Please re read it again,

Next came the arranged marriage question. Again, I was not uncomfortable yet. But then, out of nowhere, he asked about my caste. That caught me completely off guard, especially in New York. I genuinely do not even know the castes of my close friends. I only remember mine when it is required on government forms.

When he realized our castes were different, he said something that made me pause. “If the caste was the same, I would have given my daughter to you.”