"They don't belong to our culture. They cannot rule us! "
"Our culture has been ruined by the Mughals and the British, and the PM is trying to safeguard our culture and bring it back to the original glory"
"I marry within my community and caste so that our cultures are similar and it is easy to live"
These are quotes from a few Indian friends recently. These got me thinking! What is culture? "The ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular set of people or society are what we call as a culture," says a simple google search.
So, the idea that parents searched for a spouse for a person(arranged marriages) rather than the person seeking it on their own (Love marriages) was part of the Indian culture! At least that was a predominant idea which prevailed among the people of Indian origin and so it had to be part of the Indian culture. The custom or practise of inviting people with folded hands, or getting the blessings of elders by falling at their feet was prevalent among the Indian community and so this had to be part of our culture. That woman wore sarees and men wore dhotis were part of our folklore and so had to be a part of the culture as well I presume.
But life has moved on! The so-called culture of yesteryears looks redundant for the next generation. Love marriages are commonplace happenings now. And nobody wears a saree like how my great grandmother wore it. I neither fold hands nor fall at the feet of any elder, not that I disrespect them, just that the form of respect I show have changed.
My belief system has changed vastly from what my forefathers believed in! My parental generation followed signs and omens; Mine don't care one hoot about them. My antecedents celebrated many festivals. The entire context of those celebrations has changed now. One of the more famous festivals of my culture 'The Pongal' was a form of thanksgiving for the year's harvest. Nobody in the family harvests anymore. Not that we don't have things to thank God for, but the premise of my thanksgiving ceremonies have changed and with that my forms of worship and thanksgiving have changed as well.
And by the way, culture does not address one important question! How long should an idea, a custom or a social behaviour be a part of our set of people for it to be attributed to our culture? So, if my society practices a habit for 50 years is it our culture? Or should we practice it for 500 years? So is the concept of joint family which was practised by my society for many generations my culture, or the nuclear family which we practice for the last two or three generation my culture?
So, it is clearly confusing! Ain't it? It is! For my logical questioning brain. Ah, yes! There were many demeaning and even harmful practises, which defined our culture. I don't even want to talk about them, So when we use the term culture do we make a mountain out of a molehill? Is cultural enshrinement such a big virtue to be expected out of a leader? or a life partner?
Ideas will change; Practices ought to change. Social behaviours change. And so should culture, along with all of them. For the better, for the worse! But change it will. For change is the culture of change!
"Our culture has been ruined by the Mughals and the British, and the PM is trying to safeguard our culture and bring it back to the original glory"
"I marry within my community and caste so that our cultures are similar and it is easy to live"
These are quotes from a few Indian friends recently. These got me thinking! What is culture? "The ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular set of people or society are what we call as a culture," says a simple google search.
So, the idea that parents searched for a spouse for a person(arranged marriages) rather than the person seeking it on their own (Love marriages) was part of the Indian culture! At least that was a predominant idea which prevailed among the people of Indian origin and so it had to be part of the Indian culture. The custom or practise of inviting people with folded hands, or getting the blessings of elders by falling at their feet was prevalent among the Indian community and so this had to be part of our culture. That woman wore sarees and men wore dhotis were part of our folklore and so had to be a part of the culture as well I presume.
But life has moved on! The so-called culture of yesteryears looks redundant for the next generation. Love marriages are commonplace happenings now. And nobody wears a saree like how my great grandmother wore it. I neither fold hands nor fall at the feet of any elder, not that I disrespect them, just that the form of respect I show have changed.
My belief system has changed vastly from what my forefathers believed in! My parental generation followed signs and omens; Mine don't care one hoot about them. My antecedents celebrated many festivals. The entire context of those celebrations has changed now. One of the more famous festivals of my culture 'The Pongal' was a form of thanksgiving for the year's harvest. Nobody in the family harvests anymore. Not that we don't have things to thank God for, but the premise of my thanksgiving ceremonies have changed and with that my forms of worship and thanksgiving have changed as well.
And by the way, culture does not address one important question! How long should an idea, a custom or a social behaviour be a part of our set of people for it to be attributed to our culture? So, if my society practices a habit for 50 years is it our culture? Or should we practice it for 500 years? So is the concept of joint family which was practised by my society for many generations my culture, or the nuclear family which we practice for the last two or three generation my culture?
So, it is clearly confusing! Ain't it? It is! For my logical questioning brain. Ah, yes! There were many demeaning and even harmful practises, which defined our culture. I don't even want to talk about them, So when we use the term culture do we make a mountain out of a molehill? Is cultural enshrinement such a big virtue to be expected out of a leader? or a life partner?
Ideas will change; Practices ought to change. Social behaviours change. And so should culture, along with all of them. For the better, for the worse! But change it will. For change is the culture of change!
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