I've been pretty lucky with how and where I grew up, materially I lacked nothing I needed , but my father who grew up in what Americans would call 'housing projects', despite his advanced maths education and subsequent successes still carries something of that background in his appearance, speech and humour, and has imparted a certain cultural stamp on all of his children. I work in a company where I see this caste behaviour among Indians very clearly, but I also see something else. Privilege gives you a comfort with privilege, an understanding of it's language and perspective, an expectation to be able to command others. My co-workers from wealthy Brahmin backgrounds communicate more naturally with Australians from similar backgrounds than I do. I communicate more naturally with Indians from more modest backgrounds, and the company falls organically into a certain hierarchy as a result of our behaviour.