The Unanswered Question

The little boy fought back the tears. He had been kicked out of the way by an upper class Brahmin named Dr.Chandrapaul. The year was 1985 and several high-rise buildings were sprouting out of Bombay’s ancient soil. Near the luxurious Bhopadia condominium was a lush green hill, which cast a looming shadow over the people on the other side.
The dirty little shack made of old ragged cloth and rotting wood had been the family home for over twenty years. The great and grand economic booms of the decade seemed to pass this area of Bombay by. It was quite simply because although the Indian government had made untouchables citizens like everyone else, the rich and powerful Brahmin caste did not agree. Prabhakar Raj Patel, a Brahmin, was mayor of Bombay and he too secretly felt that the untouchables were below them and not as worthy or even as “human” as they were. Prabhu, as his friends called him was a man who had been to both Oxford and Cambridge but returned to India to pursue a life in politics. He enjoyed the cutthroat world of politics and his relentless brought him to the top.
Keshava was an untouchable. He worked for Bharat Doshi, a kind man who liked Keshava and his family. Bharat hated his fellow Bhramin’s philosophy of untouchables and wanted to free them all but being a film director was not the perfect tool for him. He had made several films to show the real world of the untouchables, which received worldwide acclaim. But back in India he received death – threats from Brahmin extremists. He was very rich though, so he could fund his movies without any financial support from others, which was not going to be there for such a controversial director.
Keshava wanted to be a film star like Amitav Baachan or Amir Khan. He had been in several of Bharat’s films but through these films he began to understand the hatred Bhramins felt for untouchables. This shocked him greatly because as far as he knew everyone was equal. One day in August the fans were on at full speed and the cars honked away on the jam-packed roads. A cool breeze blew past and suddenly the clouds broke for five hours the rain pounded upon the apartment building and the gardens around the tower.
Far below Keshava and his friends were playing in the mud at the edges of the street while vegetable sellers rushed to clear away their stalls from the heavy rainfall.
“Mr. Doshi. A phone call for you.” Malik called. Several people were rushing around the set getting the movie ready for takes. Keshava was ready for his work and was waiting patiently in a seat near the editing booth.
A few weeks later at Eros in Churchgate the premier of Bharat’s new film had begun and Amitav arrived in a beautiful limousine to place his foot directly into a muddy puddle. He simply laughed it off and walked into the honour seats at the top of the theatre.
Keshava’s performance brought tears to all the eyes in the room and Amitav had to talk to Bharat about bringing Keshava into showbiz;

“My dear friend Bharat, this boy Keshava is a gem. I would love to bring him into the beautiful world of Bollywood,” Amitav proclaimed.
“Well Amitav, Keshava is considered as an untouchable, how would those Bhramins like that? Not very much I tell you,” Bharat sighed.
“No worries Bharat, we will make him into a star” Amitav said with a twinkle in his eye. Almost five weeks later Keshava was working on two different films and was being hailed as the perfect child actor. He was only ten and yet in half-a-year his life had twisted around completely. Both films were great successes earning Keshava millions of rupees, making him one of the richest children in India.
Everyone loved him. Even Dr Chandrapaul was praising him, but this was much too confusing for poor Keshava.
How could he, once hated for no obvious reason, suddenly be loved by all? Why was he hated then, when he was an untouchable and loved now that he was a film star? “I mean, after all, I am the same person and all” He prayed to God for an answer, hoping to get one.