You brought out a fundamental aspect of what really is being an 'Indian'? what you discussed was your experiences within the country.,after living abroad for more than half a decade, I still am searching for this very answer., all that I used to tell my foreigner freinds was I am Indian and that our character is of openess, liberated thoughts and thousands of years worth of culture..and the next thing I get knocked is this North Indian (possibly from Allahabad) brahmin who debates on who should have the right to perform a pooja and who should be offered the prasad and why and he asks me my caste(possibly to seek buy in if I were a brahmin like him)., well I am not a brahmin.., belong to a segment termed as 'Other backward class - which in no way changes how I work in this country', and I replied I am an 'Indian' and he better behave..since we are now in a different country where castes are not even worth a penny...well the moral as what Tarun truly brought out is...we indians seem to live in a virtual world...we still live in our microcosms and yet try forever to prove we are different...but are we ???is untouchability (no it not exactly be as what it is used to be those many years ago - several variations though) still not a very real part of us?
