Govindaraj's short story, 'Empty Pride,' in the anthology, 'Black Coffee in a Coconut Shell' speaks about the disparity he faced within his established profession based on his caste
The persisting casteism in our society prevents most people from lower castes from getting a job; however, even those who have been given the opportunity of working in an established field still face this casteism. Black Coffee in a Coconut Shell is a series of thirty-two lived experiences of casteism in India. One of the contributors to the book, Govindaraj, wrote the piece 'Empty Pride'. His short story navigates through Govindraj's life, growing up in the caste system and how the establishment of his Periappa's profession as the Kudimagan, the one who takes care of the shaving and cutting of hair of the entire village, influenced his experience as a person belonging to the Maruthuvar caste. He spoke of certain things that surprised him about his caste, one of them being how the shortening of names was a practice in all castes. He also divulged to the readers how his father had chosen not to follow the caste profession and work in the mills. It is interesting to see then that Govindaraj decides to practice Homeopathy, which is in line with his caste profession. A noteworthy incident that Govindaraj experienced was when he was invited to attend to a patient who had cardiac asthma. While treating him, Govindaraj was stunned when he was asked if he was a Mudaliar, implying that it would make the patient feel better to be treated by someone from that caste. Even on their deathbed, casteism plagues people's judgments and decisions, evidence of how deep it runs in our country. In medical practices and medical education, people are essentially being forced to treat the people who look at them differently and consider them inferior. The basis of the caste system was the hierarchy caused by the disparity of professions that eventually evolved from competence to inheritance by birth. Although competence is given importance in the current structures of society, due to preconceived notions, caste is still viewed as a restraint. The deep-rooted casteism that continues to persist in this society, even against people with established professions, can be made evident when lived experiences, like that of Govindaraj, are given the opportunity to be amplified.
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