February 14 My name is Ratash (which means the king), and | am of the Hindu caste of Brahmin. Brahmin caste members are of the highest social ranking and have wealth and power among those in the Hindu religion. Most importantly, we, Brahmin, are pure and not polluted like the oh-so pitiful Untouchables and other lower classes. | ama Brahmin priest. Not all Brahmin are priests, some are scholars and other professions like government jobs. Being a Brahmin also means that | am a vegetarian (though other Brahmin may eat fish and drink milk from time to time). | am 30 years old and unlike other religions, Hindu priests may be married. | have a 26 year old wife, Tomorrow, a holiday called Shivaratr is to be celebrated. | am really excited to lead the ceremony. February 15 Being a Brahmin priest is rather a lot of work, much less just being a Brahmin. | start my day getting up two hours before sunrise. Then, | brush my teeth, bathe (in cold water, of course), and follow sandhyavandanam. After my time of worship, | continue my honoring of the gods by studying and chanting the Vedas. After studying, | go around town and spread the word to my fellow Brahmins and to some of the lower caste groups, who | bother to associate with. My worship does not end there. | gather flowers for my later worship and bathe right before. Although, today happens to be a special day. Today we celebrate to honor Lord Shiva. As a priest, itis very important that | show great respect. | head to the temple with my wife now, can't wait to lead the ceremony! February 16 | can't believe what those Untouchables did today! As | was walking down the street doing my charity work of giving food to those that | bother to associate with, one of those impure Untouchables cut in front of me. In fact, he tripped and used me to make sure he didn't fall. Can you believe it! That man’s touch was so revolting, not to mention that | immediately had to return to my temple and purify myself. That's an hour of my time wasted, all because an Untouchable touched me. The ideal Because of this, my wife wouldn't even come near until had purified myself. It is a good thing that this horrific incident happened today and not yesterday. If it had happened yesterday, my fellow Brahmin would never have let me lead the ceremony that honors Lord Shiva! ‘Anyway, | need to head back to my temple so | can purify myself again, just to be safe.