In no particular order, here are a few things to ponder.
Radhe Radhe (spoken as, “roddy roddy,” with rolled “Rs”) – is a typical greeting here in the Rajastan state, or a simple, “Ram Ram,” like rom rom, also with rolled Rs. They function much like “Namaste” as a greeting, farewell, or expression of goodwill.
Think life is complicated in the U.S.? How about dealing with the 24 languages and 4,000 dialects in India? Wow.
I’m a big scooter fan. Especially red Vespas. But here they are called, “Scooties,” and are generally considered more for women than men because of their relatively lower weight. A popular Activa model costs about $700-1500 (I need one). And I can tell you that men here definitely ride scooties, too, just as women also ride motorcycles. And in the countryside away from cities, scooties and motorcycles are the predominant form of transport.
A single hotel room to accommodate both our bus driver and his assistant is only 500 rupees per night. About five dollars. So after seeing them sleeping in the bus at night, I gave our guide, Ruby, money to pay for their rooms. Small amount for us, but a big deal for the two guys.
Since the cows are sacred and not used here for meat, I assumed they must have some other usefulness. Cows are used for milk, of course, and their dung is used as the flooring of house, for fuel, etc., and their urine is used for holistic medicines. OBTW, cows are also very useful for blocking traffic.
Although officially outlawed after independence, the caste system is alive and well. Below is some info about the traditional four-varna system in Hindu society, plus groups historically placed outside the four varnas.
Varna (Caste) — Traditional role — Common English term
Brahmin — Priests, teachers, scholars — Priestly/learned class
Kshatriya — Rulers, soldiers, warriors — Warrior/ruling class
Vaishya — Merchants, farmers, traders — Business/merchant class
Shudra — Laborers, artisans, service occupations — Working/service class
Dalit — Historically treated as outside the four varnas — Formerly called, “Untouchables”
A few important distinctions:
- Brahmin, not “Brahma,” is the name of the priestly varna. Brahma is a Hindu deity.
- Dalit is the modern term widely used by communities historically subjected to “untouchability.” The older term “Untouchable” is now generally considered inappropriate when referring to people.
- Varna and caste (jati) aren’t exactly the same thing. The four-varna model is a broad traditional classification, while jati refers to the thousands of specific hereditary communities that developed throughout India.
- A person’s jati traditionally affected occupations, marriage, social relationships, and status, although India’s Constitution legally prohibits caste discrimination and untouchability.
There will be a test…
Now our group is moving on to visit a famous old mausoleum – can you guess? Hint: It’s one of the seven…
A short & witty ending…
Beautiful place, friendly people, and just enough confusion to make it memorable.
