A couple of years ago, when I thought I was coming of age, I felt myself as a custodian of our great cultural heritage and wanted to do my bit for its preservation. I had decided to get married in my own community i.e. Kumaoni Brahmins as a first step. Sadly my marriage ended up in a divorce and the entire episode was a deep cultural shock for me. It affected me to the extent , that I had started hating our beloved Kumaoni community and lost a lot of motivation and enthusiasm I had for doing something for our folks.
Through this humble platform , I want to highlight , my findings in the cultural disparities and cultural degeneration which I observed during my marital years.
The Kumaoni Woman - Women are the backbone of any culture. A Kumaoni woman is amongst the most hardworking,chaste and committed woman. When most of the men are of serving the nation in the forces, the woman takes care of the house. Right from mundane household chores, to working in the fields and fetching water through the dense jungles and steep mountains.She is one of the toughest ladies from the mountains. The girls of our community need to understand that they have a cultural background to live upto.Materialistic ambitiousness and Materialistic success should be second to preservation of the culture they represent.
Devta Poojan - A lot of people use this as a device to threaten people. Such kind of behavior would only invite the wrath of the gods.
Different Traditions - I learnt that Kumaoni communities are a mixture of people from various parts of India and Nepal. There are many brahmins who are non-vegeterian and few like us who are vegans.Its important to understand that there are different kind of people under the same community name.
The Mis-guided youth - It was extremely disheartening to see the swag culture prevailing amongst youth of Kumaon. Every kid on the block dresses up like 'Hnney Singh' as if they have some point to prove. I dont see many Kumaoni kids working in MNCs or clearing govt. exams. A lot of them could be seen in lesser stable careers like helpers in mall.
Though I agree, that my view may be limited and I might not be an authority on the subject, I still refuse to give up on our community. Our ancestors were the people who had chosen to settle in the mountains for a reason. They wanted to preserve what was most dear to them, their innocence and their value system. Traditions came with time, but what we got from our ancestors in our DNA was our genuineness and our values, and if I can pass down the same to my future generations, I shall die as a proud Kumaoni.
Through this humble platform , I want to highlight , my findings in the cultural disparities and cultural degeneration which I observed during my marital years.
The Kumaoni Woman - Women are the backbone of any culture. A Kumaoni woman is amongst the most hardworking,chaste and committed woman. When most of the men are of serving the nation in the forces, the woman takes care of the house. Right from mundane household chores, to working in the fields and fetching water through the dense jungles and steep mountains.She is one of the toughest ladies from the mountains. The girls of our community need to understand that they have a cultural background to live upto.Materialistic ambitiousness and Materialistic success should be second to preservation of the culture they represent.
Devta Poojan - A lot of people use this as a device to threaten people. Such kind of behavior would only invite the wrath of the gods.
Different Traditions - I learnt that Kumaoni communities are a mixture of people from various parts of India and Nepal. There are many brahmins who are non-vegeterian and few like us who are vegans.Its important to understand that there are different kind of people under the same community name.
The Mis-guided youth - It was extremely disheartening to see the swag culture prevailing amongst youth of Kumaon. Every kid on the block dresses up like 'Hnney Singh' as if they have some point to prove. I dont see many Kumaoni kids working in MNCs or clearing govt. exams. A lot of them could be seen in lesser stable careers like helpers in mall.
Though I agree, that my view may be limited and I might not be an authority on the subject, I still refuse to give up on our community. Our ancestors were the people who had chosen to settle in the mountains for a reason. They wanted to preserve what was most dear to them, their innocence and their value system. Traditions came with time, but what we got from our ancestors in our DNA was our genuineness and our values, and if I can pass down the same to my future generations, I shall die as a proud Kumaoni.
