Dasavatharam vs. Nadars
During my morning walk, I saw a poster supposedly put up by some Nadar groups who had taken offence to some dialogues in ‘Dasavatharam’. Honestly, I did not find anything offensive in the movie about any community for that matter. Looks like someone wants to stir up community passions and gain publicity at Kamal’s expense.
Twelve years back, the state government removed all references to leaders names in the public transport corporations.
Till then, it was Dheeran Chinnamalai, Thandhai Periyar, Cheran, Chozan, Kattaboman, Pandian etc. People were keen about the community the leaders belonged to. Now it’s just State Transport Corporation. Did anyone stop taking buses because of this?
What would be the nations loss if we just stopped identifying ourselves on community basis at all levels - from government records to personal references?
At present, there are many little countries within India. And we should do all it takes to build a cohesive, unified India out of this. Till then Kamal will always be seen as X community member and the HCL technologies chairman will always be seen as Y community member.
July 24th, 2008 at 8:07 am
PK, again as I have been re-iterating, why oppose casteism when what is wrong is apartheid and hatred rising out of casteism - not casteism itself! So what if Kamal is identified as X community but problem arises if I tend to form opinions just by virtue of him belonging to a community - that would be wrong - not the former. If not caste, there is still segregation, opinion, preferences based on social status, wealth, education, language, colour. So bottomline is - differences do exist in all forms of nature - appreciate and coexist with the differences instead of shunning the difference itself or bringing out hatred due to the differences.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:48 am
So bottomline is - differences do exist in all forms of nature - appreciate and coexist with the differences instead of shunning the difference itself or bringing out hatred due to the differences
Duh! Appreciate and coexist with the differences?? And you’re talkin about casteism?? Differences in nature???? NATURE???
PK,
paatheengala…Enna kodumai sir idhu? :(((
400-illa, 100 periyar vandhaalum thiruthamudiyadhu
July 24th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Bala, I think you got me wrong. There are differences amongst us right? in colour, education, language what not? Adhukkaga - would you say there should be no such diferentiation at all? Such a situation would never happen. What is to be avoided is hatred and apartheid arising out of such differences. That is my point. So naan sonnadhukkum Periyarukkum enna sambandam? Please don’t accuse without understanding the essence of my comment.
July 24th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
>>PK, again as I have been re-iterating, why oppose casteism when what is wrong is apartheid and hatred rising out of casteism - not casteism itself!
People manipulate and get manipulated to a great extent by this system. What is that we attain by holding on to our caste system?
We, as a country are not where we thought we would be by 2008. Why not review our social structures and see what can be changed to attain our goals?
I am trying to think about this in a logical way. I have a goal. The goal is to make india better. But there is lot of animosity among us based on so many differences.
If maintaining those differences are coming in my way of attaining the goal, then i’d remove those differences. Sure, neenga solra madhiri vera sila differentiations varum. Adhu vara innum sila centuries aagum. Appo we’ll take a hard long look at the problem and redesign the system again. Is there a limit like we should do this, say only once in two thousand years??
I think its a continous process. we always see whats the trouble, analyze the cause, try to fix it with a different approach and see how it goes…
July 24th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
soonapaana,
Ravi’s posture seems to be like, “Illai.. epdi irundhaalum problem vera roobathile varumm.. idhu kaalangaalama thousands of years a irukaradhu.. yedho oru reason naale dhaan irukkum.. so ipdiye irukatum ‘ type argument.
If the goal is to keep people separate so that they can be easily manipulated, then whatever we have now is obviously working.
Ippodaiku ‘Unity in Diversity’ vandhu civics book la dhaan irukku…
There is lot of diversity.. we are not at war with each other because we do not have the energy to fight.. adhukaaga unity ellam illai…
I dont think evolution is something which happens on its own. Some people kick ass and make things happen. Of course, not everything will be positive all the time, thats the deal and i’d still go with change.
I don’t think caste is sacrosanct or whatever.
There is ample proof to show that people gain a perverse pleasure in identifying with their community…
I did not know if you’d listened to that speech by kaadu vetti guru…idhellam jaadhi kudukara dhairiyam dhaaney??
