The Faith of Ashish (31 page)

37

T
hat evening, no one spoke of the morrow. But after dark, as Virat and Latha lay side by side on their sleeping mats, Virat said, "I do my best to stay clean. I try to be a good man, kind and fair to all people. Why must I be untouchable?"

Latha reached over to her husband. On her other side, Ashish wiggled and turned, the way he always did when he had trouble getting to sleep.

"Because it is the way," Latha said. "Because it is our
karma."

"I no longer believe in
karma,"
said Virat.

Ashish flopped over onto his back.

"Even if we were not untouchable, we would still belong to the landlord," Latha whispered.

Virat laid his fingers on his wife's arm. Then he reached over and caressed his son's black hair.

"We are what we are," he said.

Stars glimmered in the October sky like ten thousand tiny candle flames. A cool breeze blew over, and the entire settlement seemed to sigh with grateful relief.

And then, in the gentleness of the night, Ashish's small voice sang words in a foreign tongue:

"Jesus loves me! He who died, Heaven's gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come in."

"Is that an English song?" Latha asked her son.

"It's about the God in my holy book," Ashish said.

"What do the words mean?"

"That the holy God whose name is Jesus loves me and washes all my sins off of me. When I die, he will open the gate to heaven and let me walk right in."

"No, no," Virat said. "You must have made a mistake. Only Brahmins have a chance of going to heaven."

"The God Jesus didn't like that rule," Ashish said. "So he changed it."

For a long time, Virat lay awake, his eyes fixed on the twinking stars scattered across the heavens. Latha lay completely still at his side, and Ashish's sleep-breaths came soft and even.

"With morning light, Latha and I must go back to work in the fields," Virat whispered into the night. "Ashish must go again to Saji Stephen. We will all still be despised Untouchables. I cannot change any of that."

Beside him, Latha shifted in her sleep and Ashish moaned softly.

"Help us, gods," Virat prayed.

But he knew better. After all that had happened, he knew better.

"Please," Virat prayed again. "Help me, Jesus God!"

Afterword to Readers

F
rom the dawn of history, the area we now know as South India has been the home of the ancient Dravidian people. Short, dark-skinned, and broad-featured, they lived simple, agrarian lives in a bountiful land. For all they knew, their home was the entire world.

But, of course, it was not.

Almost four thousand years ago, a highly cultured race of tall, light-skinned people invaded the Indian subcontinent from the north. These newcomers had prospered in the Russian Steppes and around the Caspian Sea, but as they became more numerous they had split into different tribes, each searching for more pasture land. Over time, some groups moved toward Greece, some to Asia Minor, some to Iran. Some groups migrated to India.

Aryan,
the groups moving into India called themselves, from the Sanskrit word for "noble." And when the newcomers looked out at the dark-skinned natives, they truly did feel noble—and superior.

Over the next hundreds of years, the Aryans pushed their way down the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers, farther and farther into the Dravidians' bucolic homeland. Dominant Aryan families proclaimed themselves priests and composed hymns to record their exploits and consolidate their power. Technologically more advanced, the invaders knew how to work with iron. They built heavy chariots with cruelly spoked wheels and used them to roar down on the hapless Dravidians, who fought back armed with wooden spears. Inevitably, the Aryans triumphed.

Dasa,
the conquerors called the dark-skinned ones. Slaves. The subjugated ones were denounced as
Mlechas—
unholy. Both the
Mlechas
and the impure places they lived—
mlechadesas
—were forbidden to Aryans.

But proclamations and denunciations are never as powerful as the perceived word of a god, so the priest class declared itself demi-gods. They established their hymns as scripture— the
Vedas—
and from them fashioned the philosophy we know as Hinduism. The
Vedas
ordained a strict and unforgiving system of
varnas—
which is to say, castes.

According to the
Vedas,
the four castes were born from the creator god
Brahma.
The priests set themselves up as
Brahmins,
the highest caste, born from the mouth of the god. No physical labor could be required of them, only priestly duties. Kings and mighty warriors made up the second caste,
Kshatriyas,
said to have come from the arms of the god. The third caste,
Vaisyas,
were merchants and tradesmen, said to have issued from the god's midsection. Only a small number of privileged people belonged to these upper three castes.

The fourth caste,
Sudras,
were said to have come from the feet of the god.
Sudras
were farmers, laborers, and servants. Their duty was to serve the first three castes.

Below all these lay the conquered people. The polluted and unholy ones. Those outside the caste system. Outcastes. They did not come from the god
Brahma
at all, and therefore they were not at all human. They were sub-human. Un-born, they were called, meaning it would have been better for everyone had they never been born.

Thus, not only were the Dravidians conquered, they were condemned as sinners beyond hope—less valuable than the snakes and rats, animals, and stinging insects.

Ever flexible, Hinduism has an innate ability to expand and absorb pieces of many and varied religions and philosophies. Still, its three major tenets hold constant: caste, karma, and reincarnation. A person is born into a particular caste, or outside the castes, as a reward or punishment for the deeds of his or her past life. An upper caste person is free to reap the benefits of that exalted position. An Untouchable must endure the indignities and oppression without complaint—or face something much worse in the next reincarnation.

