If caste has disappeared from the Indian Scenario

As once opposed by vicious phenomenon courtesy the great cultural heritge of India (Casteist Hinduism to be precise), on this day of modern era we easily get to see, rather do, people blending together regardless of their creed or caste in holy places like Udupi. It was the first time I had been to the ancestral town of Madhwa Brahmins in almost two decades. I remember my grqndmother talkung about the ways in Udupi back during their era; how the upper caste folks would keep lower caste people below their belts, suppressing the growth of such people in every way possible. Altering the Vedabhyaasa system and reserving it for the privileged elite was one such step. Something similar to what Dan Brown highlighted in his genius of a work, The Da Vinci Code. If there is some kind of a theory affirming the deep rooted evil of casteism then such a tattva is a manipulated one. The original Caste system was simply a way of dividing people on the basis of the work they performed. As far as I know, this was not something decided at birth, but rather taken up gradually as a person grows. But then Brahmins became the holders of Knowledge and confined it within themselves. While the so called lower caste people were discriminated. The practice continued for such a long time that it was sealed as a superstrong theory.
The system in the southernmost state of Kerala was even worse where untouchability was practiced even between certain classes of Brahmins themselves. Certain saints and Mahapurushas have appeared every once in a while to throw light on the real thing, but despite efforts most of them just ended up with large numbers of followers. What was the use of such a massive worship when it only increased the gap between the castes, the higher ones feeling more and more insecure regarding their hold in the modern social setup.
I am sitting here inside a Mandapam in Udupinangadi near Udupi, South Karnataka, attending my cousin's engagement ceremony. Psst... I just heard someone murmuring something about lower caste people. Anyway let me pack up everything and take you where I began my blogpost.  Things have changed around here, no more are there caste driven streets and temples restricting entry to the 'lower people'. But we still have to go a long way before the Indian society is free from the evil of caste, something that can be done by open mindedly (and open heartedly) accepting intercaste marriages and gatherings. Come on! Out of a billion people an Indian can only marry someone from his or her own religion and caste, where does that leave us? THINK!