July 25th, 2008 at 3:08 am
PK,
Yeah, i could get Ravi’s stance in questioning the opposition to a ‘concept’ as against opposing the way the ‘concept’ is manipulated.
Well, two BIG problems here:
1) That line about differences in nature, as though human kind was divided by nature along casteist lines. Shocking to say the least! Whatever one might say to sugar-coat that ulterior stance (that caste was a ‘natural’ fact of life and it exists for a noble/progressive purpose), its yet another example of such prejudice and poison being deep-rooted even in semeingly ‘liberal’, educated and ‘modern’ minds.
2) Secondly, let’s for a moment forget ideologies and get pragmatic. If there is one thing which has been not only the most colossal failure (or success, from the POV of the inventors/perpetrators) but also the most destructive force in the world, it has to be castesim (for this argument alone let’s keep religion aside, to put the assertion mildly).
avinga solra mAdhiriye vechukkuvOm, caste was a ‘natural happening’ created for a noble purpose and little did the inventors know that their noble intentions would be manipulated in the years to come. Going by sheer non-performance, it’s a no-contest, the ‘noble intentions’ of the inventors notwithstanding
July 25th, 2008 at 3:12 am
“people gain a perverse pleasure in identifying with their community”
Absolutely! Sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly
Reminds me of a Vivek dialaak from Vaali “sila samayam ippadi, sila samayam ippadi!”
July 25th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Bala, by saying differences in “nature”, I meant our “NATURE” in general. It has no reference to casteism. Neenga thirumba thirumba caste, caste-nu dhaan solreenga but is it not the hatred and complex (superior or inferior) in the minds of the people which is causing this?
PK, to reply to your reply, I think the issue of casteism can be related to the poles in profession today. An IT person marrying a person from IT, a doctor another doctor and so on. Sometime back, in one of your posts, you took exception to blaming IT people for the rising rents? Why? because you are also part of that ‘community’ and again, you were opposed to such generalisation. That is exactly my point here. Why shun the “community concept” itself when what is wrong is the hatred.
If you actually go back to the varnam system, each caste was respected for its role in the society and the village as a whole ensured that their needs were satisfied. But also, along with it came the untouchability and other practices. What I am saying is these practices are the ones to be condemned - not the varnam system itself.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Ravi,
I take it that you did not read my post
Free-a viduvom.. silavatrai maatra mudiyaadhu
July 25th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Ravi,
The ‘varnam’ system of yore was quite different than now. The most important difference was that it was flexible and not based on birth.
Then, it was normal for a father and his children to be different ‘castes’. There was also dignity of labor.
An IT person seeking marriage to another IT person has no comparison with the present casteism. It is very much a marriage of convenience !.
The same IT person’s children may grow up to be something else based on interest and the prevailing job scene.
The very same IT person can have a sibling belonging to a different profession. Will they then discriminate against non IT people ?.
It is unlikely that a new casteism will arise since people are no longer rigidly bound by whatever their ‘elders’ say. This is the information age.
Should us also not tackle a problem on the excuse that a new one will crop up ? Will we stop destroying bacteria on the premise that new strains will anyway develop ?.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am
soonapaana
>Going by sheer non-performance, it’s a no-contest, the ‘noble intentions’ of the inventors notwithstanding
I am 100% with you on this.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Ravi
We are living in a country where a person, with bare body except shorts, will open a drainage in Luz Signal in broad daylight, remove all the muck in his own hands, while the rest of the folks will close their noses, keep a safe distance from him and speed away as soon as the signal turned green.
You mean to say the other guys can be taught to respect this guy for whatever he is doing?
evanavadhu, ‘ahaa ella profession kum respect kudukanum.. annathey.. you are doing an awesome job’ nu solvana?
ella profession kum respect eppo varum? ella velayum ella community aalungalum senja varum..
‘Eppo oruthan enga community la indha velai dhaan seivom andha velai ellam seyya maatom nu agudho, appove andha velayai vida revenue kammiya vara politcal selvaaku kammiya irukara velai panra communities mela mariyadhai irukaadhu’
July 25th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Mahesh
>Should us also not tackle a problem on the excuse that a new one will crop up ? Will we stop destroying bacteria on the premise that new strains will anyway develop ?.
