Ketaki and Anubhav try to understand the caste system. We talk to Akhilesh who tells us how Caste is not the right word to capture the system. The right words in India are Jati and Varna.

Caste should be replaced with Jati.

Jati was economic and not social. There was a Jati of potters, weavers, goldsmith’s or professions. It pre industrial time each village would have different communities grouped by profession. They shared best practices and lived together.

Now lets look at Varnas. There are four Varna’s in India.

1. Brahmin

2. Kshatriya

3. Vaishya

4. Shudra

There is a mapping between Jatis and Varnas. This mapping was never fixed. A Jati could move between Varnas. It was not a rigid system. when the Varna system was created, it was not on the basis of birth but it was on the basis of Guna (propensities) and Karma (deeds).

Varna were cased on Guna and Karma. Propensity of a human decided his or her Varna.

Jati might be best understood as a job family.

Today, we look at the caste system in a rigid way. There are problems with the caste system that we own. In today’s urban centre my Jati have no bearing on my life. There is still discrimination in villages and it is our responsibility to see that it changes. Various attempts are being page.

Interestingly this caste system is not implemented by law. Its a part of our society and it is slowly dying. For example, you will not ask a stranger or your friend in a city, what is his or her Jati or caste. A certain section of society is still being persecuted but the govt and people are working hard to eliminate this.

Like any good story, there are two sides to the caste system. Most people are reluctant to talk about what was good about the caste system. Lets be the minority and talk about its positive aspects too.

Thomas Jefferson had slaves but he is also seen a positive figure and the founding father of the US. There was a time when slavery was accepted. Same holds for the caste system. New caste systems are coming into place today too.

If you want to become a good potter you can apprentice or learn from your father. There was no university to become a potter. Your home was your university. You inherited customers and skills because of your lineage. Since potters lived together, they gave each other strength and their voice had weight. They could set prices. There was no insurance in pre-industrial times. The Jati provide insurance too. Its good to see this as a guild or union in today’s parlance.

People say, "I'm born into a caste, I’m not allowed to change my caste it”. Very few people are able to move to another caste, a lot of people draw generalities based on your caste". Replace "Caste" with "Country" in the above sentence. Then you will realise how many such categorisations exist in the world today. Its not just India. You can replace caste with “economic status” and these are just mental shortcuts to help you make sense of the world. This is common throughout the world. Unfortunately, this is basic human nature.

Everyone being equal is does not mean everyone is the same. Our countries diversity is what makes it beautiful. Our knowledge and artisan traditions are diverse and rich. They make India different from the world. Appreciate this diversity and you will love India.

We discuss the impact of the industrial revolution on society and India's Jatis and Varnas. Let’s take the Pottery example further. Potters as a community - Jati - were involved in all facets of pottery. The Technical, scientific , design and commercial aspects of pottery were responsibilities of the Jati and everyone from the household participated in these activities. The price at which a pot was sold also decided by the Jati based on the buyer. A low income buyer was charged less than a rich person for the same pot. This discriminatory pricing was decided by the Jati and for every product.

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Ketaki and Anubhav met with RJ Sarthak Kaushik in Delhi and asked him a ton of questions! We asked him:

About his radio career in Delhi

Why he started playing English music on radio in English?

State of English radio in Delhi?

How did he end up without any opportunities in radio even though he was the most recognizable voice in radio at that time?

How has Delhi changed over the years?

What is the best way to see Delhi?

Why does he like Mehrauli?

What’s interesting about the Red Fort, Delhi?

Where to eat good food in Delhi?

Where to hear live music in Delhi?

In this episode, we learn about the most famous English radio voice in Delhi. RJ Sarthak shares his story and what he loves about Delhi.

Why did he start playing English music? It was because he wanted to be cool like the rest of the kids.

Why is radio his passion project and the ups and down in his career.

Sarthak reminisced about Forces Request, a radio show, where he would take requests from the Indian armed forces posted all over the large country of India. He is still holding on to the postcards he got from the soldiers as prized possessions. We also discuss BBC trained journalists who trained Sarthak to be a clean RJ.

He compares the analog days of radio to the social media driven media of today.

We asked how he ended up without any opportunities in radio even though he was the most recognizable voice in radio at that time? He was quick to point out that building a radio station is hard and that this was a difficult but necessary period in his life. He found out who his real friends are.

We discuss how has Delhi changed. The people of Delhi have changed.

What is the best way to see Delhi. Why does Sarthak like the Mehrauli Archeological park. The drive he would like tourists to take to see Delhi from the revolt of 1857 to New Delhi via the city of Shajahanabad. See the less famous side of the Red fort - Salimgarh fort. The Elephant gate.

Be safe and try to do a late night drive, post 10PM through new Delhi via:

Shantipath

Rashtrapati bhavan

Parliament house

ISBT

North Campus of the Delhi University

Bara Hindu Rao - Mutiny memorial

Metcalfe house and back to new delhi

Its a drive through history.

What should one eat in Delhi? Sarthak believes that you have to go to Old Delhi to get the best food in Delhi and to soak in Delhi. Its one of a kind place. You have to keep your eyes open in Old Delhi, there is so much to see if you observe it in detail. Old Delhi still holds the heart of Delhi.

Don't get Sarthak started about Music. The Piano man Jazz club, the bar cat, etc. Delhi has the most promising Jazz performers in Delhi. The are so many fusion bands trying to mix Indian music with Jazz and pop. Its a vibrant scene. There are great bands and at least two small venues playing live music here.

