beachgirl

A begging girl from the "untouchables" caste on the beach in Mamallapuram. The caste system is still socially followed in India, so many people responded to me like I was royalty because I come from the world's dominant culture. They all seemed to think I was a millionaire, and compared to most people there, I am. Many of them actually believed I was better than they were, which weirded me out a little - people working in the hotels enthusiastically saluted me when I came out of my room. On the other hand, many of the upper caste people there believe they are better than westerners, because we aren't Hindus.