Exactly!!
Adhai yen try ‘pannalaam’ nu yosika kooda koodadhu nu theriyalai. Apdi enna indha caste manidha samoogathuku nalladhu panniruku nu therila!
July 25th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Ravi
This ‘nature’ is also a tricky thing actually.
enga thaatha kollu thaatha padikalena.. ennoda family la adutha adutha generation la padikaama…. naanum padikaama maram yeri kallu edutha adhaan en nature unless i am an avatar of some kind…
(very unlikely)
Pakathu veetukaaran 5 generation a padicha adhu dhaan avan nature…
Adhuku adutha veetukaaran 5 generation a vyabaram pannina adhu dhaan avan nature unless he is something of a phenomenon (again less than likely)
ella velaikum equal a remuneration mariyadhai irukkum na idhu parava illai.. innaiku education, knowledge.. communication skill ellam dhaan thevai…padichavanukku dhaan life easy a varum opportunities kedaikum na, appo mitha ‘nature’ irukara aalai enna pannuradhu??….
innaiku opportunities oru broad spectrum of skill sets la irukku, adhula ovvoruthanukkum oru skill naturally gifted na what you say makes sense….
ingey basic education illama neraya peru irukaan.. pala generations a…innum silar avangalai vote kaaga exploit pannitu irukaanga.. innum silar avangaloda inherited competitive advantage a vechu ‘aaha engalukku dhaan piravi laye moolai adhigam’ nu solluraan na, i dont see a valid justification for this structure.
High time we created a new system…
July 25th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Bala,
no hard feelings, neenga solradhu purinjudhu, just was trying to put across my point too.
Mahesh,
“Will they then discriminate against non IT people ?”
Indha discrimination already slow-va vandhiduchu. I think there is a thin line between doing something for “convenience” and thereby discriminating something - atleast in this case. Would somebody marry off their ward - a person working in an IT industry - to someone who is say a clerk or say a driver - even if they are of the same community?
Evvalavu landlords want only IT people as their tenants - idhu discrimination illaiyaa?
PK, coming to your comments now,
“ella profession kum respect eppo varum? ella velayum ella community aalungalum senja varum..”
Again - finally it boils down to the job! Am sure you would not treat a scavenger and an officer alike - even if they were belong to the same caste - so caste again is immaterial here.
“Adhai yen try ‘pannalaam’ nu yosika kooda koodadhu nu theriyalai.”
Definite-a try panna koodadhu-nu sollala PK, naanum idhu maadhiri discrimination irukka koodadhu-nu dhaan solren but adhukku root cause idhu illai-nu dhaan ennoda vaadham.
“Apdi enna indha caste manidha samoogathuku nalladhu panniruku nu therila!”
Definite-a irukku PK. Just try to enquire someone who hails from a small remote village. Anga there might be just one barber, one vettiyan and so on. Whether said or not, their job is very vital to the whole community, so they ensure that his needs are taken care. Their household marriage, support for their kids everything goes from the village. But again, there was definitely discrimination by means of some cruel practices. I am saying shun the practice itself. Caste-e illainu sonna mattum naalaikku drainage clean panravanukku mariyadhai kedachidumaa? So is that because of the caste? no its because of his job!
July 25th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
>>Again - finally it boils down to the job!
sila jobs a sila communities ku ‘reserve’ panni vechutu respect disrespect laam ‘jobs’ ku dhaan ‘caste’ ku illai nu sonna velaiku avadhu thalai…
If i know that my cousin too would be working as scavenger, will i treat anybody working with him like dirt? I know he could’ve come from my own family. appo epdi avanai kevalamaa paarpen??i woud’ve taken steps to ensure drainages are not cleaned by human beings long back…
enga family la enga community la irundhu evanume vara maataan.. adhuku vera sila communities irukku na dhaan mookai pothikittu vandiyai vegama ottitu poven.
neenga solradhu padi paartha..appo yen UP la sila brahmins toilet maintain panradhu news agudhu?? Because they are an exception.. yen sila communities generation generation a kashta paduradhu rediff la article a vara maatengudhu?? bcos its not news worthy.. its expected.. its normal in our society.. right?
