Maanya Anand Week 4

The autobiography I read was Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki. Though I was unable to read through the whole thing, whatever I could read really helped me see things through the author's perspective. I think one of the first things that was very intrinsic and important to this autobiography was the fact that he said that no matter how much money he earns or how high up he rises economically, he will always be known by his caste. No matter how educated, learned and well respected he is or becomes, his identity as a "Chura" or a "chamaar" will always remain with him, his caste identity will never leave him. Another important part of the text was the courage of the author's parents to stand up to the upper castes and fight for their family and dignity. This was highlighted in the parts where the author's mother threw the basket with the joothan when the upper caste man told her that the 'joothan' food was for her and her hungry children. Another part was when the author's father saw him sweeping the ground at the school instead of studying and his father threw the broom and took him home. Not only that he went from house to house of his upper caste employers without any food or water and asked for help for his son. Something else that really touched me was when the 'bahu' i.e., the author's elder brother's widow gave away her only piece of jewellery, a silver anklet so that the author could continue his education. These acts showed in their own way how they all individually tried to resist the caste system. Also, the author talks about his school life and the friends he made there and how even today they continue to occupy a very important place in his life. These friends of his however, belonged to different castes. One was a Brahmin, another was a Gujjar and two others were Churas just like the author. But their respective castes never got in the way of their friendship. This makes me realise how even today we are made aware of our caste so early on in our lives that it becomes to intrinsic to us. But, I do not think I've ever refused to be friends with someone because of their caste. As children we become friends with people we like, with other children in proximity to us, not in terms of class or caste but just physical distance. This is exactly was I noticed in the story where the author became friends with the Brahmin boy he sits next, both of them clearly aware of each others caste but they got along and that was the most important thing for them. 

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