Growing up in countryside in India comes with lots of perks and disadvantages. The prime disadvantage is the constant heavy-duty shower of the so-called "bharatiya sanskruti" lectures.
A little background info:
Indians think they are better off than the westerners solely because of the spiritual power - the power that is passed on just because they have the Indian heritage and follow its cultures and mores. This whole package is called "Bharatiya Sanskruti" by these silly billies.To add injury to the insult, these daily hindi soaps glorify all the outdated traditions and show everything in the shades of only white and black. (Psst.. a secret, these soap producers are color-blind!)
What I think:
Oh come on, do you really have to ask this?Of course it is a propaganda by the moral police/TRP-greedy-color-blind soap producers. These silly billies abuse religion as marijuana.
It was always imprinted on us that our traditions are of utmost value and that you can either be Tulsi (drama queen of one of the soaps) or can be Komolika (part of the wicked brigade in this soap). There is no shade of grey anywhere in any of these so called righteous characters. The worst part is they always depict the righteous characters weepy and under constant stress while the vamps are shown wild party animals.
I am not sure why we Indians take ourselves so seriously (this includes me as well - I blame it on genes :P). Partying wildly, dating, wearing skimpy clothes are all a complete no-no (especially if you are born as a girl in India).
A well-behaved girl is someone who is obedient (her decisions are irrelevant!) and even if her family gives her the right to take her own decisions, they try to manipulate her every possible way (crying, bullying, anything) to make her agree to their decisions.
I know I paint a very grim picture.. but that is what I have observed most of the time.
So basically, no shades of grey allowed at any time!
Contrast this with Mahabharat characters, btw Mahabharat is the same text that Indians revere.
Bhisma kidnapped three young girls and asked them to marry his brother (without considering their will). He also got Gandhari to forcibly marry his blind brother Dhrishtratra. He was mute when his daughter-in-law was disrobed.
Karna provoked Duryodhana and Dushasana during the shameful act of Draupadi disrobing. Draupadi disrobing also reminds me to write something about this equally shameful and shocking incident that happened to young girl in India.
Even though Krishna had his own grey shades, I respect him because he played the game with consistent rules - the most prominent being - kill the bad guys with whatever means and to always show respect for the women.
We Indians have double standards when it comes to the so called Indian culture (or Sanskruti) stuff.
I hope to raise a fearless child who is open about her choices and who wont give a damn to what others think about her decisions.
