Sins of the Father

What blood coarses through these veins
That be'it my own
Or of my progenitors of yore?
What wounds do you carry
Of injustice today,
Or of generations before your own?
Where ends this cycle
Of endless retribution
Why must I pay
For the "sins" of my forefathers?
- Harish

I'm not apologizing for mistakes that are not of my own actions..
I'm not begging plaudits/forgiveness for deeds/mis-deeds of my ancestors
Lets start judging each other by our actions of today,
The hurt may be there, but guilting people into paying reparations based on follies that are not of our own is just plain wrong..
The seeds of dissension in Indian society are far deep-rooted into the psyche of the common Indian. There are so many different categories to slot yourself into, and to further sub-categorize yourself into.
I never knew who I was, until I was forced into a corner. And all for good reason. Mumbai, the city of dreams, where everyone from the crass CEO to the honest daily-wage worker rub shoulders on the ubiquitous mode of transport - the Mumbai local, is home to me, and my innate respect for the other man. We never did judge on where we were from, or what we spake, or what God we worshipped. Life was good..
My tryst with Indians in America changed all that. Most Indians in America are insecure - both mentally and financially, which is quite ironic, considering most Indians migrate to America to make more money. Here you would see people bond only with people from their own state/religion. Its just nauseating. The poor cosmopolitan Mumbaikar is caught in a dilemma, on which side to take. I am not the one to find myself slot into a category, although even if I did, it just wouldn't work out!
People have tried to gauge my personality based on my "TamBram" lineage. Unfortunately this makes for (a) a bad rude surprise (b) a cheap stereotype, neither of which the closed-minded people are ready for.
A peek into my lineage shows I've got a lot to be proud of - but I'm not going to rest on the laurels of the past, and I want Indians in India and abroad to be more judging of people's abilities.
I've tried being someone else, I've given it a shot from time to time, but it just wouldn't work - I am proud to be an individual, without claims to inherit any legacy, good or bad. I'm a child of this free world, and I'd be damned before you insular people hate me for something that I am not!
Give me the tolerance of Mumbai anyday over the narrow-mindedness of the rest of India. MNS be damned. There are 30 million Indians living in this mega-city without hatred, and we are as Maharashtrian as varan-baath. You can challenge that over my dead body...
P.S> This author was born in Mumbai and spent 18 glorious years in that city