Christian-Brahmin marriages
Sriram Ganapathy
: I'm curious to know what our generation feels about Christian-
: Brahmin marriages .If there is anybody out there who has had such a marriage,Id like some advice.Others are also welcome to post their opinion.
: Thanks,
Dear brother,
I guess that you are a lil' too much infatu w/ a Brahmin gal!
As far as such intercaste marriges are considered in India, its left to our
BharatiRaja to decide upon :-)
I've never seen any such marriages myself so far, even in a highly educated
state like kerala, intercaste marriages is still considered a taboo.
I should've waited for flames!!
--
Sriram Ganapathy \ _/|\_ /
<gan...@nova.eng.wayne.edu> \ _/__|__\_ / "*^%K5ja7@gdjf%HD5sks*^|!D><_#69
\ \___/ / {-4^#0(*}w065K%8N7h3*98&5=)*@3 "
\ /
:-) Chinese_Wisdom.ZIP
Thathachari
> Immanuel Anand (ian...@cs.uml.edu) wrote:
> : I'm curious to know what our generation feels about Christian-
> : Brahmin marriages .If there is anybody out there who has had such a marriage,Id like some advice.Others are also welcome to post their opinion.
> As far as such intercaste marriges are considered in India, its left to our
> BharatiRaja to decide upon :-)
>
> I've never seen any such marriages myself so far, even in a highly educated
> state like kerala, intercaste marriages is still considered a taboo.
I am also of the opinion that nanban Anand is orre infatu with a
Brahmin girl. But I disagree with you in your opinion that such marri-
ages are possible only in Barathiraja movies. I have heard of numerous
instances in which inter caste marriages have occured. The girls of
Tamil Nadu also have tremendous courage nowadays. I actually know of
a girl who walked out of her house in front of her parents in order to
get married to the man of her dreams. A curious phenomenon that I have
seen in TN is that the parents who were so opposed to the marriage in
the beginning, repent later and get into good terms with the girl.
Just the other day I met an American. He spoke in faltering(but clear)
Hindi to me. I always thought that a marriage between a Desi and an
American would be impossible. I thought so mainly because I had not
seen/heard about such marriages. When I probed this guy further he
told me that he was married to a Punbjabi girl whom he met in Germany.
The girl, he told me, was waiting for her visa to coe to the US.
The most surprising part of the whole affair was that the guy was
learning the girls language.
Brothe Immanuel! All the best!
Thaths
--
"Die? That would be the last thing that I'd do."
-Thus Spake Thaths
Net News
Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
you are>-Brahmin marriages.
In article l...@ulowell.uml.edu, ian...@cs.uml.edu (Immanuel Anand) writes:
>
>Hi Friends,
>
> I'm curious to know what our generation feels about Christian-
>Brahmin marriages .If there is anybody out there who has had such a marriage,Id like some advice.Others are also welcome to post their opinion.
>Thanks,
>
>Immanuel Anand
Immanuel Anand
state like kerala, intercaste marriages is still considered a taboo.
I should've waited for flames!!
Well Sriram, I don't know 'bout your immediate circle,but so far I've seen three such marriages and the fourth one will be taking place in Sep 95(thats mine).I'll definitely send you an invitation.
Anand
Anthony Rajakumar
years. In one, the guy was a Christian while in the other, the girl was a
Christian. Both marraiges had severe trouble with their respective families, but
they still survive to this day.
The third one occured recently. The guy lived opposite this (really good
looking!) Bramhin girl, in Nandanam's housing colony. Before you could say "I
do", they did. And no one really batted an eyelid. Well, he was a lucky guy, I
guess.........
So Immanuel, go for it!!!!!
In article <30ja9b$9...@oak.oakland.edu>, gan...@nova.eng.wayne.edu (Sriram Ganapathy) writes:
> Immanuel Anand (ian...@cs.uml.edu) wrote:
>
> : I'm curious to know what our generation feels about Christian-
> : Brahmin marriages .If there is anybody out there who has had such a marriage,Id like some advice.Others are also welcome to post their opinion.
> : Thanks,
>
> I've never seen any such marriages myself so far, even in a highly educated
> state like kerala, intercaste marriages is still considered a taboo.
>
> I should've waited for flames!!
