CULTURE
The term culture is more frequently used than the observance of culture itself. I do not intend criticizing any one for this. But a range of things comes to my mind on this issue. Probably people are ready to accept oft-repeated claims on culture as real, than verifying the veracity of those. These include so many items – food habits, dress, language, religion, entertaining the guests, running the institutions of social value, defending / supporting the hapless and so on. I have not gone into the dictionary looking for the connotations that go with the term. I have chosen to look at the issue from what we see around us. As is always my plea, I do not expect others to tow my line of thought. All opinions are as much sacred. The attitude to culture begins with what one considers supreme or valuable. I believe it is a manifestation of our priorities in a given situation that exhibits the culture. On occasions we hear that, a public transport bus crew or a driver of an autorickshaw restoring valuables to a passenger after enormous effort, though they could have comfortably taken possession of the article. While total strangers stick to honesty, some of our acquaintances choose to cheat us to varying degrees. Yet, it is preposterous to conclude that the person is a cheat. At best [s]he was a cheat on an occasion. Some are cheats by character and they are known so, leaving us the option to get cheated. It is in this environment that people boast of their culture / tradition. In simple terms, culture is not what we claim but what we do when not being seen. There are several dimensions that confer stature on to any one for being reckoned as ‘a cultured person’. People have the ability to pick out the right signals which reflect the culture, though not personally abiding by them. Like many other virtues, in practice culture is more a prescription for others. People seem to practice this selfish trend uninhibited.
There seem to be bad cultures too. Invariably, some mental battle occurs between self interest and attitudes of altruism. When self interest is suppressed in favour of common interest, it is an expression of decency – a part of culture. As noted earlier, our priorities on an occasion determine the degree of decency.
Some of the reasons for people resorting to self interest considerations are partly from pressure “to acquire”, partly from a wrong judgment of social esteem that can accrue from a possession and an attitude of irrelevant comparison of self with others. Obviously, comparisons / considerations are materialistic. It is a sad reading that our times witness such happenings which do not signify contented life. Times of our forefathers remind us of how peace and tranquility pervaded the society. They stuck to simplicity in attire and frugality in life, containing the wants to the limits of means. It was our culture to shrink expenditure to absolute necessity. Slowly we slipped off to new ways of life punctuated by styles of living almost beyond means. This culture has come about from a desire to “look above average”. People take more delight in being ‘rated as affluent’ than being really so. It is another sign of change in our culture. In my perception, people are tempted to adopt lifestyles, because financial support comes. But, these supports are not explicit in terms of all conditions of repayment. Unfortunately priorities seem to be in favour of ‘doing now’ than knowing what to do. Some financing agencies charge you penal interest if you choose to advance settlement of the entire dues. The obvious intention is to sap out rather than honourably allow the borrower to settle all dues before the tenure of contract. Accomplishing projects like possessing a house or meeting unexpected exigencies like serious medical problems do require timely financial assistance.
To continue Prof. K. Raman
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