Day 87 - Caste & Prejudice

So the Indian government has finally decided to include Caste as a section in the latest Census study. The people who come to take your information will also now ask you what caste you belong to and report accordingly. This is the first tine that it is being done after 1974, if I am not mistaken.

Opinions are divided over whether this is a good thing to do or not. Is finding out about what percentage of the 1 billion plus population of India is split by what castes good or bad? I guess only time will tell and we will probably be answering tis question best in hindsight. But let's employ a little foresight to it and try to predict what it will do to us. Or at least this is my blog so this I my opinion. Bear with me!

I have two intrinsic worries on this caste question. First and foremost is inherent DNA of 'jugaad' that is so Indian which when mixed with corruption and politics gives us a heady concoction of manipulation. Will the census study be fair and clean or I'll the various political parties and caste brackets try to influence the outcome in their favor? Will Mayawati try to ensure that the UP census shows that it is a state of OBC and Dalits so that she can stake a better claim to the legacy of the state in future elections? Will the other communities try to get the study to show that they are a minority or a major depending on what suits them?

And in a country that reeks of scandals everyday how do we ensure that the study is executed properly and is a correct representation of India? Will there be mass census of a village where the panchayat or the village head decides what caste the village belongs to maybe in exchange of some favors from a particular political party? I know I am being a skeptic but that is my main worry. Without the inclusion of caste this would have been a numbers game with no political party really interested to dig deeper. Which party in Indian politics has the foresight to find out how many youth are there and then pitch an appropriate message to the right target audience? The median age of our parliament is anyway higher than almost all other countries as compared to the median age of the population. Our country is young but we have all oldies running the government.

My other big worry is the perfection of the art of manipulation by our political parties. The government of India already says that the caste study could be used to determine the reservation policies of the future - not exactly in so many words - but the meaning is the same. After the census study is declared, will our politics change to match what the study shows about the backup? Will BJP suddenly start talking more for Jats and Dalits because the study might show that they are a formidable part of the population? Will the political parties start manipulating the results to show it in their favor or even change their idealogies to reflect what the study shows? Will be become more caste based politics as compared to more country and issue based?

But most important of all my worry is that we will become even more prejudiced as a nation. Yes,I said even more given that we already are a prejudiced nation. We have preconceived notions about everybody and we show that in our daily lives. We treat the vegetable vendor differently than the newspaper vendor or our driver v/s our maid or even the officer in our workplace as compared to the boy Ho brings us coffee. This caste study will make us even more prejudiced against some segments. We will start seeing people based on what percentage their community or caste constitutes our population. We will start treating the lesser percentage caste with more disdain and the larger percentage ones with more trepidation. Will we teach our children how to treat people based on these numbers? Will we worry about the future of our children based on these numbers?

I hope I am proven wrong. I hope that none of this will happen. And I hope ghat hindsight will prove me wrong. I hope that the caste card in the census will be used for the positive and not the negative. But Indian political history is not on our side.

Will the new young Indian treat this caste study in census as just another number or will try attach too much importance to something that should not matter?

Time will tell.........but it does worry me!

Day 85 - My Tattoo Journey

Ever since I start seeing 'LA Ink' on Discovery Travel & Living, I have been intrigued by tattoos or body art, as it is called. The artistry of the team in creating even ten toughest designs on to the person's body have enthralled me. It got me thinking of getting a tattoo done myself. This was over 18 months back.

Now I am no muscular, heavy set, macho kind of a guy. I'm a regular next door neighbor guy who goes about his business daily and has his regular life. So I am not sure where this need for a tattoo came from. Maybe it's the classic case of mid-life crisis as I touch 40 and need to prove to myself that I am still young. The mind is still set in college days sometimes but the life shows otherwise with kids, job and other responsibilities.

The other aspect to consider was of course the pain. On TV it seems so simple and painless when the guys get their tattoo done but hey it is after all pins and needles piercing your skin, leaving a trail of blood and definitely pain. The question was how bad would the pain be and would I be able to take it? Then my sister got a tattoo done followed by a close friend. And I though if they can bear the pain, I am sure so can I. I started discussing the fact that I wanted to get a tattoo done openly with my wife. After all I had to consider if she was OK with it.

