(The quest to define ‘Culture Progression’ continues…)
During my childhood, we used to live in a colony of middle-class families. There was only one house in the entire locality with a Television. It was a black-and-white TV with sliding doors. All children in that locality used to call the middle-aged couple “Television Aunty” and “Television Uncle”. Every Sunday morning, all the children (and adults too) used to get together at their house to watch “Ramayana”. It was a small 3 room house, so they had to change the arrangements every Sunday morning, so that all the guests can be seated properly. The only sofa in their house was reserved for the Sr citizens in the locality!
If sharing the rented bicycle (30 paise for 30 minutes), clothes, books, toys with cousins was one aspect of my childhood; the other aspect was the annual holiday trip to village where my granny used to serve dinner in a single plate by having all of us sit in a circle and placing small balls of rice onto each single palm one after the other. It was almost always the same spicy pickle rice to start with, followed by rasam rice and ending with curd rice. As children, I hardly remember we having preferences for spicy/non-spicy, dry/gravy, hot/cold food etc. There were, of course, no MacDs or Subways or Pizzas or Noodles. Food was Indian and choice also was Indian.
Going to relatives’ house or relatives coming to ours was almost always unannounced. Relatives arriving ahead of the post card announcing their arrival was mostly the norm. As children, sleeping at neighbor’s or relative’s place making room for the guests was considered respectful. There was no discomfort in the fact that we had to “adjust” or “accommodate”.
With limited family income internally, and limited options available externally, life seemed to be simple. But this was late 1980s and early 1990s. If one Television in the entire locality having only one channel was “luxury” in those times; 3 TVs per family having 300 channels each is a “necessity” now. If “sharing” a rented bicycle with distant cousins was perfectly normal then; having “separate” sets of bicycles, skating shoes, toys, books and color pencil sets even among own siblings is the norm today. If having same menu for dinner for everyone in the family was normal then; having it “customized” as per the “personal preference” is what children are enjoying today. If building a house after retirement (with all the life’s hard earned money) was considered a proud moment then; buying a house by withdrawing the Provident Fund is nothing but normal now.
From the cultural buzzwords like “Interdependence”, “Being Accommodating and Adjusting”,”Sharing”, “Being Conservative” to now “Being Independent”, “Having Personal Space”, “Being Liberal”, our kids and families have certainly changed a lot! (the four teenage girls for example!!!). The opening up of our economy brought us more jobs, more income and naturally more avenues to spend that income. A new societal behavior has emerged alongside India’s progress! But has our culture changed?
The Telecom Revolution brought us cheaper phones, networks and airtime; and we in turn, started taking appointments before visiting our friends and relatives. But has our respect towards guests changed?
The FMCG revolution brought cheaper household goods; and we in turn, started becoming smaller families with multiple kitchens and refrigerators and ovens for the same set of people. But has our respect towards our parents living next floor changed?
The Internet Revolution closed the distance between us and rest of the world; and we in turn, started posting, tweeting and whatsapp-ing rather than meeting friends next door. But has our respect towards relationships changed?
Isn’t it natural progression though? Would I be happy being in the same 3 room house that I once lived in my childhood? Definitely NO. Would we resist checking out the latest Sedan models or the best five star restaurant, just because our parents could not afford them 20 years ago? Not at all! The Nation has to progress economically; the families have to progress economically; every individual has to progress economically. Its just natural. Our “attitude to life” might have changed drastically but has our “Core Values” changed too?
Hmmm…as it seems, “Culture” with its pillars of “Values” and “Behaviors” is a terribly complicated subject. While we have started “reacting to situations” differently in line with the progress of the economy (which is unstoppable), somehow our core “Values” which binds us together and makes up the social fabric, still seem to be intact. The “Respect” towards our family, guests, elders, teachers and surroundings still seem to be deeply embedded within.
And can we ever measure “Cultural Progression”? We tend to become judgmental by looking at the visible behavioral change in the society, but its extremely difficult to gauge the amount of shift in our “core values”.
While we cannot foresee and decide how our next generation shapes out to be, we can at least ensure that our children grow up embedding the rich values! India as a nation will certainly keep progressing economically; but cultural progression – only as long as we keep reinforcing the value system that our ancestors passed on to us. And the onus of upholding the values is not just on our women (who fall victim to the prejudice unfortunately), but its on each and every one of us.
Jai Hind!
(published Nov 2014)
