Maaro Rajasthan

Culture and tradition have intimated us from very long time in the way that how much should the past influence us and how much roots of them are there in our new generation. A lot has been said about the new generation forgetting the values that our parent generation has bestowed upon us. During my recent visit to Rajasthan and especially to Jodhpur, my home town, I realized something that, people still here follow what popularly called as traditional life and what most of the people tag it as backward, a slow life. I was one of the non-fits here. But I noticed in few days is that --



People here still live in homes which are made of lime. People still want to spend their lives living at one place and with one job. For them getting a sweet on the way home is a big achievement and the happiness on the face of their child to see that their father has brought something, it doesn’t matter whether it is of only 10rs, still matters to them. Infact if it is a 100rs thing then they will preserve it for few days and will savor it for few more days. Girls still wear salwar kameej and the ones wearing jeans and tshirts are considered to the modern generation. Girls still don’t go to movies without the permission of their parents and they still brag about one movie be it Baghban or Harry Potter to all there friends and will discuss over lunch tables for many days. Spending 500rs on a dress is still a monthly event. Girls still feel very shy talking about their marriage and hardly can face their father talking about it.

Boys still think that having long hair and a goggle will definitely impress girls, a little do they do even if the girls actually are and if at all they got to talk to them will make guys happier then ever. For mothers cleaning the house will still fill most of their day time. They will cook 5 times a day and if they do eat biscuits and home made “mathri” then it would be a brunch. They would watch the daily soups and imagine their lives to be as dramatic as the characters in the serial are. They eagerly wait for festivals to buy saris to collect it more than 20 years. They still have more then few decades old crockery shining in their closets. They would be so happy to talk to neighbors about how much somebody have spent in their marriages if at all they talk, as mostly they fight with their neighbors in the morning and share a laugh in the evening. Using a computer is still a big deal and a touch phone is still kept in polybags. You can see scooters and no red lights in the city. When it rains people still see water getting collected on the streets. The major event in the city which makes the headline is still the temperature change and donations that have happened for the religious cause. People still enjoy jalebi and kachori more than a burger. Peoples still will give you advice over your medical condition no matter how much do they know about it.



But the way I saw it while leaving the place after few days is that –



People are too much dedicated to their jobs and the company they work in so you can find a loyal employee in every employee you hire. People still enjoy the evening talk and morning tea with lots of friends and talk about life. They don’t need a book to teach them how to make friends and be interesting. They don’t need a newspaper to circulate the local news. They value each and every word that anyone has to say. They listen to them and follow them if they think it is a good advice. Fathers would be proud to have their child getting admitted to an engineering college and the child will equally feel responsible to get good marks and make their parent proud, they hardly care about the pay packages of the job. They don’t have credit limits as they cant imagine spending more than what is already left with them after planning for next 20 years or two generations. Hence recession or no recession they will not be panicked. Girls don’t get hurt because of broken relationships nor do they kill their dream of ideal husband. They would prepare themselves for the man chosen by their father and would love the freedom given by their “to be”. They will do anything to make the man happy and will respect him for whatever principles they have, because deep down their heart they know that he knows the aspirations of a young girl and make a beautiful home out of the bricks and limestone with lots of emotions and care. They would align themselves with the new family and the husband will altogether will take a responsibility not just for her but for every problem that the girls family faces. The respect that a father gets from their girl child will make him protect her and even accept any guy that her daughter chooses to marry. The mothers want to make their child with all the values that her parents have given her during their upbringing to the girl child. People are happy to have girl in their homes and will make sure that they receive a good education. People enjoy every rain with lots of food items and children still dance with a splash of water and a cricket game on every Sunday. People feel touched by receiving an invitation and a vote of thanks from their relatives. Here you can’t die alone to the least die unnoticed.

I love the culture and tradition but most of all the values which fill this place with lots of colors. You can go to any place but you can’t escape your roots and one should not. Everybody has a purpose of their live and it can only be fulfilled if it is attached to your ideals and feeling of togetherness.