---->AR<--
Anthony Rajakumar araj...@mtu.edu
Grad Student
Michigan Tech
Houghton MI49931.
Sriram Ganapathy
: Just the other day I met an American. He spoke in faltering(but clear)
: Hindi to me. I always thought that a marriage between a Desi and an
Well here's an interesting anecdote from my side. I was talking to an
Amerikkan-iyervaal the other day. His real name is some Bob or something,
'christened' to Uma Shankar. He had been to Madras in 1975, and was so awhaped
w/ the Hindu religion that he wanted to convert himself to a BRAHMIN :-)
He was reciting something sloka on the phone, which I later realized
was his "ABHIVAADAYE!" which is different for every subsect of Brahmins.
He had a "GOTHRAM", "NAKSHATRAM" et al.
That incident made me "REAL" proud of my religion. Whatddya think
Mr. Thathachari?
veni...@ecs.umass.edu
ne...@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News) writes:
>
>Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
>who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
>categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
>question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
>you are>-Brahmin marriages.
>
I think that all this stuff about Brahmin Christians and <whatever caste
you are> Christians is just nonsense. The caste system is unique to the
Hindu society.
Ganesh
Francis
>In Article <1994Jul20....@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com>
>ne...@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News) writes:
>>
>>Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
>>who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
>>categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
>>question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
>>you are>-Brahmin marriages.
>>
>I was under the impression that there was no caste-system in Christianity.
>I think that all this stuff about Brahmin Christians and <whatever caste
>you are> Christians is just nonsense. The caste system is unique to the
>Hindu society.
Nope, some christians I know are really rabid casteists including
some of my relatives. My great-grandfather did not come to
my parent's wedding because they were of different castes !!!
-Francis
>
>Ganesh
>
>
--
----------------------------------------------------
email: fc...@duts.ccc.amdahl.com
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's
----------------------------------------------------
Thathachari
> Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
> who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
> categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
> question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
> you are>-Brahmin marriages.
marriages? Maybe he *is* interested in a particular case of inter
religious marriages viz. the marriage between a Christian(a religion as
you point out) and a Brahmin(a caste in another religion ie a subset
set which is the religion). Who are you to decide that both parts of
the marriage question he has asked should be of the same type?
And *Pray* tell me what you mean by the sentance "ther are Christians
who are Brahmins????".
Thaths
of another r
> In article l...@ulowell.uml.edu, ian...@cs.uml.edu (Immanuel Anand) writes:
>>Hi Friends,
>> I'm curious to know what our generation feels about Christian-
>>Brahmin marriages .If there is anybody out there who has had such a marriage,Id like some advice.Others are also welcome to post their opinion.
--
"Nostalgia is not what it used to be"
Francis
> state like kerala, intercaste marriages is still considered a taboo.
>
>
>
Well, I don't know if this counts, but i've sight-adichified
a couple of brahmin girls when I was in college but I didn't
marry any of them. Some of them are married and have kids now. ;-)
;-)
-Francis
>Anand
Thathachari
> Well here's an interesting anecdote from my side. I was talking to an
> Amerikkan-iyervaal the other day. His real name is some Bob or something,
> 'christened' to Uma Shankar. He had been to Madras in 1975, and was so awhaped
> w/ the Hindu religion that he wanted to convert himself to a BRAHMIN :-)
> He was reciting something sloka on the phone, which I later realized
> was his "ABHIVAADAYE!" which is different for every subsect of Brahmins.
> He had a "GOTHRAM", "NAKSHATRAM" et al.
> That incident made me "REAL" proud of my religion. Whatddya think
> Mr. Thathachari?
had changed his name to some hindoo sounding name like Udai(no reference
to anybody in the mailing list that...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu). I asked
him if he had found "The Thing" after his trip to India in the 70's. He
told me that he had. He aslo gave me some stuff like "India is the
mother." I should confess that listening to such people makes
me proud of my religion. This feeling is not akin to the one which
the Langhots(in Mr.Fafat's words) try to propogate. Back in Chidambaram
I met an Englishman who was back packing all over the world. He told me
that the thing he liked about India is the lack of materialism.
I, in my 22 years in India, have seen as much materialism as anyother
part of the world. I clearly remember an incident that occured in the
Birla mandir in Hyderabad. All the gurukkals were Tamil. Two of them
were giving us the 'Theertha" and the "jatari" while gossiping about
their domestic problems. That day I lost all belief in the priests.