The live music audience in Delhi is great.

We reminisce about Rhythm and Blues, the music store in Delhi and Big Joe's which used to house the crossword music store. The owner of that store is now working with a large music label.

Amarras records is creating Barmer Boys and analog vinyl records being created in Delhi.

We talk about the Mahindra theatre awards in Delhi. There is a lot of theatre in Delhi. Delhi also is the fashion hub of the country. The designer who won the woolmark prize lives in Delhi. Its the biggest prize in fashion. Suket Dhir does sustainable fashion and he own the award. So, there are so many faces for Delhi. Seek and you shall find.., the face of Delhi that you are looking for.

"Dont judge delhi. First feel Delhi, It can come across as a heartless city but there is a beating heat. It needs to be felt and heard.”

What is Hinduism

Visitors have a template in their mind on what Hinduism is. They might have seen Christianity or islam or Judaisim. Its important to not look at Hinduism with the lens of both religions.

We talk about “isms” and why language limits our understanding of Hinduism. Ism is a particular kind of thought. A narrow view point or the thoughts of a person. Its not a good idea to call it an “ism” but we understand that Hinduism as a name has stuck.

In this episode we try to explain Hinduism, its rituals and goals.

...

We are so pleased to bring this Episode to you. Ketaki and I spoke with Devdutt Pattnaik and got his answers to common questions asked by travellers to Delhi, India.

Devdutt Pattanaik writes on relevance of mythology in modern times, especially in areas of management, governance and leadership. Trained in medicine, he worked for 15 years in the healthcare and pharma industries before he focused on his passion full time. He is author of 30 books and 600 columns, with bestsellers such as My Gita, Jaya, Sita, Business Sutra and the 7 Secret Series. He was a speaker at TEDIndia 2009 and spoke on Myths that Mystify, East versus West. His TV shows include Business Sutra on CNBC-TV18 and Devlok

We cover a lot of questions in this conversation with Devdutt:

1. When travellers check in to a hotel, the hotel greets them with a dot on the forehead or Tilak. These travellers often ask us,  why? What is this supposed to mean? Is that how everybody is welcome home so why don't we start with that?

2. How is the Tilak different from the Bindi and a lot of different smears of ashes and other things that people have one their foreheads?

3. We get a lot of questions around the millions of gods that exist in India. How do we make sense of it? Who do you pray to? Does everybody pray to the same god? or can you pick your own god or are these just symbols of a great person? What is the best way to interpret this?

4. Ok so depending on your state of mind or state of being you can you change your your God?

5. And many handed many headed god?

6. How should someone make sense of Hinduism? Is it best understood as a philosophy first?

7. Why is that one god is worshipped on one day and another god on another day?

8. A lot of guests talk about Buddhism, Hinduism and not as much about Jainism but what is a good way to contrast Buddhism Hinduism? Some people say that buddhism is a sanitised form of Hinduism, is that fair?

9. I’m dealing with this right now, my daughter is 13 and she is asking us why are doing these artis and bhajans. Our best answer is that its a ritual and do it until you have a strong point of view.

10. Are there any unifying principles around the practice of spirituality in India

11. Would you say purusharthas are universally understood in India

12. What is the best way to understand India. Is it this concept of diversity?

13. What about the use of drugs and pharmaceuticals in India. Bhang is understood  to be ok to have in India. How should we talk about this.

14. Talking about intoxicants, various temples in India offer alcohol and meat but we talk of Hindus as a vegetarian society? Are all hindu’s vegetarian?

15. Yoga and Ashrams, does everyone do Yoga and meditation

16. What are the other potted plants (exported ideas) from India?

17. Why are certain plants and animals worshipped.

18. What about Rangolis and mandalas. Can anyone make them their own?

19. People get worried when we say that you are born into a religion or a caste. How do we talk about the caste system in India?

20. Its a form a limited mobility?

21. Two other potted plants come to mind, like a Guru. Do you have to have a guru?

22. What is the difference between Gurus, Sadhu’s and Priests?

23. What about Sufism, have you had a chance to explain it to people

24. As you’ve studied so much of Indian Mythology philosophy, has that led to a personal spiritual practice for you?

Resources:

www.devdutt.com

www.delhishoppingtour.com

https://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik/transcript?language=en

http://www.amazon.in/Devdutt-Pattanaik/e/B001JRYOZU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1498999082&sr=8-1

Ketaki and Anubhav read out matrimonials and try to decifer all the acronyms used to save money before moving onto discussing commonly asked questions around arranged marriages. Are they common, how do they work. Ketaki and Anubhav discuss their marriage and then get a point of view of a young girl and a boy on arranged marriages. Finally, we talk about marriage bureaus and the role of neighbourhood barbers and his wife in setting up alliances.

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Dr. Swapna Liddle is a renowned historian on 19th Century Delhi and is also the convenor for the Delhi Chapter of INTACH (Indian national trust for art and cultural heritage). Ketaki spoke to Swapna to get her point of view on Delhi and why its special.

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The Experience Delhi Podcast helps travellers to Delhi fall in love with our city. Anubhav and Ketaki run the award winning www.DelhiShoppingTour.com and have been helping travellers get a local perspective on Delhi and experience things that most travellers miss when the visit Delhi.

In this episode Ketaki and Anubhav Introduce themselves and explain why they wanted to start this podcast

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