July 25th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
PK, paarunga! ippo neegalae solliteenga…
sila jobs, sila caste-kku-nu irundha kaalam maari pochu. But the dirty jobs are still continued by the same ’sect’ of people. Seri, appo naalaikkae caste system-e illainu vechuppom, appo neengalo illai naano drainage clean panna povomaa? why not? so andha “block” caste-aala varudhaa illa andha velai (job)-aala varudhaa?
Unga cousin scavenger-a irundhaa andha thozhillukku/aalukku kodukkura madhippu, aen ippo vara koodaadhungaradhu dhaan en kaelvi? adhukku aen caste mela pazhi podanum? caste irukko illaiyo, ellaraiyum madhikkira thanmai varanum - illaiyaa?. Oru “differentiation” vechu, idhunaala dhaan naan madhikkala-nu solla koodathu… “differentiation” irundhaalum madhikka kathukkanum because “caste” is the differentiation today, it could be something tomorrow. So again as I keep saying, shun the discrimination not the differentiation.
“NATURE”-nu sonnadhu neenga solra maadhiri illa. By nature - that is, colour, height, looks etc. - something like God given. Oru azhagana, fair complexion guy might have better chance in modelling. So ellaarum azhaga, fair-a porakkanum-nu nenaikka mudiyumaa? karuppu/veluppu, kuttai/nattai-nu irundhaalum naamba ellaraiyum madhikkanum-nu dhaan naan solren!
July 25th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
“ella profession kum respect eppo varum? ella velayum ella community aalungalum senja varum ”
The moment people see certain jobs as being caste specific or done by people of ‘lower’ caste, they will not have such a low respect.
Like Prabu says, once people stop seeing others as belonging to a different caste and therefore not ‘one of us ‘, they will start thing of ‘it could be me or my relative’. This will definitely bring a change in attitude.
For example, living here in US, noticed that most Indians don’t care about community/caste. They just see other Indians as ‘one of us’. This brings down barriers. Even in arranged marriage, have seen many people selecting partners who don’t belong to their own caste.
Ravi,
With regard to IT people, firstly understand that the preference is based on convenience or money and not the job per se. They will definitely agree if the driver makes more money and has a more stable career.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Mahesh,
I think you get the point, and i think bala gets the point better than me. adhu podhum.
ravi,
ippo irukara system of ‘differentiation’ andha disrimination a dhaan soli kuduthirukku.. . illai nu neenga substantiate pannunga…at least andha ‘discrimination’ ozhikka onnume seyyalai ithanai naala…
neenga solra dhobi barber laam gramathile rotation murai la ovvoru family la irundhum konja nalaiku oru aal barber a dhobi a irupaan na adhu differentiation..adhaan ella needs um villages parthukudhe??why not?
Is that something like rocket science?? vera yaarume panna mudiyadha matter a enna?
oru family mattum idhai pozhappa pannanum, mithavanga ella ‘ahaa naanga ella support um pannuvom’ na idhai vida mosadi edhuvum illai ennai porutha varai.. if you want to call that differentiation.. i rest my case.
Female infanticide eduthuppom, karu vile irukara kuzhandhayoda sex test panna koodadhu nu sattam vandhirukku… its part of a strategy…
50 years kalichu idhu naala female population increase agirukkuma irukaadha?
unga logic padi… mana maatram thevei.. sattam illai. so sattam which is a system response irundhaalum illai naalum onnu dhaan… ‘aanum ponnum samam nu yaen illai?’ nu kaepeenga!
‘adhu illadhadhu naala dhaan indha sattame’ nu dhaan naan solven..
50 years kalichu neraya families la ipdi oru practice indha sattadhinale konjam kammi aagi … andha famila ponnunga ellam nalla nelai ku vandhu idhai families la realize pannumbodhu attitude maarum…
maarichuna indha sattam thevai illai…
idhu ku mela naan argue panradha illai… venumna ippo irukara jaadhi amaipai vechukitte endha discrimination um varaama irukka enna enna steps ella jaadhi thalaivarunga ellam edukaraanga.. epdi maatharadhu nu neenga post podunga!!