Climbing the Stairs Post # 1

In the beginning of Climbing the Stairs  by Padma Venkatraman, Vidya is a girl my age living in Bombay, India during the first year or so of WW2.  This is also the time of Gandhi's non-violent peace protests.  Vidya's mother wants her to get married soon, but her father sees that Vidya is smart enough to go to college.  One day while near the scene of a peace protest, Vidya's father witnesses a British officer strike down a woman in the crowd and he rushes to help her because he is a doctor.  Sadly, Vidya's father gets trampled by the crowd and becomes severely brain damaged.  Having nowhere else to go, Vidya's mother decides to move her family to Madrass, where Vidya's father's family lives.  Her father's family is very caste (Hindu class system) prejudiced. They are brahmins, the highest level of Indian society, and look down their noses at anyone lower. Vidya's life in Bombay was far more simple, her father and mother encouraged her to be friends with all people, regardless of caste. 

I will continue my report tomorrow!