We say all the time that India is a land of diversity, it is one of the oldest civilizations. All these sentences are the introductory lines for any essay/article written on Indian culture. But when it comes to following those tradition are you giving our 100% ? I want to discuss with you the word ‘Tradition‘ that I have deciphered so far and especially after living abroad for 8 years now. But first, I would like to ask you one thing – have you experienced a dilemma anytime when you have to decide between whether to follow a particular ritual or to just let it go? I agree for some people this is just a matter of choice but for others it’s an inner desire to stay connected to our Motherland. For some it’s a chance to connect to our friends, socialize and for others it’s a time to create memories which has a proper blend of socializing and religious aspect. So, Why is tradition important? Why is it necessary to follow certain practices?
January is the Makar Sankranti month. Different states have different names to it so as the way to celebration. Here, I have got a much diversified group of friends. I get to know different ways the festivals are celebrated. But one thing that I or should I say we hear quite often whenever we talk about our tradition or the practices/rituals attached to it. And that is the challenges we face while performing our duties. We often hear sentences like something is missing, we don’t feel that urge to do it here what we used to do in India, all days look the same, and we miss India especially during festival time. I agree, its different. You don’t get the motivation that you are looking for. Holi doesn’t feel like Holi when you step out of your house and see kids collecting sticks and setting up bon fire, or Diwali doesn’t shows its presence until we go to temple for any Diwali Mela. But don’t you think that it gives us a chance to fill those gaps?, a chance to bring India into our house?, a chance to re-live our days in India?
As I said, I have a diversified group of friends. Recently, one of my friends moved to Houston from Michigan. She is originally from Chennai. It was so nice of her to share their traditional sweet ‘Pongal’ with me. While chatting with her, I came to know that at their place they celebrate Pongal/Makar Sankranti for 4 days. Now, that is something new to me. I didn’t know that Makar Sankranti is a 4 days long festival in some parts of India . She told me what they do for those 4 days. Also, telling about her Michigan days, she says…
“There we used to have a collective pooja. It was such a nice feeling. I want my kids to know our culture. I feel, it is my responsibility to give them this chance. I can’t do much here because of different schedules but I try to follow as much as I can in terms of the rituals that go along with the festival. We do pooja as a family. Most of our poojas are in the evening when my husband comes home from work. I definitely miss few things like making Rangoli etc (I know few people do that too) but at least by doing something my kids get to know the importance of the festivals.”
Another friend who moved from Dubai shares her experience–
“Staying in Dubai gave my kids a wide exposure about different festivals. We got to see the Hindu festivals & Muslim festivities as well. For kids it is important to have that kind of a exposure where they get to know & respect different cultures. Since we do not have families around, friends are like our second family and participating in social gathering gives us a chance to expand their understanding and knowledge about various cultures. But at the same time following whatever we can do at our homes is equally important. Kids shouldn’t get the impression that festivals is all about food.”
So, the last line what she said ‘But at least that way by kids get to know the importance of the festivals.’ & ‘participating in social gathering gives us a chance to expand their understanding and knowledge about various cultures. But at the same time following whatever we can do at our homes is equally important.‘ is what I am saying when I said ‘fill those gaps’.
It was just an example of what we can do. Even a small effort can be a good start to take our kids;our next generation on the path of knowing their tradition;their culture. We don’t want them to say at later stages that I never remember my family celebrating any festival in its true sense. It was more of a friends and family coming over and having food together. I think it should be a blend of both. After all the true joy and happiness we get is when we are surrounded with people we care about. As Jawaharlal Nehru has said “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” Lets give them a chance to experience that spirit.
Happy Parenting!!
