Unity in Diversity, or…..?

Forgive me if this post is a bit of a mish mash of ideas and tends to be all over the place. However, given the political and social realities of the times in which we all live, I could not help making a few observations today, in a way interconnected, in others totally disconnected.

As a language instructor at the Goethe Institute, I have the opportunity to participate in a lot of cultural and academic events. Today is the inauguration ceremony of one such conference. The evening started with the who’s who of the institute and the consulate – mostly Germans – lighting the ceremonial lamp. Normally I would not think twice about it, but in this day and era of extreme polarization, based to a large extent on religious and cultural differences, I could not help notice a nice, warm feeling spreading inside with the light emanating from those lamps. Christmas is celebrated with much gusto at the institute – it is as German as it can get in an Indian context. Onam is celebrated with huge flower rangolis and a feast on banana leaves, Diwali is also celebrated with rangolis, staff turning up in their festive best ….. it can’t get more “Multi-kulti” (as the Germans would call it) than this. What a wonderful feeling. I couldn’t help thinking – no sensible person would or could object to being part of any celebration, no matter which culture or religion they are a part of. Such times really take me back to my younger days when this was the “normal” – or to put it in today’s lingo, this was the “old normal”.

What a stark contrast this is to the ‘not our culture’ attitude which is so all-pervasive in our society today! It would be hypocritical to say that a certain degree of resentment does not creep in, under circumstances when one feels that one section of society is being appeased at the cost of others. This, however, is more of a reaction to a political situation than any deep rooted hostility to other cultures/religions.

From there, it is not a particularly huge leap to talk of language chauvinism. Just the other day, I saw a tweet in the German language, put out by an ex-colleague. It was political in nature. Needless to say, there was an instant response to his tweet, demanding to know what “kind of language” this was. Another time there was a disparaging remark because of his profession and his community – he is flowing against the tide and so some people of his own community really gun for him (figuratively speaking, so far, thank God!!!)

The never-ending discord over regional languages and national language is one more issue in question. “Why should we accept any other language other than our regional language” was another argument at the centre of a fight between a courier and the security staff at the gate of a housing complex. So much so that it went live on Facebook, with a regional cultural group being involved. At this rate all of us who can only speak 2 or 3 regional and/or national languages have only two options – learn all the regional and official languages of our country or don’t travel outside the state.

When will people learn that language is a means of communication, a doorway to the world, its peoples and cultures and that such chauvinism will shut all doors to any possibility of enriching one’s existence – damn, you can’t even curse any person in a language they understand!!!!! If someone is so dumb as not to be able to learn your language, you’d rather not communicate with that person, rather than speak he/she can understand? When did language become a divisive factor instead of a uniting one?

God give us sense!!!

Because Society Says So!

“Oh, we don’t mind.  Really, but we have to do this because we have to live in this society”.  How many times have you heard this?

Your son/daughter does not want to get married.  But you are under”social pressure” to get them married, more so if it is a daughter.

Your son/daughter is in a live in relationship or worse still in a gay/lesbian relationship.  What will society say?

Your off-spring marries outside the caste, religion, nationality, takes up a course of study that is off the beaten track.  What will the all pervasive society say?

Yes, of course, you would not have said anything.  You would have let them have their way, had it not been for that society.

Your daughter-in-law does not wear all the symbols of marriage.  She does not perform poojas and rituals.  Your young widowed daughter/daughter-in-law/sister ….. is ‘seeing’/going out with someone or is planning to get married.  She goes to a social event all dressed up nicely – what will society say?

You lost your husband and are hesitating to attend a social function because you are afraid of “society”.  You are afraid of wearing bright coloured clothes.  You do not want to bless a newly married couple.  You are childless and are afraid to bless a new born baby.  Why?  The bogeyman society is watching you.

Ask anyone.  They do everything they do because society demands it.  They have to do so if they have to live in society.  Do they believe society is right?  May not necessarily be so.  “But we cannot change society” is the refrain. PRAY, WHO IS THAT SOCIETY?  Who cares today what you do or what you don’t?

You take up a line of study which that “society” expects you to take up.  Marry according to the diktats of “society”.  You are miserable tomorrow.  Where is that “society”?  Get onto the rooftop and holler for help?  You can be crying in the wilderness.  Is anyone bothered?  So who is going to live with the effects of their actions?  You or society?

Why do we choose to live with such a herd mentality like brainless, witless sheep and refuse to truly “LIVE LIFE” on our own terms and condition?  Food for thought isn’t it?

Does Our Culture Really Allow For Violence?

Slap! Slap!! Slap!!!  Three resounding, echoing back handed slaps across the face.  The husband slaps the wife.  The mother slaps the son.  The brother slaps the sister.  The sister slaps the brother.  The sister-in-law slaps the brother-in-law ….. and so on.  The worst of them all are scenes of the police/CID slapping criminals to make them confess.  Basically the virtuous person slaps the person “lacking in virtue or moral values” or the person who “has gone astray.  It is perfectly justified if we were to believe the innumerable soaps on television.

Everything is defined clearly in black and white.  There is no hue of grey to be seen anywhere. There is no scope for such a shade in human life.  It just cannot be allowed.

So what exactly are the censors doing?  An innocuous kiss which is an expression of love and affection is not allowed, it is something that is censored and cut off mercilessly.  It is not fit for viewing by children under a certain age.  Mind you, I am NOT saying that there should be no censorship.  But then how is that violence of this kind is considered alright for viewing by children?  What is the message being conveyed to them?  Or for that matter what is the message being conveyed to the masses whose opinions are so easily swayed by the media?  That physical violence is alright?  That it is alright to correct wrong by physical violence?  That two wrongs make a right?  That slapping a person CAN set him/her right?  That third degree torture is alright to extract confessions?  Where are concepts of human rights?

How do we expect any social changes or decrease in violence on women and children and deaths due to such events?

Is this the “Indian culture and traditions” that we wax eloquent about and shout out from the rooftops about?