For 3,500 years, the oppressed descendants of India's ancient peoples have struggled to survive under the heel of the upper castes. Sometimes one of these descendants finds a special blessing in a most unlikely place.

The fight to protect that blessing can be a matter of life or death.

It might even lead to God.

Glossary of Terms

Amma:
Malayalam for mother.

Anna:
An old Indian coin, worth one sixteenth of a rupee.

Appa:
Malayalam for father.

Avatar:
In the Hindu philosophy, a divine incarnation of a god.

Betel nut:
A chew made of nuts and tobacco wrapped in the leaves of the betel plant.

Bhaghwan:
This word means god in the Hindu understanding.

Brahma:
Creator god
of the Hindu
trinity.
The other two gods are Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. (Not to be confused with Brahmin. See below.)

Brahmin:
The highest and most honored of the varnas, or castes, in Indian society. Brahmins are the Hindu priests and spiritual leaders. They put great and minute emphasis on ritual purity, and are forbidden from doing any manual labor. They make up approximately 5 percent of India's population. (Not to be confused with the god Brahma. See above.)

Bhudevas:
In the Hindu philosophy, gods on earth.

Caste:
Traditional Hindu society is divided into four main varnas, or hierarchical groups known as castes: Brahmins (5 percent), Kshatriyas (5 percent), Vaishyas (5 percent), and Sudras (50 percent). Below this four-fold caste structure are the "outcastes"—now called Dalits—an oppressed people forced in all ways to occupy the lowest positions of this social order (25 percent). Also outside the caste system are the "tribals," the indigenous Indian peoples. Technically, Christians and Muslims are also outside the system, since caste is really part of the Hindu religious philosophy, though in actuality most outcaste Christians and Muslims remain mired in its oppression. These and people of other nationalities and religions make up the other 10 percent of the population. Each caste has its own group of occupations associated with it.

Chaddar:
A long strip of cloth, half the size of a mundu, worn by men as a shawl or turban.

Chakras:
The word chakra means "wheel" in Sanskrit. In the Hindu philosophy, each human body is believed to have seven chakras, or energy centers, that run in sequence from the top of the head to the pelvic area. It is believed that when Chakras are in harmony, the body is at peace.(Differing chakra counts may be the result of the associated "auras.")

Chamar:
One of the many Untouchable occupational subcastes, this one being that of leather tanners.

Chapati:
Round, flat baked bread, similar to unsweetened pancakes or tortillas.

Cows, sacred:
In India, "Mother Cow" is respected and looked after. It is considered sacred, and to harm a cow is a great sin. It is likened to harming one's own mother. The cow is also associated with mythological stories that surround several Hindu deities, including Krishna, said to have been raised by the son of a milkman.

Dharma:
A moral law, or righteousness. This can vary, person to person, caste to caste.

Dowry:
Money and/or property required of the family of the bride by the family of the groom in order to secure a marriage. The amount varies, depending on the "value" of the bride, but it is crippling for many families of girls. Dowry is a major cause of the abandonment and even killing of female children.

Ghee:
Butter, boiled and clarified. It is greatly prized, both as a food, and as a part of ritual worship and the preparation of food for gods and goddesses.

Guru:
A teacher and spiritual guide.

Jatak:
A horoscope prepared by a fortune-teller, astrologer, or Brahmin.

Jati:
Each caste, or varna, is further divided into sub-classes, each representing a stratum in the strict hierarchy of Indian society. While there are only four castes, those are broken into thousands of jatis, as is the outcaste strata.

Jogi:
Wandering singers and dancers who accomplish amazing physical feats, such as piercing their skin with lances, eating fire, snake charming, and firewalking. They claim to be fully invested with powers of control over the material universe.

Kara:
A rich strip of edging that decorates a fine and expensive mundu.

Karma:
The sum total of a person's actions that is believed to lead to his or her present fate. This major tenet of Hinduism easily brings about an atmosphere of fatalism which can lead to hopelessness.

Kshatriyas:
The second of the varnas, or castes, in Indian society. Formerly the kings and soldier-warriors, they, like the Brahmins, are respected and privileged. Also like the Brahmins, they may be "twice-born." Many are in the military, and many others are successful business owners and landlords. Kashatriyas make up about 5 percent of the Indian population.

Kurta:
A collarless Indian shirt.

Malayalam:
The language spoken on the Malabar coast of South India.

Mantra:
Sacred words and sounds used for rhythmic chanting.

Manu:
Known as "the Hindu lawgiver," it is his writings in the Manusmriti that codified the strict caste rules. Manu reduced the Untouchables (now called Dalits) to a status worth less than animals. He subjected them to continual abuse, exploitation, submission, and oppression, and sealed it as judgment from the gods. These rules continue to bind Untouchables to degrading, "polluting" manual occupations, and to keep them firmly under the heel of the upper castes.

Manusmriti:
The writings of Manu (though said to be authored by the god Brahma) that codified the caste system and sanctified it as religious institution.

Mem:
Short for Memsahib. (See below.)