I started my research and thought process on what would I like to get done. Considering that it was going to be permanent and irremovable, it better be something that I wanted to do. It also better be something that I would be comfortable to show off. And so the two key considerations came in - what and where. These two are interconnected and finally determine what you do. You could do a simple tattoo at an always open part of your body like wrist or ankle to show off. You could do a tattoo that means something at a place where you would rarely show it. Or you could do a sexy sensual tattoo at a private place that only some people would get to see. The permutations and combinations are aplenty. But the two considerations still stand - what and where.

I decided that my first tattoo, if I ever got to do any more, would have to be God Ganesha. I wanted to do a God and Lord Ganesha is the best way to start anything new. So the search for various God Ganesha tattoo designs started. While at the same time the decision of 'where' was being taken between the upper right hand or the lower right hand - the determination being ghat the upper would be shown only when I would be topless while the lower right hand would show my tattoo even when I wore half sleeve shirts or T shirts.

Once the 'what' and 'where' decisions were coming together, the next big one was 'who'. Since it is permanent and involves pain and body, you need to ensure that the artist is experienced, clean and trustworthy. The thing to note is not to go by the looks of the artist but by the workshop. I asked around and also checked with my friend who had got it done in Bangalore.

By mid year all these were coming together. Another friend of mine - Sowmya - also mentioned that she wanted to get a tattoo done too and I planned that we would get it done together. Now the only question was when would I get enough courage to see this through. Things came to head early this month when Sowmya told me that her friend had already fixed an appointment for them to get the tattoo done together. It was now or never for me too!

Ganesh Chaturthi was upon us and I though what better day to get a Ganesha tattoo done if not on ghat day. And so I landed at Pradeep Menon's Dark Arts Studio in Frazer town on Saturday, 11th Sep at 3.30 to get the needful. Its a small place but well known with helpful staff. I had decided what I wanted to get done but saw some more designs. I still liked the one that I had chosen. They took some time to get the stencil done and I had to wait as there were other customers before me. A guy had got his name with stars on his right hand. It was bleeding and I hoped mine wouldn't as much. A young girl came in to get an angel done and she was happy that it didn't hurt too much. And then it was my turn.

I stepped on to the work area and hoped that I would be able to take the pain and not make a fool of myself, especially after the young girl had taken it all so well. Satish was the artist doing my tattoo - a beautiful combination of the ever-present Hindu symbol of OM with the God Ganesha in it on my upper right hand. It was for me, not to show off to people. As he took hold of my hand and the needle I braced myself. The time has come. He made the first line and asked me if I was ok and if he could proceed. I was a little surprised because it didn't hurt much at all. Just felt like someone has pricked my skin lightly. This was not that bad. I said OK and the journey began. Frankly it wasn't bad at all. It didn't jut as much as I thought it would. I was playing games on my cell, SMS-ing my wife but clearly not looking at him doing my tattoo. My head was turned away. I realized that it doesn't pain too much when they do the outline. A bit more when they shade and colour.

Two hours later it was done. I was a proud 'owner' of a tattoo that I loved and had joined the ranks of people with body art. I love my tattoo and may even go back for some more.

For all the first timers, remember a few golden rules:
WHAT: Know clearly what you want to get done. Do your research and decide what you want to do before you land up at the studio. Or at least have a clear idea.
WHERE: As important. Don't get your first tattoo on the bone. Hurts a lot. Get your first on a more fleshy part. And why you want it the. What is your motivation.
WHO: This is very important. Ask around. Do your research. Go to the studio. See the workstation. Be comfortable with what you see. Trust the artist.
WHEN: Only when you are mentally ready. Always do it when you think you want to do it. Not because someone else is doing it and they are forcing you to get one too.

Remember it's permanent so spare a little thought and then take the plunge. I did and I'm almost 40!