A barber mayor

As a schoolboy in India I had the impression that America was a concrete jungle. I had this from the color pictures that appeared in the journals we used to receive very rarely from US.

I came to this country in 2001 to work as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where the city's skyscrapers justified my false impression about America. Afterward, I was transferred to New Jersey, which further reinforced my childhood imagination.

In 2014, I moved to Beeville, a small town in Texas that is a community primarily of farming people. My experience in this small town made me realize that this nation has a very different face, too.

There are not many tall buildings here; life is very slow-paced. People are very informal, unassuming and friendly. There is no heavy traffic on the road, and there is simplicity everywhere.

I began to feel more at home with the place and people. Though I hailed from a different culture and country, I never felt any strangeness, and I could easily get along with the society and the lifestyle.

I commenced working as Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Beeville, in the Diocese of Corpus Christi on December 2014. One of the reasons that I opted for this diocese was that it is away from big cosmopolitan cities, and I would have a different pastoral experience.

It was hardly one month since I arrived in Beeville when I went to one of the barbershops in the town for a haircut. As soon as I entered the shop the shopkeeper greeted me and introduced himself as Kenneth Chesshir, a parishioner at St. Joseph. As any barber is likely to do, while working on my hair he started talking. But this man was dignified in his speech. I was highly impressed.

When I was about to pay him, he said, “I give my priests free haircuts. If you are very particular please drop it in the donation box.”

Since there were no customers at that time in the shop, I entered into a conversation with him. I learned that he had served the city as mayor for 13 years, and he has been in the haircut business ever since he took it over from his parents in 1977.

He was very proud to share with me that his family was involved in this business for the last 100 years. Some of the old-fashioned instruments used by his ancestors were displayed on the wall. He was very excited to show them to me.

On my way back home, I was wondering: "A mayor working as a barber! Could this happen in India?"

The key to the progress and many developments achieved by this nation is the willingness of its citizens to do any kind of job. They believe any profession has its own dignity, and none is judged on the type of work he or she does, but on how the work is done.

This is in sharp contrast with the mentality of the society of India. Though banned, India is still under the grip of the social evil of a caste system.

Broadly speaking, a caste system is a process of placing people in occupational groups. Rooted in religion and based on a division of labor, the caste system, among other things, dictates the type of occupations a person can pursue and the social interactions that she or he may have.

Originally, castes are an aspect of Hindu religion, but in practice every Indian is under the spell of the caste system.

The most tragic reality is that most of the manual work is set apart for the low caste. They do not have the social recognition, and they are considered inferiors. If ever anyone wants to climb up the hierarchical ladder, his or her mobility is strictly prohibited.

In modern India, it is a crime to practice the caste system thanks to the leadership given by Mahatma Gandhi. Still, India is not fully emancipated from the negative influence of this practice. It has pervaded the whole labyrinth of Indian society and its economy. It is a contradiction that even Christian communities in India are not free from this evil.

The profession of a barber was exclusively set apart for the lowest caste, and they were looked down upon too.

Hence, an Indian is wondering at a mayor in the US who is working as a barber.

Unless and until Indians free themselves from the discrimination they show against their own fellow beings and the social stigma attached to manual work, India cannot claim that it is a free society. This is applicable to any nation and any people.

Pope Francis said: "We do not get dignity from power or money or culture. We get dignity from work." And noted: "Work is fundamental to the dignity of the person. Work, to use an image, 'anoints' with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God who has worked and still works, who always acts."

My wish is that all men and women learn to respect and appreciate all kinds of work and workers.