Memsahib:
Respectful address for an Indian to use toward a white woman.

Monsoon:
The July to September season of torrential rain and wind. While the rains bring relief from the suffocating heat, it can be a time of treacherous downpours and flooding.

Mundu:
A piece of thin cotton, linen, or silk cloth, fifty inches wide and five yards long, worn by men as a lower garment. It can be an ankle-length "skirt" or tied up to more closely resemble shorts.

Neem:
A common and appreciated tree in India. Every part of this wonderful tree is used for medicinal purposes—bark, roots, leaves, branches, flowers, fruit. O
utcastes:
Now called Dalits, these are the people who fall outside and below India's caste system. They are forced to occupy the lowest position in the Indian social order. For many centuries they accepted their miserable lot as their justly deserved karma, a result of their own sins in a former life. More recently they have attempted to assert the rights afforded them when India gained independence from Britain. These attempts are often met with strong resistance from the upper castes, and the results can be horrendous: torture, rape, massacres, and other atrocities. The dominant castes have deliberately prevented the outcastes from rising to the level of equality by imposing on them impossible limits in every area of life, from occupation to dress to the very right to eat and drink. The social order has been constructed to keep them helpless and subservient. A conservative estimate of the number of "outcastes" is 25 percent of the Indian population.

Paddy:
This can refer to a food, in which case it means rice with the husk still on. Or it can refer to the rice field— the paddy field.

Palanquin:
A decorated litter, used by the well-to-do as a means of transportation during times of important occasions.

Puja:
Worship or a sacrifice before an idol.

Purdah:
Seclusion. To be "in purdah" is to live in seclusion, going out only occasionally and only when fully covered up.

Purification:
A ritual washing to remove sin and/or pollution.

Rupee:
The most commonly used Indian currency.

Sadhu:
An Indian holy man. Often, sadhus dress in saffroncolored robes that set them apart as dedicated to sacred matters.

Sahib:
An Englishman. Often times, one who is very important.

Sari:
A thin garment, fifty inches wide and five to six yards long, worn by Indian women, wrapped around the body to form a dress.

Sati:
The ancient Indian practice of burning a widow alive, along with her husband's body, on his funeral pyre. Less commonly, it refers to the act of burying her alive in her husband's grave. In 1829 the British government declared the practice illegal throughout India, punishable in criminal courts. But a proclamation does not quickly change societal or religious practices. To the minds of Hindus, sati was an act of honor, the sign of a pure and righteous woman. It was also one of the very few ways a woman could hope to gain entrance into heaven.

Sacred thread:
A thin rope of cotton threads worn over the left shoulder by all initiated males of the Brahmin caste— and, though less frequently, by those in the second and third castes too.

Sanskrit:
The ancient language of India, and the language of the Vedas. Now it is used almost exclusively by the Brahmin caste for religious purposes.

Sudras:
The fourth of the varnas, or castes, in Indian society, supposedly created from the feet of the creator god,
Brahma.
Although they are still people of caste, they are of much lower status and privilege. They cannot be "twice-born. "They are relegated to such jobs as laborers and farmers and servants. In fact, they are believed to have been created for the purpose of serving the higher castes. Sudras are not allowed to read, study, recite, or even to listen to the Vedas. The stated penalty for doing so is horrific maiming or death.

Thulam:
Sacred month on the Malayalam calendar, corresponding to October through November.

Twice-born:
Under the Hindu social system, this was a sacrament of initiation open to members of the three upper varnas, (castes)—Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas. Regarded as a second—or spiritual—birth, the ceremony (
upanayana)
earns male caste members with a sacred thread to be worn at all times next to the skin over the left shoulder and across the right hip. Women are not included, regardless of caste.

Untouchable:
An outcaste, as determined by the laws of Manu. Depending on strata, and on the area of the country in which one lives, this could also mean a person is unseeable (meaning laying eyes on them is polluting). Not long ago, polluting a member of an upper caste, even with a shadow, a footprint, or a drop of spittle that may result from speaking or sneezing, was crime enough to result in drastic punishments. Virat's situation is modeled after the father of a present-day advocate for Dalit rights. This prominent man attended Oxford University and has a doctorate degree, yet he is often spat upon and insulted by poverty-stricken outcastes because of his low-caste birth. Even though his tormentors may live in poverty on the streets, they are of a higher strata than he in the Indian caste system.

Vaisyas:
Members of the third varna, or caste, in Indian society. Businessmen and traders, they are also high caste and may be "twice-born," although their status is much less than the two higher varnas. Vaisyas make up approximately 5 percent of the Indian population.

Vara:
Stranger.

Vedas:
Ancient Hindu scriptures, written in archaic Sanskrit in the form of a collection of mantras and hymns of praise to various gods. Vedas means sacred, revealed knowledge. The four Vedas are: the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharva Veda, and the Yajur Veda. The Yajur Veda is considered to be the oldest and most important. The foundation of the philosophy of Hinduism, the Vedas set forth the theological basis for the caste system.

Veranda:
An external covered platform that sits at ground level of an Indian house. In Virat's day, most of a family's living took place on the veranda.

Yogi:
Indian holy man.