The ability to reconcile the irreconcilable
The stereotypes of India nurtured over decades are so powerful and compelling that many tourists feel they are missing out on the ‘real India’ if they do not encounter elephants and cows on the roads. Last week, I met some such folks
who were still looking around for snake charmers and bear dancers and were miffed that they were not around. I had to explain to them that India had changed a lot since then and there are now stringent laws protecting the rights of animals, just as it is back in their countries.
Another common reaction I get is over the juxtaposition of extreme wealth and stark poverty. Such aspects of life are not countered in the western world where the poor are carefully sheltered. Every major city has its harlems, but you have to seek it to find it. In contrast, we do not hide our hovels and our jhuggies. We accept them whole-heartedly. We even have conducted tours of our Dharavis and we weave stories of its protagonists and put them on the screen. Indeed, our candour surprises foreigners as one of them exclaimed to me last week with a touch of irony, “No one watches you if you defecate on the streets, but the world stops if you kiss...”
The irony is real, but the truth is that Indians have traditionally been able to reconcile the irreconcilable. No nation has as many differences as we do, not even the 13 nations in the Eurozone.
We have 22 official languages and a thousand cultures. And yet we have understood the concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’. Such a spirit of tolerance has been possible because of the belief in karma, which is quintessential to understanding the Indian way of life. Karmic consciousness, coupled with the belief in re-birth according to one’s deeds, has given this land a stoic attitude to life and living. That is why India has remained a tolerant culture, embracing all levels of existence, and all religions, in its fold.
One of the key aspects which has contributed to such enduring peace and acceptance is the high level of communication between the constituents of our society. The underpinning of social peace lies in the constant dialogue that emerges, be it within a family or society.
Indeed, we do not hesitate to ask questions to each other which may seem rude to westerners; such as why is your daughter not getting married or how much is your son’s earning? But it is such common-cause questions of one family that have become issues that have welded entire village societies together. And from such questions, kinships have been formed.
That legacy shines brightly; we still never hesitate to discuss the most mundane issues with the cab driver, the paanwalla and the chaiwalla. In contrast to the stiff upper lip of the West, it is this jaw-jawing of the collective that keeps us together, even if the world sees us as the argumentative Indians. So keep talking; it will help us understand ourselves better.
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