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Date Posted: 02:33:09 01/26/18 Fri
Author: Carlo G. Soldevilla
Subject: Let Me Be The One By Carlo G. Soldevilla

My ‘Indian’ Experience’ More than Ten (10) years ago—Let Me Be The One by Carlo G. Soldevilla
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Let Me Be The One
By Carlo G. Soldevilla
Written on January 26, 2018

My eyes, welling in tears in 2002...It was my ‘ Indian’ experience which comes back to my memory.
Few minutes after we landed in Hyderabad, India, all of us international delegates were given a room for our accommodation.

So vivid in my memory are those rivers of tears of sadness which flowed through my eyes one day, right after I stepped on the land of India:
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Brahman, Schedule Tribe, Schedule Caste, The Other Caste-These Indian or Hindu Caste system I recall.

No matter what the ‘branding’ is, what made me sad was to see persons—the kitchen crew, not sitting on chairs or pews but on the floor. I was pondering and wondering why.

They looked like our farm tenants but, outwardly, our tenants could just look better compared to them.

‘Why is this so?’ I asked myself. ‘Don’t they have the right to sit?’
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Prior to going inside my room, my colleagues told me to come back at once at the dining or kitchen area where we can be oriented for our two (2) weeks stay or training in India.

Inside my room, for more than an hour, I was crying and crying, an expression which is not common among Filipino men as it ‘suggests’ a form of weakness but there I was, reflecting terribly: “Oh, they’re poorer than me?...but can’t they sit (properly)? Aren’t they provided with chairs that they just sit on the floor?

Later I found out that these guys belong to the schedule caste or lower caste, a level in Hindu society which is the extreme opposite of the Brahman. (First Class Hindus).

The lowest caste is the least of the brethren and they are the ones who could not afford higher education and I surmise, they will remain as ‘slaves’ forever or ‘aliping sagigilid?’. Their identity appears in their birth certificate and this is inherited. There’s no way that this can be changed. The second and third caste next to Brahman can, however pursue higher education if they wish to, but there’s no way for them to get the Brahman status. (Think about history: Mother Teresa, a Hindu who became a Catholic nun and who belonged to the Brahman Caste but she chose to work closely with the least of her brethren to fulfill her vocation or calling.).

I gained further knowledge about this caste when I asked my colleague about their people, culture and practices.
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I befriended them (lower castes) throughout the duration of the training.

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Each morning these slaves or one slave (forgive me for this description) had to go to my room, serve me either tea or coffee, humbly bringing a thermos with him, tea and a tea cup for me to drink something hot ---Somewhat a form of royal treatment. Honestly, I am not used to this.

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Monday – I wore my black, brand new leather shoes which I purchased in the Philippines, most likely it’s a model from Marikina. I looked decent with my shoes, and I was inspired to wear them in the following days.

Tuesday – The slave went to my room, served tea, and was asking me for my shoes for him to clean.

“No, please don’t bother.”, I told him. In my mind, I reasoned: “You are the reason why I cried, having felt a deep pity on your status and here you are, asking for this simple thing which I, myself can do. I can’t afford that you have to clean my shoes. I will clean it myself.”

Wednesday – As usual or same routine, he came to my room with his janitorial attire, and I told the servant at 6:00 a.m. or that morning: “No, no. Just let me be the one to clean my shoes.”

On that Wednesday afternoon, I happened to step over a dog manure that made the scent of my shoes terribly bad. It filled the spikes of my shoes that it’s quite hard for me to remove the animal waste.

Thursday – He (the servant) once again knocked at my door..and ‘Eureka!’ I found who I really was, right behind the curtain or behind the camera.

He asked me: “Can I clean your shoes, without his knowledge about that stepping- over -a -manure incident.

There I found myself or my weakness.. “Okey, you may do so.” I gave him my shoes and let him clean it and this reminds me of my fake attitude which no amount of crying can ever cover that shoe-cleaning ‘sin’ which I committed.

He cleaned my shoes and it became odor free.

(I’m supposed to end here, but let me continue on the last day.).

Friday – I had no more bath soap…I was surprised.. All these servants gathered their money, bought me one big green Irish spring soap. I asked him: “Who gave me this (soap)?” He told me they (servants) all gathered their resources to buy me one.

Conclusion:

They (other caste) were real, I was fake. Feeling sorry to the L-rd for what I’d done, I was trying hard to overcome this weakness which I had through all the years which followed after that ‘crying drama’ I made. (Prior to their giving of Irish Spring soap, I happened to give them the canned goods and other stuffs which I bought from the Philippines.. but I guess, in the blind lady justice’s weighing scale, this does not justify, the ‘heavier load’ of the servant's cleaning my malodorous black shoes.

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Note1: I don’t know if ‘The Black Shoes’ would be the best title for this article.

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Note2: The Global Leadership Training in India was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) .

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