Without enough money at disposal and leisure, fine art is but a hapless orphan. Even culture developed through centuries makes demand on spare times and to make the process complete some spare money too is badly needed. At a time of internet, 3-G technology, fast food and exposure to the global entertainment industry, how is the local culture faring? People like Margaret Mead have entertained a healthy respect for the cultures of bush tribes. Because she knew, in this wide world cultural diversity alone has given human civilisation its beauty and sustainability.
At a time when cultural and religious hegemony swept the globe, only a few meek and dissenting voices were heard because the abrasive campaigns were pursued nakedly, aggressively and at times violently. Today religious conversion has taken a back seat but the cultural monopoly is going on in a subtle way, sometimes by default. When someone just prepare programmes for local or common-language audiences, their superior production, thanks to the money spent on them, indirectly gets noticed by alien ones.
This is reason enough why imitation in creative arena is so abhorred. Of course, there is no harm in accepting ingredients from foreign value system and culture. But those must be transformed in to something of the local soil. There lies the magical tough of creative geniuses. In such exercises, the entire human race benefit. Exchange of ideas, values, moral principles and traditional beliefs enrich the pool of human knowledge. In the evolution of civilisation this is of immense value.
Now there is yet another aspect of such exchanges. Education modelled after those in foreign lands more often than not create an upstart class who tend to look down upon the traditional systems as the most uncouth and barbaric. When a particular class ascends up the economic ladder all on a sudden, the moneyed class without the back-up of cultural mooring and healthy education suddenly considers its own society far too backward and mean. As a reaction, though, another class also comes on to the scene. They declare crusade against alien infiltration and its upholders.
Their over-enthusiasm though may be equally harmful if they are not careful enough to foster local culture steeped in the essence of the soil. No argument that life has become busier in the urban context. But there are people who enjoy languid leisure because they are either spouses of the filthy rich or they are interested in investing their talents in economic or business ventures. But they have pots of money at their disposal. So what else they could do other than trying to be either the proverbial peacock with borrowed feathers on ravens or in some cases rescuing old customs and culture in their naïve way?
It is because of this, some go for arranging Western types of fashion shows or others form societies under different banners to defend culture and tradition! There is nothing to be surprised if one or two of these organisations think that they should organise a pitha mela (cake festival) well before Agrahayan -let alone Poush. Nabanna is famous because it celebrates harvest of Aman paddy but this local variety of paddy is now a rarity. Few people know about Poush Sangkranti, a savouring occasion, when molasses made from date juice came to complement the pithas made from the newly harvested Aman rice powder.
Some people like to go overboard. Already, bhapa pitha (smoked cake) has been appearing at street corners thanks to such enterprising people. But the rice powder used for making these pithas is from last season's rice and they lack the aroma so famous in case of the fresh Aman paddy. Such untimely organised festivity only brings to the fore the lack of imagination on the part of all who promote such endeavour well before time. Urban citizens think they are enjoying the taste of a most sought-after traditional item but in effect they get a raw deal.
In defence of tradition and culture
Nilratan Halder | Published: November 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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