Do u like Indian culture or Western culture?

ish333 · Aug 11, 2009

ish333 said: ↑

EAST OR WEST INDIA IS THE BEST!!!I am proud to be an Indian!:thumbsup
Click to expand...

well said!!!

priti8683 · Aug 13, 2009

well said BeeAmma....and also I agree with Bharati..

@Bhuvanidi

Finally ,Priti ,Do not be overwhelmed by the way you are treated or You see US(any other foreign country) now.I see this in almost every person who comes to US.Be practical and come down to reality.If we are kicked out or abused or screwed up (like it happens in Australia) we need to go India (our own mother country) which will always welcome us..

IN India many people are discriminated by state to state(ex: Maharastra issue). in some states just internal state fights (EX: Andhra pradesh...Telangana and andhra issue, Telangana people want to divide andhrapradesh state into 2 states)...So its not a big deal if we are kicked out or abused or screwed up(like it happens in AUS and canada)...We knew that and we came here so we need to face it..We get high pay than citizens in foreign. We are in above avg income list in foreign...definitely this might be a big issue for them especially in recession.....Why many people are leaving our country just because of money?????????? or quality of education or quality of services or career growth....and we love to stay in foreign( ofcors for me India is heaven
just because of money and opportunies I came here, nothing more that that)...why what is the reason???

If U see the family and relation, u can see many threads...women are sufferin and they are just sticking with the relation because of society.... If our society changes then definitely we do not care about society and every person can leave their life happily...

we are suffering from Child marriages , dowry, discrimination against girl child, Eve-teasing, rapes, laws, caste, politics, services and corruption....In western countries, they dnt face theese kind of probs as much as our country...

BE practical,I love India, am proud to be an Indian but I dnt hate foriegn countries just because of I am an Indian...If they have any +ves then we should follow them...whats wrong in that...if we have any -ves we should accept it, try to change those...atleast we should change then our family after sometime society would change automatically...so that we can develeop our country...

I do not agree with you.Though the girl baby death is less , I wud not say there is absolute gender equality.I do not know whether you work in USA.But in every office I worked , I realised that the men never treat women equal.They still think women are not as brilliant as them.

May be u r right about gender equality but atleast they dnt have any ladies reservation right? they really dnt need it.... It shows the actual truth...

Every American is atleast primary school educated.We have our parents to giude us.We should be happy about this....
U know I am not talking about ur parents or my parents....they guided very well, I am happy because my parents never forced me to do anything against my decision...I am talking generally, in our country many people give respect to education...a child wants to become a doctor or engineer parents supports a lot...if child wants to become a dancer , singer, sportsmen parents doesnt give that much of support....

Dignity of labour is very important.....unfortunately we dnt have that.

"we should at least live for few people's happiness if not everybody else's. This is the main reason why westerners feel empty inside. They only life for themselves and that empties them from inside. Indians may struggle with their families sometimes, but at the end of the day, we have loads of people who are there to help us when we need them"

this is correct but u know, people became very commercial....everyone is busy with their own work...we should live our life for few people's happiness doing some charity work or anything but we need not bear any harassments and abuses from spouses,family and society...

I have discussed western culture +ves and -ves...but not Indian culture +ves....ofcors we have +ves...But I just disscussed the -ves , those we need to change..

As a girl I felt western culture has more +ves interms of individuality...and I have just considered generally issues, which we go through daily....

plz can anyone explain +ves of indian culture except "bonding" Because we have already discussed about bonding....

I am not saying " forget about our culture or dnt respect Indian culture and follow western culture.".. All I can say is we should change ,we can adopt good things from other culture...nothing wrong in that...That is my intention...After all we all are humans...

May be i need to change the thread's name....sorry I have not mentioned clearly these points in my first post...

bhuvnidhi · Aug 13, 2009

BE practical,I love India, am proud to be an Indian but I dnt hate foriegn countries just because of I am an Indian...
Click to expand...

Come on Priti..Who told you to hate foreign countries.If we hate foreign countries , we should not be sitting here in first place.But it should never be that you accuse/degrade our birth place just because we are in a better(economically) place.

We get high pay than citizens in foreign. We are in above avg income list in foreign...definitely this might be a big issue for them especially in recession.....
Click to expand...

I do not understand what you are talking about here.An expatriate will never have better facilities than the local(same cador) in western countries and ME(the countries I know).

May be u r right about gender equality but atleast they dnt have any ladies reservation right? they really dnt need it.... It shows the actual truth...
Click to expand...

Who said.Get your facts right.Some postions are RESERVED only for women.And in some places , only women are allowed and not men(just to empower women).

we are suffering from Child marriages , dowry, discrimination against girl child, Eve-teasing, rapes, laws, caste, politics, services and corruption....In western countries, they dnt face theese kind of probs as much as our country...
Click to expand...

Agreed we have child marriages.It is a crime.Period.
But do you know the number of teen abortions in western countries?It will be a much greater figure than our child marriage(if not for population).If you say caste in India then we nedd to talk about Racism in western countries.Whatever you are you are treated as a third grade citizen there. I do not want to bring out the ugly side of NRI treatment in foreign countries.

