[gettoblaster]

Hi SiamJai, thanks for the comments!

I guess when one is discriminated against or 'reduced', the suffering one goes through is similar. Because the net result is the same for all - estrangement, wonder about whether you were meant for the said word, sapped energy, unable to walk through the street and say these are my fellow-beings, anger! I guess its the same feeling that must have been experienced by africans in US once, people colonised for the first time, the Katoeys at times, and if what you say is the case, the farang in an society which does not open up!

I think I may understand what you say. I will take a simplistic theory... and pardon me for that. While I think it has been the Western world's misdeed trying to own the world. It is Asia's misdeed to keep the Westerner out of their core world. By which the Westerner is more and more mesmerised and crazy about this mystery and works doubly hard to solve it. And the Asian withdraws more and more!!! (And then we have the missionaries.) LOL!

Frankly, its the evolution of our worlds. Its probably not a fault of any kind - Having evolved over ages and now coming together. I think with time we will learn to make each other more and more comfortable as time passes.

On this account, again, I think Thailand is relatively very free and open to foreigners. In my little travel across Asia, I can promise you that in the rest of Asia there is a strong 'colonial hangover'. In India, while one part of everyone is to shower affection to a farang, the other part is so distrusting!! Compared to this, Thailand people, have very little paranoia of farangs and if you talk they are listening, I feel. And I often feel this is because Thailand managed to remain free through the time others got colonised...?

Now, as regards Hinduism, if one goes through the stories, we see place for all kinds of people & all kind of circumstances. You hear of Lord Shiva turning into a beautiful women for some mission. When Lord Vishnu saw him in that guise he got mesmerised and out of their union was born a child which we call now Lord Ayappa - highly reverred in South India. Well, deep down I am not about to confirm if I can proof anything - but Hinduism has been highly imaginative. And it has never damned anyone kind of being.

However, The caste system, is a real problem today. Of course, in the early days it was part of a social system... which was accepted and maintained and stable - and I think was pretty much like most ancient kingdoms around the world?. Typically, children mostly adopt the professions of their parents.

Some would tell that true hinduism is not about genetic caste system. Your caste is about what role you play. If you are learned person, you are a brahmin, wherever you come from. But this got corrupted over time. I am not sure if this is rationalisation or if it is true. Of course, the news we often come across today about discrimination in parts of the country, as a result of caste system, is totally vulgar and unnaceptable in the modern world.

In my understanding the Kothis, as a community, seem never to have any top standings in History... but they were reverred in a manner. Married couple (and when couples had new born babies) would always take their blessings from the Kothis/Hijras before anything else. So, in a way they had some stature.

Even today, some people carry out this practise. But on the whole the society has no time for them or energy to think for them. And that is the sad part. And they live a very miserable life as far as I can say.

I am sorry, this has become a long write up. One more thing though.

You know India is a big country and in the past before the Moghuls came and then the British, there were various kingdoms. While there was a common binding between the cultures by religion and culture, there were also a rich diversity. While a lot of diversity exists even today, many an old practises and beliefs may have gone underground.

Now, in my view, you can see the diversity that India had by going around Asia and seeing the influences. You see the different versions which no longer stand out in India itself. One very obvious part is the popularity of Buddhism once upon a time, which now is little in India but so popular all around the country. In fact, Buddhism caught like wildfire in India and this caused immense anxiety among the Hindu spiritual leaders. And they then got aggresive with their own reformist movement and managed to restore the popularity of Hinduism. Today, there is one sect of Hinduism which believes that Lord Buddha was the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu! Some beleive this is appropriating.

Whatever, the fact is that those were novel ways to deal with life and imaginative!!