Before "Anban" Kathir jumps at this statement, let me clarify. I have
used the word priest and not Priest-class.
The argument some would try to give is -don't let a few stray incidents
deter you. These are not stray incidents. There have been innumerable
such incidents. The Westerners who come to India usually come in search
of something. They go in hoards to people like Osho, Sat-Babe(oops Baba
) etc. They are fed some crap mystical words. They pride themselves
of having seen India. They go back to their friends in their country
and baost about how India changed them. Did these people actually find
out how a street begger outside Kabali koil lives? Did they find out
how the porter in Egmore railway station earns extra money by catching
hold of "berths?" No. They still claim to have seen India.
Even before these westerners, we should accept India as it is. We
should not fall into th etraps set by the Langhots like their glorificat
-tion of the past.
Thaths
Net News
>In Article <1994Jul20....@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com>
>ne...@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News) writes:
>>
>>Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
>>who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
>>categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
>>question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
>>you are>-Brahmin marriages.
>>
>I was under the impression that there was no caste-system in Christianity.
>I think that all this stuff about Brahmin Christians and <whatever caste
>you are> Christians is just nonsense. The caste system is unique to the
>Hindu society.
>
>Ganesh
This is not true. Caste is a *social* classification. One is born into
a caste. There is no way one can change that (this should be obvious).
Members of all castes can convert to another religion. I know for a fact
that as recently as 20 years ago, one's caste was tracked in official
government documents. I have some indication that this is still true.
In the recent indications, I have seen caste as well as religion noted.
It does not matter what one "thinks". The opposite is a fact.
Sreenivasan Ram
what do u mean ?, a pujari is jus doin his work and can find
distractions as we do when we work..(dont tell me u were always
mr. sincere in college and work)..mebbe that pujari had obtained
permission from his *GOD* to get into such digressions while working.
k
That day I lost all belief in the priests.
>Before "Anban" Kathir jumps at this statement, let me clarify. I have
>used the word priest and not Priest-class.
Enppaa varai anavasyamaa izhukire, avar maattu thEmEnu, avar undu
avar velai undu nu irukkaru..ungalai maathiri sila peru avara
usuppEththi vitturaanga, apporam avar dhimmu dhimmu nu
kuthikkavEndiyatha poidarathu :)>
>The argument some would try to give is -don't let a few stray incidents
>deter you. These are not stray incidents. There have been innumerable
>such incidents. The Westerners who come to India usually come in search
>of something. They go in hoards to people like Osho, Sat-Babe(oops Baba
>) etc.
not all i would say...i know lotsa ppl who come and stay with
common ppl to see how their lives are..well , i know this outa
personal experience , cos one of my relatives has this
veda paatashala which is visited by germans and americans, who
r ppl who dont definitely fall for mumbo jumbo crap...actually
they were comin to research the musical quality of this particular
veda called the "geimini" saama veda (which presumably stresses on
musical recitations)
They are fed some crap mystical words. They pride themselves
>of having seen India. They go back to their friends in their country
>and baost about how India changed them. Did these people actually find
>out how a street begger outside Kabali koil lives? Did they find out
>how the porter in Egmore railway station earns extra money by catching
>hold of "berths?" No. They still claim to have seen India.
how do u sir, say tt these ppl represent "true india"??>
The fact is , nobody can get an all encompassin feel of
a big and diverse country like ours. Ppl just see what they want to
see, they see what they lookin for in the first place.
>Even before these westerners, we should accept India as it is. We
>should not fall into th etraps set by the Langhots like their glorificat
>-tion of the past.
whats wrong in being proud of ones heritage and past. all said and done
india did have a glorious past once...we were pioneers in medicine ,
math, philosophy etc etc..and india does need a shot in the arm very
badly after her subjugation by foreign powers..and thats what the
so called "langhots " (whatever that means?) are doin..they need ou r
support this time.lets not fail them and hence our nation.
ram
Thathachari
> In article <1994Jul21...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu> tha...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu (Thathachari) writes:
>>part of the world. I clearly remember an incident that occured in the
>>Birla mandir in Hyderabad. All the gurukkals were Tamil. Two of them
>>were giving us the 'Theertha" and the "jatari" while gossiping about
>>their domestic problems.
