Evolution

I am a small town girl by birth and I must say that all I have known about community when I was a seven year old was the ever punctual house maid, weekly washerwoman and the conspicuous Youngman who brought the monthly rents of the one and only stately house my granny owned in the stately Draksharama village. I was told that these people were different from my family but I never understood how. As I grew up and got enrolled in a catholic convent for my upper kindergarten, I understood the difference in classes and at the same time was confused at the way the system was meant to be.

Owing to the confinement of catholic convent, I must say that I was pretty influenced by them and learnt to appreciate God in many forms and also people from other communities. Albeit the school being catholic, I confess that all the girls at school knew and understood the difference in their social class and status. I render Kakinada, the small town as a culprit for the narrow minds. It was an average small town dominated by a medical and an engineering college and we had colonies of people belonging to the same class confined in a location when I was growing up. Even the inter college politics were not devoid of this class distinction.

I grew up and so did my little wisdom. I moved out of my hometown to the nearest metro at first and slowly to a bigger metro and then to the hub of the silicon forest. In the initial stages of my career I understood that I do not need a backing social class for my growth and all I needed was commitment and knowledge. I got my chance to travel some parts of the world and I forgot all about this distinction until my recent encounter with my school friend.

It was great to catch up and discuss about the partners and the state of the art matters of courtship and statutory ceremonies. During our conversation and occasional mention of our mutual friends I have noticed that my friend associated every other girl we remembered with their social class or their status – “A”! Oh she is a BC and married her senior and now lives in Florida. “S”, that goldsmith’s daughter, she never married and works with XYZ. “J”, she can’t be more than happy she married into a family with double their own fortune and has three house maids in Detroit.

I chose to forgive her ignorance as she just stepped out of her shell from Kakinada and appeared in London. I am glad I was never succumbed to this social glitch, if so I would have never found my sweet heart, who I would swear is not prejudiced by my phony status or is it class no may be caste… whatever..