days the working staff was close and there were many chats, not in a small measure due to our treating them as human unlike the later staff that put them in place and got respect - in fact some not yet qualified ones got respected more than us who had been nicer to them, so we had a lesson in human psychology right there, though it was unlikely to change us so soon. 

 One of those evenings when there was no electricity - there were many such temporary shortages, days or nights, at all hours and unpredictable - we sat on the steps of the guest house, chatting in the starlit dusk with each other and the workers. Nothing much else could be done at such times anyway. One of the workers was discussing the question of a generator, and he kept calling it "jaganator"; it was difficult for him to correct, we tried. I then explained to him in a way he might understand and be able to get it - "see, you know how mother is called Jananie in India, and it comes from the verb Janana, which is to give birth; well, it is the same verb in English (which is derived from Latin which is a daughter of Sanskrta), which is generation, and this machine produces - generates - electricity, so it is generator, which is mother of electricity". 

 They were wide-eyed and happy about having it so clear so easily. (Then S turned it around as usual by making it funny by saying "the way you said jaganator, it is like "diya jalaao jagamaga jagamaga", which referred to a lamp being lit (in lyrics of a song) and so connected the workers' mistaken pronunciation to something of the real meaning too.)

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 Recently when I was helping Bob to learn we happened to be on the topic of languages and mentioned this generally well known connection, of Sanskrta being the mother of Latin, Greek, and other group of languages named Indo-European. We told this story and he went "well, that is an amazing coincidence" clearly unwilling to admit even if he knew; there was no coincidence, we told him, it was a fact that Sanskrta was the root language of the Indo-European group. 

 But of course he was not even willing to admit that Native American was the correct terminology for what he kept on calling Indians (not even American Indians), and to push the false notion even beyond incorrectness of the nomenclature he then asked if those people had any linguistic or cultural or racial connection with us. No, of course, we said, it might be that people walked back and forth from Siberia to the other continent and so on. 

 Any connection with India has to be looked at with the curious coincidence of the two names, that of the race of Maya in central and south America who were great builders, and that of the builder of the envy-generating palace that was one root cause of the epic war of Mahabhaarata, who is named Mayaasura. There might very well have been cross traffic between Asia and South America, a la Kon-Tiki (that voyage was undertaken precisely to prove that this was how people had travelled from Asian shores of Pacific to the other end); India had long been a beacon of civilisation and of culture since long before Europeans arrived, and it is more than likely that such travellers came to India then. 

 But it was clear that he brought up that question only to emphasize that he did not wish to admit Indian roots of European languages, and so throwing some dust with plausible but not true stuff would either fool us or at least make us believe he thought so, was probably the twisted motivation behind the question. 

Of course, it might be also that he and his like are even now unwilling to admit fact more than well known about the truth of "Columbus discovered America (and thought he had come to India)" - it is highly questionable if the latter is true, with some evidence now to the effect that he knew better but made his sailors swear to the contrary and then lied when he returned, establishing the lie of the nomenclature about natives (of the continents that were new discovery for most of Europe) being named Indian; but the former is certainly not true and there is evidence galore of Vikings and other fishing boats of Europe not only plying into richer northern Atlantic to Greenland (name given by Vikings) but all the way to the mainland, and what is more there is evidence Vikings were established well south of Canadian border along the east coast; and to carry on the nomenclature of Columbus's obvious mistake at best or lie more likely, and then to ask that question pretending to be confused - that, now, is twisted beyond any possibility of a rational discourse. Bob was driven by racism and malice, and we were too friendly of a guest of the nation to suspect it and react accordingly, so he was able to inflict his rudeness beyond his expectations, or perhaps he expected to fell non Europeans with a swoop fell of the attitude.

 Perhapsthat is a clue to why this way of looking at all our ancient culture and the wealth of knowledge carried on, at the Braahman and Sanskrta and India, with that attitude of either not admitting truths or attacking it with ridicule or anger or falsehoods; it has more to do with not wishing to admit that people other than themselves might have intellectual parity, let alone superiority of tradition of knowledge.

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 When we moved out of the "guest house" into a house, we needed to have a system in place so we could manage to do our own work and not be swamped by needs of house work, which had till then been taken care of by the workers in the institute, so we hired an ex-worker from the institute, believing him to be a victim of politics, which might be true though he was far from an innocent poor man. He cooked and did dishes, and washed clothes, but housecleaning (- an everyday affair in India, as are the other two -) was done by another, an institute worker, as was security. They informed us of their caste - this town, this state was the first place I had come across that did mention caste and went along the traditional lines of work although not strictly. But then I had always lived in far more metropolitan cosmopolitan cities, with the only other town of my origins being one known for advanced education and history of social reforms since long ago. So this was new, and we heard the identification and appreciated the candour but let them know it was all the same to us as long as they kept clean. 

 The cook showed his colours soon enough. First he suggested he would clean the kitchen as the cleaner was of the caste that did cleaning work and so was inappropriate that he was allowed to enter the kitchen. We did not agree, and that was that. Later when the cook tried a bit of tactic by not turning up for work, the cleaner offered to wash clothes, if we did not mind. Of course we did not mind - it was a relief. 