> what do u mean ?, a pujari is jus doin his work and can find
> distractions as we do when we work..(dont tell me u were always
> mr. sincere in college and work)..mebbe that pujari had obtained
work is to maintain the sanctity of the temple and conduct prayers on
behalf of the masses. By gossiping in front of the god the gurukkals
in question were acting in a manner which proved to alter the holy
atmosphere of the temple. When you go to friendly neighborhood Udupi
hotel do you want your server to be serving you or do you want him to
be talking to the server of the next table about Yesterdays fight at
his house because he had not taken any left overs home?
Agreed that I was not all that sincere in my college work. But I did
not ever claim that I was sincere. I, in fact, told people that I was
a very bad example to follow. However I did what I liked(like quizzing)
with complete dedication. Have you heard me talking about ooru vambu
when I was conducting a quiz? You should know because you were my
team mate(to give the devil its due) in the first quiz that I took part
in in college.
Daniel C. Gnanaprakasam
The Caste system is alive and kicking among Christians and is just
not confined to the Hindu society. Quite a
few tamiliam christians routinely decide marriages based on caste. Dowry
plays a role as well. There are villages near Tiruchy consisting of only
christians, having separate living areas for christians of low caste origins.
Even appointments in the Church have been tainted by caste politics.
Given this context, Brahmin-Christian marriages are rare, but it does
happen. One of my uncles, married his colleague who happened to be a
Brahmin, and it caused quite a stir among our relatives. We had the
parish priest constantly reminding that she needs to be converted
to Christianity and join the fold. I wound up marrying a Hindu girl as
well, although she is not a Brahmin, and till now I've not heard
what kind of furor it caused among our relatives.
daniel
--
Daniel C. Gnanaprakasam Phone: (609) 386-5995 Ext: 127
Matsushita Applied Research Labs. Fax: (609) 386-4999
95D Conneticut Drive e-mail: dan...@marl.research.panasonic.com
Burlington, NJ 08016
Net News
>In article <1994Jul20....@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com>, ne...@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com (Net News) writes:
>> Christianity is a religion, and Brahmin is a caste. There are Christians
>> who are Brahmins, as well as of other castes, just as Hindus. Please do not
>> categorize all Christians to be of whatever caste you have in mind. A better
>> question would be to ask about Christian-Hindu marriages, or <whatever caste
>> you are>-Brahmin marriages.
>Why shouldn't our friend Anand be referring to Christian-Brahmin
>marriages? Maybe he *is* interested in a particular case of inter
>religious marriages viz. the marriage between a Christian(a religion as
>you point out) and a Brahmin(a caste in another religion ie a subset
>set which is the religion).
True, the caste system originated in hinduism, but hindus based their society
on it. Christianity came much later on, and some of these hindus converted
to Christianity. When they did, they still retained their caste. Christians
don't intermarry between castes as a rule of society, rather than religion.
>Who are you to decide that both parts of
>the marriage question he has asked should be of the same type?
>
If you want to compare apples and oranges, be my guest, but you'll end up
no making too much sense, and looking foolish.
>And *Pray* tell me what you mean by the sentance "ther are Christians
>who are Brahmins????".
>
Members of the Brahmin caste who convert to Christianity are Christian Brahmins.
There are such people. I know them.
>Thaths
Sriram Ganapathy
: Members of the Brahmin caste who convert to Christianity are Christian Brahmins.
: There are such people. I know them.
Thaths. Do you find it incredible???
But Mr. Net News, a Christian Brahmin DOES sound sorta awkward.
The term Brahmin, is derived from the HINDU God Brahma. Though Brahmin has a few
meanings itself, one of them being, "A well civilized person" according to the
Websters Dictionary. The term Christian Brahmin used by a Christian, reveals a
lot of things which goes unsaid, and I don't want to create another Flame :-)
P.S : How does a Hindu Catholic sound to you Thaths?
justinsu...@gmail.com
This conversation that you all had is when j was merely a year old... Shocking how i can relate to it now as i am a christian boy who is in love with a brahmin girl exactly 22 years after your discussion.
Will be really Amazed if i do get a replyor this one
Regards
Justin
