Tales from Gengapuram-Deepa’s Story

Untouchability has its roots in India like its culture,religion,pride and diversity.We are born with it and we die with it.We neither question nor dare to find answers.It has survived like a label,a name,an identity.One may not believe in caste,yet one can’t change the belief of others . The whole notion of Purity and Pollution is born along with the passage of a child  into the world. A soul is denied and yet we believe in puritan diktats that say, a soul has a tag.It is unfortunate that casteism which started as Varna system(dividing society on the basis of profession) not only became the most accepted pervasive hierarchial system in all the other prevalent faiths of this country but also retained its exploitative and contemptuous form.Wherever one went,caste followed.India invites and celebrates difference but s ome differences are intensely painful;some differences also remain untouched,unquestioned.

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Gengapuram (Tamil Nadu),a minuscule village is not any different  from the rest of our tiny villages and towns. But first the story. One day, the picture of a little girl called Deepa was published on Unboxed Writers (thanks to the efforts of travelling author Mary Morgan) with her story ;she had a hole in her heart. Deepa’s story was deeply moving,she had something in her eyes.With her folded hands,our Indian way of expressing gratitude;she asked for help.May be she was urging us to help ourselves.We have a hole in our whole civilization ; we are yet to know how to seek solutions.Nevertheless,the story didn’t leave me untouched.I decided to send/spend some money.We call it contribution towards helping others and it swells us like nothing can.So,I was elated-I did something,aye!

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A few days later,another picture came-this time her heart was healed and she showed her acknowledgment.She didn’t actually run away with that money nor her parents had played any game. I thought of her folded hands for so many days to come and I liked the way she actually prayed for all of us.She didn’t need prayers for her self but us. And her little heart did that. She touched us.We couldn’t stop her, no barriers stopped her from reaching where she landed-straight in our holes. She touched us with light and filled us with unconditional trust. Her love crossed bodies, borders, boundaries and trajectories. She bridged the gaps like a master communicator.With her magical folded hands-Deepa,the little untouchable girl from Gengapuram,came magically healing our hearts, touching our souls, balming our meticulous minds and yet smiling coyly with her red ribboned shining plaits.

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So,we reached Gengapuram to see Deepa where she shone like a Goddess for Deepa means -light, a flame which allows one to see the holes and flaws; a flame which heals, feels and connects; a flame which fights eclipses; a flame which leaves questions and conquers untouchable minds.

Sarab Sri Kaur was brought up in Chandigarh, educated in the UK and today runs Training Cafe, a small venture where she nurtures creative learning using original and individual techniques.