Brahmins, Thairsatham and 6.6k

(This post was written on Saturday evening when I was a little annoyed by Brahmin practices)

Brahmin conservatism has never ceased to annoy me. The only reason why I belong to this clan of iyengars is because my parents are Brahmin. I had no choice in the matter. We are a race that is overly conservative in our approach in practically ever field of life – business, relationships, career and spirituality. We pass judgments too quickly, we allow religion and society to dictate terms to us and we often come across as people who can’t really stand up for ourselves. We are usually content with our thairsatham (curd rice) and mavadu (mango pickle)

I have absolutely no characteristics of a Brahmin except for the fact that I enjoy Thairsatham. There is all this theory about roots and how we always go back to our own roots and all that. No one can dispute that. But, every theory in the world has exceptions and people like me are usually exceptions. Things that happen to us are not normal at least in the context of the geography where we live and the culture that surrounds us. The careers we choose, the hobbies we pursue and the lifestyle choices we make are not in sync to our surroundings.

Do we forcefully sync ourselves with the environment, do we fight it or do we decide to anonymously pursue what we like similar to the protagonist in 1984? It is a little complicated and annoying at the same time.

I am off to a run in a few minutes. Plan to do a 6.6km today in 40 minutes and then do some weights for my legs. I am excited to run the 13.5k tomorrow morning and can’t wait to meet some of my running buddies.