 The cook took up shopping for vegetables, another everyday affair, and began cheating regularly on a rather obvious scale. The other workers informed us of this too although it was more than obvious, and they reminded us of the proverb about how "a - - - (caste) would perhaps refrain from outright theft but not from fraudulent accounts" which is exactly what he was doing, true to the proverb. He did not have to, of course; he chose to do so. Once when we bought vegetables from a vendor that came selling door to door, which was always fifty percent more than market rates, we asked the cook - who was present - why his rates from market were in fact twice those of the vendor, as quoted by him to us; we asked if the market sellers thought he was rich and so cheated him, while we looked poorer and the vendor at our door was taking pity on us. With another worker, the security guy, close, the cook could only hang his head in resentment - being ashamed was beyond him, I suspect. 

 We used to use the same dishes of course, and it had never entered our heads to think of another way. But then one day we offered tea to a cycle rickshaw puller that we used regularly and he accepted gratefully. The cook was angry, and said he would not use that cup for himself since the rickshaw puller was a lower caste than himself. I was very angry at this and asked him how he justified his - cook's - sharing our dishes, since he was not exactly on par if we went along caste lines, and even his cooking for us was so severely inappropriate that any orthodox people might refuse to eat in our home. He had no answer but did not change his mind about either of the two factors of this contradiction - he did not admit that his cooking for us and eating in dishes we used - not one kept apart for him specially - was as much or more of an incorrect, inappropriate behaviour than his refusing to use the cup used by the rickshaw puller, and nor would he admit his objection to that cup was wrong. It was not about using used dished or cups, but using them even after having cleaned and washed them, that the argument was about. 

 Of course this was human psychology in action, with everyone demanding equality upwards but angry about any such possibility from those they consider lower. The cook was of a caste that is one of the skilled crafts India is renowned for, and the cycle rickshaw puller was of one lower than the cleaner. Logically circulation of paper money has amounted to these distinctions being blurred by the orthodox standards, but few think logically; being clean is what it is about, but again the cook's reaction was not about logic either, it was the need to keep his level in a place he was going to live in much longer than us. And as it is we left at the end of that year.

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 During one of the talks we had, either with a visitor at the institute, or another man of books and generally fond of learning we met and were friends with, some terms were explained that I was familiar with but were not clear until then about exactly what it was. 

One of these was the common term for the place of cooking, called "square"- that being the rough translation from the language of the region, which is not exactly the same as the kitchen but is a designated place of conducting cooking operations within the kitchen. It is specially cleaned and marked literally with a chalk as a square  every freshly day for the purpose before the designated cook for the house - hired or family member -settles to cooking and does the job start to finish without exiting the square, after having first thoroughly cleansed and bathed oneself in the morning (needless to say); and thereafter that area, the cook and anything in the area is out of bounds for those who don't measure up to the same standards, whether family members or not, and one cannot enter and leave that square at will, nor can one touch anything within at will - either you are in or out, and the cook serves individuals complete meals while they sit just outside the periphery of the square and the cook waits before everyone has finished before eating and leaving the square.

All this, needless to say, is over and above the normal restrictions regarding never entering the kitchen without a bath first (and thorough cleansing of whole body in and out understood when one has finished with a bath), no footwear in the house beyond the entrance (forget any in the kitchen or temple), and fresh clothes worn everyday after one bathes, used clothes being washed every day. Still, the square within the kitchen is holier than holy, and one may not enter if one is not in the role of the one to perform and has taken all care to do so, no matter what caste or position or authority one claims - owner of the house, king of the realm, whatever.

It is not very different from quarantine of ICU - as far as the cook in the square is concerned everyone and everything outside the square is - of course - untouchable for the duration of the operation of cooking and serving, and the cook leaves when it is time to collect the dishes and take them to the place designated for washing them. If more than one person is cooking the same rules apply to all except it is a matter of in (clean) or out (untouchable as far as those in are concerned for the duration of the whole process of ...).

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Of course, not only we had observed none of this, but even had a cook that was unacceptable to those of our visitors that were orthodox, and there was one old person who had to remain without food after having travelled for well over thirty hours to arrive, having not eaten along the way except fruits. They were too polite to tell us that this was the reason though, and I feel sad about having not known before - we could have easily enough arranged for the cook to be absent that day, since it was frequent enough that he did take off; in any case he had merely helped that day, not cooked, but still, it was improper enough, and after all our efforts to be hospitable to people over a thousand miles away from their home, one old person went away without eating. 

As for the cook, we tried to do well by him; we not only gave food generously over and above a generous salary but bought him clothes, blanket, books - he was young, about twenty, and we were all fired up about helping people get educated - but none of that helped him behave well or honestly, in fact I suspect he lost respect for us, since we were good and well behaved and generous, rather than cracking whips. He not only threw away festival gifts (of a standard we bought for ourselves), and did not come to work if one of us was out of town, figuring it was excellent time to blackmail - it was harder to manage everything alone - but had the temerity to refuse to come when we needed to pack and leave; and then make demands for money which in fact he owed us, not the other way around. It was only another male on the premises towering over him (the cook was small in size) that turned him from a screaming demanding terror to a meek pleading abject person immediately with no break between the two.

