To be honest, I've met only one North Indian brahmin family. Okay, maybe if I thought really hard about it, I'd know two, but frankly, most of the North Indians I know are Patels, Mehtas, and Jains. I know nothing about North Indian brahmin traditions. Whether they separate themselves into gothras--clans, for lack of a better term--is particularly one that plagues me. I'm Kaundinya gothra, and my cross-cousin's Kaushika.

So how about them Northerners? Are they still in Gothras, and do they use their gothras in the way that Southerners do?