VarNa & JAti

[Balaji Hebbar]

To  further  comment  on  this:

I  forgot  there  is  also  a  "fourth  secular  modern"  meal  area  in
DharmasthaLa  with  table  meals  for  those  who  choose  not  to  sit
in  any  of  the  3  panktis  mentioned  before.  This  came  to  my
mind  because  when  I  had  taken  an  American  Jesuit  priest  a  few
years  back,  the  HeggaDE  (after  our  interview  with  him)  asked
his  assistant  that  we  be  seated  in  the  "secular  fourth  area"!
Normally  when  I  go  there  with  my  family,  we  go  there  ddressed
like  traditional  MAdhva-VaishNava  brahmins  and  we  are  asked  to
sit  in  the  brahmin  dining  area.

This  has  never  been  a  problem  anywhere  in  coastal  Karnatak.  I
would  even  add  Uttar  Karnatak.  The  LingAyats  and  the  Jains
there  have  their  own  ritual  and  dietary  restrictions  and  they
fully  understand  if  brahmins  have  their  own.  There  is  a  sort
of  mutual  respect.  In  fact  both  LingAyats  as  well  as  Jains  do
not  allow  people  who  do  not  belong  to  their  groups  into  their
kitchen  areas.

Regards,
B.N.Hebbar