‘Indian culture’ is a phrase many girls and boys alike in our country are familiar with. One could even wonder if every adult has it ready to launch at the tip of their tongue when the occasion arises. As a girl who adorns herself in jeans, t-shirt and more recently shorts and sleeveless tops, it’s a phrase that I have heard one too many times.
Now I want to clarify that my parents are not sexist for all intents and purposes. It’s important to establish that as they will be reading this, and I do not wish for them to be struck by shame, but at the same time, something they said recently drove me down this headspace in which I began to analyze the word ‘culture’. I have recently been wearing what many would describe as ‘scandalous’ clothing: sleeveless tops, shorts, a touch of cleavage, a peek of the bra strap.
Personally, there is nothing scandalous about these clothes and if you’re an able-minded person, they should not distract nor threaten you. Wearing what you wish to wear is not a big deal but my clothes are more than garments to me; I have had to overcome years of body shame, poor self-esteem, fears of public perception to be able to wear what I wear today. It’s important that I continue to wear it, not only as a necessity but as a political statement, as a symbol of confidence, as a model for all the other girls of all ages who are only able to pick out a top from their closet when they see something else strutting around in it.
However, amidst an argument between my parents and me over this specific issue, they said, ‘It’s our culture. Each desh [country] has its own culture and niyam [rules]’.
As I mentioned before, this phrase has been uttered so many times by disgruntled mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, neighbours, maids, drivers, random people off the road that by now we should be used to it. And we are, for the most part. But I, on this particle day, decided to inspect the origin and implications of the word ‘culture’. It has a range of meanings, a few of which I would like to list below.
- a) The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively
- b) The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society
- c) The tastes in art and manners that are favoured by a social group
- d) The growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar)
Obviously my parents were probably referring to option B, i.e ‘the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society’, but it’s worth mentioning that there are multiple definitions of the word and I could have very well been confused by option D. But additionally, that brings up the question: What Exactly is Indian Culture? Is it what pop culture tells us? A mash of colours being flung around during Holi. A throng of Bharatnatyam dancers. People gulping handful of Golgappas down at a street stall. A girl getting gang raped by six men in a bus. A couple being burnt alive in another case of honour killing. Politicians spouting ignorant comments every day.
As jarring as that was, all the above things have become routine in the culture of our country. There are the joyful moments that we proudly accept and boast as being part of our culture but we reject the ugly practices as flukes that we do not account for. It also makes me wonder if there is any unanimous culture in place at all or not, considering that there are more than thirty languages and twenty-nine states, all of which are accompanied by its own set of beliefs and practices. A Gujarati does not eat the same food as a Punjabi. An Assamese does not talk like a Tamil. If there is not one culture to draw from, then how can we assert a vague, undefined culture as India’s premier ‘culture’? Nobody defines the rules of a culture, then how are people so quick to point out the rules of the particular culture?
When my parents raise the idea of dressing in one’s ‘own culture’, they are indirectly talking about the idea of female modesty. The majority of Indians, regardless of the extent to which they advocate for feminism, believe that females should dress modestly, that girls are to act with class, and dressing in skimpy clothes somehow rids them of respect, both in their eyes and in the eyes of society. Showing skin can somehow lower their standards, that exercising choice in their fashion affects their character. Technically speaking, this is at best, a lifestyle choice, a particular type of belief that individuals might hold, but it is not, by any means, a representation of culture.
There is a difference between culture and principle, between culture and rules. Culture might be a social practice, a taste in the arts or however one interprets it; a rule is a fixed condition disobeying which can cause tangible punishments. My parents might have mixed that up and they are not the only ones. All in all, culture has a wide variety of meanings, which means that one cannot impose their interpretation of it on someone else. There is no fixed code to follow, it is up to the individual on what facet they identify with, what they would like to incorporate into individual choices; it’s not a mandatory system that dictates everyone’s lives.
Besides, let’s not pretend that India has remained isolated in its own culture for the last three thousand years. Why do we wear jeans? Why do we drive cars? Why do we entertain a wide spectrum of culinary delights? Can you imagine what life would have been like without momos? Culture has been getting exchanged since the beginning of time, which is why it’s simply unfair to pick and declare something as being endemic within our culture and something that we decide to adopt into our culture.
All that being said, what I wear may or may not be a reflection of our culture but like jeans, momos, microwaves and phones, maybe it is time to adopt that into this culture.
Note: Image used in this post is only for representational purpose.