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 Bob had his family visiting and had asked about where he could take them sightseeing. We had told them about a tree with a mile long perimeter of its family (- Watawrksha has roots dropping from branches to ground that again grow as trees, and so an uninterrupted one can very well grow that wide in circumference, and one can walk in midst of the family and rest in deep shade -) that is near the city; close to that there is a folk museum and next door is a place for eating that serves very traditional food of various different traditions of the state, which is rare. 

 The food at the place is also served in a traditional way on large banana leaves that are washed, and eaten with one's own hands after ritual hand-wash, the traditional way; plates are optional as are spoons but one can have them just for asking. Food is extremely healthy and nutritious, with more fibre and vegetables and very little oil or fat of any kind, (economy of oil is cost effective and is healthy for body too), but vegetables and so on - the healthy part - is plenty; and so on the whole it is our favourite place when we can drive that far. 

 We recommended that whole tour to them, but Bob said they did not eat there, since they were unsure of the hygiene of the place. In fact it is more likely to be hygienic than many, or even any, fast food outlets in U.S. - and quite likely so even compared to higher end restaurants, too, since this one can be trusted to adhere to Indian standards of cleaning and keeping clean while cooking,(which does not mean it is about caste, just in case another Bob with a stone-brain hasn't got it yet - we have not thought of what caste anyone is, at any place we eat - including this one we trust - or have ever eaten, and having never thought of it have not asked either, whether owners or cooks or waiters). 

 Of course we understood Bob and family not trusting it since they saw clientele that was middle class old fashioned attired Indian local people mostly; and we do not mind that their apprehension was unchanged by our assurances or recommendation. Only - I wonder if they were smart enough or honest enough to realise that as far as their behaviour and feeling of reluctance to eat in that place went, it is not really in any way different from caste system, or untouchability, except in name. 

 For that matter so is the behaviour of various nations officially warning their people with cautions about from travelling here - it is the same concerns and apprehensions that feudal lords and ladies of Europe had about visiting their poor, or attending social events of a mixed nature. Who thought of the word "exclusive" as one with a positive or at least to be desired connotation? And how is it different from Indian caste system, except the former is far worse being based on money and property and power rather than values of any sort?

 Bob and his family, especially the young boy, missed a wonderful opportunity - not only of experiencing the wonderful and healthy food that they might have enjoyed (and could have learned to make at home back in U.S.), but of mixing with the clientele and chatting with the owners, waiters, and so on, the whole experience of India. They chose to instead stick with not only burgers, pizza and so on but also the chains they were familiar with from US, which they need never have left home to have stuck to forever. 

 And all because they, not just him and his family but his whole society, have a caste system (of race, or colour or whatever - by any other name it is nevertheless still same), that they will never let go of - such stupidity!

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 Coming from cities that were much larger and more cosmopolitan, with crowds that were from anywhere in India and frequently with a sprinkling from abroad, nevertheless it is not that I had not had contact with a mixed population as far as castes go - it was only that this place was a first in ways that brought some other factors to notice. Before, people had not lost their identities but it was not something that impinged on everyday life in any way significant. 

 All in all that couple of years was an experience in meeting the sort we were not acquainted with, and now come to think of it the cook is neatly balanced out with meeting Bob in a weird way. It is not the worldly view where they are opposite in many ways, rich and poor, worldly and rural, ancestry of Europe versus that of India, and so forth. But in some very fundamental way, somewhere in depth within, where real selves emerge and see each other when people meet other people, those two are very comparable, very alike, even. 

 I had never thought of the caste of, much less of asking, anyone we met, whether friends or neighbours or colleagues or new and prospective relatives by various marriages, and never knew unless someone mentioned it because they were proud of it (and why ever not!) or whatever, and that was likely to be and usually was any caste one could blindly point and throw a dart at on a board with a list - and it includes any servants I had hired and paid anywhere whether away or in India - and all too frequently they had been all-purpose servants, with the regular house cleaning, clothes washing and dish washing added to either helping or, after I was satisfied with their having learned how I liked it, even cooking the whole meal. (In fact there was one whom I trusted with keys to the house, including when I was out of town, and will always remember with pleasure and gratitude - she had helped me take care of my mother in her last days, which included all sorts of work including helping me bathe her.) Perhaps the difference is they were mostly women, usually with children and economic needs, and this one was male. 

 We have met many people from various countries, in U.S. and in Europe, and perhaps Bob was different from those we met before, perhaps it was only that he was overwhelmed with India and needed to keep himself aloof, and found it difficult. Who knows why people used crooked means, whether intellectual or otherwise? Was he of a rotten heart born or did something along the way of his bringing up did it to him? Who knows! I am happy being able to avoid any further encounters.

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