rain drops.

I love the west. Especially the US and A, as Borat calls it. The freedom, the promise, the affluence and all the other things that tell the rebel inside me to break the shackles and run of into the sunset. I am impressed by their customs (or the lack of it) and find aping the west really cool. Coming up with a witty retort, using lines from famous sitcoms, quoting famous lines by my favorite actors and getting the timing right, priceless. But lately I’ve started thinking about all this and, this is where I got.

As basic needs, man needs food clothing and shelter. The quality of the three available at a period directly reflects the affluence of that period. Skyscrapers dot the landscape; there are retail outlets at the end of every street offering all the variety that a man could wish for in his food, including frozen items and ready to eat recipes for the unskilled. With respect to clothing, I have very little knowledge; though it remains a fact that fashion in the west is a thriving industry. Who wouldn’t like all this at the cost of a little compromise on our part In the name of tradition and culture?

As I sat thinking about this, i thought about our own country, the emerging superpower, whose growth can be best described by the frequently used scientific description of motion, “infinitesimal”. The politics, the so-called dirtiness of it; The country where taking a stand, defending it, protecting assets & boundaries and taking resolute decisions are followed zealously in the internal politics; but are comfortably forgotten when the issues involved are international. A country so bent on keeping its pretences of ahimsa that “retaliation” is a meaningless phrase for an attack from the outside while the country burns gaily from separatism and dynasty politics. What kind of tradition should one be proud of?? One that leads to massacres??

Even after all this I couldn’t help but think of certain things. America was built by people fleeing their nations for greener pastures. They wanted to live, they were talented and they found the place inviting, a promise of a new world, a new world order. On the other hand we reached where we are today after 200 years of colonial rule that plundered us of all its wealth and left a lasting impact; a contemporary take of the movie “inception” where a single idea was planted in the minds and it snowballed into communal riots as time progressed.

Still, after all this we have not lost our identity. There is still something left of our old ways, our culture. A culture that speaks of our affluence in the world long before now. Here, I take the three primary needs again, Indian cuisine boasts of such quality unparalleled by the sheer variety of the culinary delights, a north Indian style of cooking and a distinct south Indian style. Their styles, so intricate that being a master of both is not easy. The sweets, the savouries, the appetizers, the desserts and the cooking of all this being an art in itself, the spices used in these legendary. 

Among other things India was famous for indigo and cotton. We exported cotton and we were exploited for cotton. 6 yards of cloth to drape oneself? If this is not a show of prosperity, what is??. The temples, the fort, the palaces, the tombs, the inns, all speak of incredible workmanship, and one of them is a world wonder. The artistic beauty of queen’s well (Rani ki Vav) speaks of India’s arrogance in its ability to design even wells tastefully. The west of yore offers us cities with metal plates stating town names and wooden assemblies for houses. Enter Clint Eastwood with his gun and we go gaga(damn,I always dream of twirling guns and killing arbit people In split second timing).

Being built up with dreamers, the States as we see it; is a force, a superpower among nations, India on the other hand suffers, not mainly from corruption but more from ideological disputes. Corruption is everywhere, so no point blaming it for our slow growth. The turnaround can be achieved if for once we started believing in ourselves, that India  truly is emerging(not as stated in empty political harangues)  and that  we are as good as any other country. The starting point of this would be to start respecting oneself, as in respecting who you are. I know it is pretty repetitive but again, respecting your culture, traditions and heritage and taking pride in it. We are by nature pretty humble and do not gloss about our value to the world and hence the present plight.

It’s good that we are questioning our beliefs and traditions; no other culture offers such liberty. The questioning should lead to answers rather than lazy acceptance of status quo.  There’s untapped wealth in our ancient practices and hence it wouldn’t hurt if we tapped it for our development. To have come this far with all the short comings, we surely have a unifying “Indian”ness held together by tradition. To take it forward, look up to the elders, respect our culture, revive our sagging arts and crafts and rediscover the Indian in you. It’s a fact that lot of ugly social practices are attributed to the culture and tradition. Now, the young India, I feel is mature enough to know where to draw the line.

A quest into the past, I believe will not prove futile. It will on the contrary lead to self-discovery (and others such big words used by big people) and in the process lead us in the path of development. As an article I came across in The Hindu states, the simplest thing we can do is to stop the diatribe against India in the name of getting comfortable with a tourist. If he’s come to India he’s signed up for the whole package, including “Banot" neatness.

I’m not going to advocate piousness, pureness and being prude. Unknowingly we have imbibed some of our practices from our childhood; as an educated man there might be things that one might find foolish to follow in the present day, don’t take it, learn about other stuff ,question it, find answers and enjoy its beauty and the genius that went into creating it. India right now looks ragged and tired, let us dress her up.