Ever heard words like, "Hindi movies!!! Oh man! I rather prefer watching none".. or "Indian Classical?? Only western rock is what rocks!!" Well, I have, and it pains my heart to see that the people who speak this are none other than my own mates, my pals.. I find it rather scary to hear such stuff coming from an Indian, more so, a youngster.
Our country is a beautiful place. Every country has two sides to its coin. Perhaps we choose to overlook the positive side in our coin? Such great diversity and merger of so many cultures, languages, arts, people. We all seem to accept it now, maybe. But what about our ethics and values?? Old habits which hinder progress should of course be put to a stop. But what about those, which make us unique? Those, which give us our identity? Those, which today seem to be old and forgotten and restricted??
Our life is greatly influenced by Western life, thanks to the media. But how much are we going to let it affect us? The matter now is not just restricted to dressing sense, which needs to change with time. I mean to point out the more influential and deciding factor, our mind. Most of us blindly appreciate the West but never give a thought to our own motherland. Why, even in T.V. serials, we see women wearing saris in the ultimate way it isn’t supposed to be worn! What is that is making us this way? Is it our dislike for ourselves, or the very little confidence we have in ourselves???? Time changes behaviour, thinking, lifestyle and more... but by how much??
And why is it that we refuse to see the other side of the west? Why is it that we expect our parents to take care of us like Indian parents even when we cross twenty but refuse to let them know what happens in our life like the Americans? Why don’t we earn our living like they do when they are barely teenagers? Why is it that we refuse to acknowledge the good qualities they have adapted in themselves?
There are so many of us who readily follow the West? But how many of us follow punctuality?
How many of us respect others rights? How many of us follow laws laid down for us? How many of us are hard working people who love their work? How many of us accept their responsibilities and fulfill them?? When will we quit being lazy? When will we learn to respect what is ours and how much it has given us??
While the West is now turning their attention towards the Indian culture and is awed by it, we ourselves wish to become even more western than the West!!
So this is a pleading request to all the youngsters to respect their own country first and then look at others. Because if we want our country to be a Superpower, it’s up to us to make India shine around the globe by loving and nurturing it, and not by following the unimportant values of others.
5 comments:
You do realise that there is very little tradition involved in western culture right?
Technically, I think it is incorrect to say we are being influenced by western culture. In fact, I think we are being influenced by American culture (it appears western because the countries in the west have been already heavily influenced by it)
Now, I think this is a bit complex issue. We need to ask ourselves one thing: Is it for our better or worse? I think we certainly need to assimilate certain aspects of American culture in our lives (their sense of democracy, freedom of speech, etc) but I think other stuff from it, even if they are assimilated eventually should be gradual, over decades rather than months.
how do hindi movies amount to our culture???
most of todays movies are crap...
notice that i used most not all b-cuz some of the movies are exceptional but they are small in number unfortunately
i agree with most of the rest
Eh ?
Dragon-man, most people don't give a screw about any culture, and americans are really freaks with no culture...
They borrow their shit from the Europe, Mexico, Asia, Africa and a couple of hundred countries...
The rest of whatever they have(ie Britney and other stuff) is not culture...
Otherwise, yes, a lot of people are following the wrong values of any and every culture...
PS :
I really don't like hindi movies(and looking at Mithun, I can't)...
I really don't enjoy most movies...
I do like Indian music, and so do a couple of other thousand people who attend the Janfest at Xavier's every January...
Indian literature is awesome possum, and a lot of people love it, which is why it has survived until now...
Do give the some of the youth some credit...
The rest can boil their heads...
:)
y thank u ppl for ur comments.. i used the first lines to indicate the subject and i wasnt speakin of very recent movies...
its good to hear u say dat.. cuz ppl have told me dat line on my face.. which is y i wrote it...
(the one abt music)
If it's really personal liberty and freedom of choice that we are talking about as the values "stolen" from the "Western" culture, let it be the choice of youth to decide what they really wish to hear and watch on TV. There are people who unabashedly express their dislike for the traditional and classical Indian stuff. I am one of them.
Culture, is how exactly you define it. It is a set of rituals and practices that have evolved over the centuries, or millennia possibly. It's dynamic, honey! It doesn't arrive a certain point where you say, "Ah! It's perfect!" and wish it to stay status quo ante forever! Amalgamation, exchanges, hybridisations do occur in the course of time assimilating good and bad from various other "cultures." Evolution, is the keyword here.
And if you're really concerned over the "plight of the Indian culture", have faith in the tenacity of the Indian heritage. It has survived till date, it might see some undesirable mutations happening, but it's gonna stride on!
http://hatedoingthisnamingstuff.blogspot.com/
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