Dignity of labour is very important.....unfortunately we dnt have that.
Click to expand...

See, You said that.And we NRIs have a big responsibility of projecting the Image of our country.But unfortunatly we are the other way.We get dumbstruck by the facilities and money here.We let India down.Please do not mistake me for using "WE".There are good NRIs as well who know to behave and they know their values.:bowdown

To list out the positives of Indian Culture:

We have our own culture and values (not a copied one)
We believe in Long term relationship and single relationship.
Our ambition and goals generally revolves around our familly.
We are thought to respect elders.
We have a structured education and have a goal and ambition in life.
Parents help us during our childhood and we take care of them when they are old.We are taught to help others.
Soft natured
Less psychos since we have good family bonding.

Major nagatives I can see:

We help building every other nation except our country.
Castism
Infrastructure

I do agree that we need a change and we need to adapt good things from other culture.

And as a matter of fact , Americans do not have a culture of their own.They are more individualistic.

I would like to re-iterate "We need to respect ourselves first to gain respect from others" .Then we will be treated with respect any foreign country.

bharti · Aug 13, 2009

hey bhuvnidhi..... no offences met yaar.....

often i hear ppl saying..... india is the best.... n proud to be an indian.... but i dont feel that they really mean it at all...... as i had mentioned.... that had that been the case.... had our folks truly and deeply believed n loved our culture we wouldnt have westernised to the extent we have..... we indians...... definitely i dont say that if we are westernising, wetern culture has to be good..... i am with you totally on the point that we in reality do not value our culture.... do not respect our ownself...... giving example of dubai.... what you have said of ME is exactly the point..... indeed we - indians - just do as the western world does......

so i really get crazy when ppl actually tend to follow other cultural values and still speak of India as the best...... i feel what a hipocracy.....

yes very rightly said that..... every culture has its own good and bad...... i dont say we should continue with the bad part but we should actually believe and follow the good values...... but unfortunately many indians dont even do that...... they speak of the good things also when the western world praises it......

people celebrate independence day republic day...... i actually hate those days....... not because of its importance ofcourse but because i am sadly reminded of the fact that most of the indians dishonour our country and these spl days..... they would buy flags, say patriotic songs..... and by the evening you will see all the flags lying on the ground...... man is this y are u supposed to celebrate these days...... our honour, our flag is being stamped by our own people..... what a disgrace......

i know m deviating from the topic...... but i really get upset when people in real do not really value our culture...... so indians..... if you really feel our culture is good...... show it by your actions...... just saying that "India is the best" doesnt help...... atleast first feel that..... otherwise better not to say that!!!

thats just my opinion....

bharti · Aug 13, 2009

ohhh... i guess i missed the page 2....

"westerners feel empty inside" ....... is it meant indian's dont...... they do as much as anyone else...... they are not even allowed to feel that way.... dont we read so many forums how ppl are feeling....... while westernes feel alone and thus empty... here in india.... there are bound to live with others and feel empty...... i guess this one is worser..... living with your so called near n dear ones and feel dead inside...... well one might argue its not with everyone...... its not with every westerner either...... if you talk of ratio..... it might not differ a lot..... the only difference is westerners do not supress the topic and keep it to themselves....

i dont think its about hating foreign countries and loving india....... its about not believing the facts and still saying India is the best.... hey i dont think u will put to a death sentence if you say u dont love india...... or are you bothered abt how ppl will think that what an indian... he doesnt love india.....

well bhuvnidhi...... do you really think that just by saying India is good..... we will be able to fulfil the responsibility of projecting India's image wisely??? I dont think so...... we need to first believe in it.....

"we have our own culture and values"
which is going for toss day in day out as we are imitating western world.....

"we believe in longterm relationship and single relationship"
ask the current generation on that..... they are so affected by the western relations that affairs n breakups today is so normal amoungst the yongsters..... with this pace soon enuf the scenario will be like in any western country.....

"we are thought to respect our elders"
just thought n taught...... otherwise.... old age homes wouldnt have become popular in our country so much so they are now....

"Parents help us during our childhood and we take care of them when they are old.We are taught to help others"
are we really taking care of them???? are we really helping others??

well i really believe "we need to respect ourselves first to gain respect from others"............ but just saying good things isnt enuf to respect ourselves yaar...... thats what most of us indians do......

see where we are wrong first...... take an initiative to correct..... believe and then other things will follow....... i dont say pointing to the above facts that i personally dont respect our cultural values.... i dont respect elders..... i dont believe in longterm relationship........ i am saying of what is there in the massess today...... what India as a majority is doing...... but certainly i can vouch for my actions.......... but ppl what abt tomorrow..... whatever is happening in the country today...... will we be able to let our next generations away from this...... i think this is where our responsibilities lie???? surely that doesnt either mean we have to praise the western world....... but at the same time we first need to accept that we are wrong in not believing in our own selves and we are not doing any good by only saying things in praise of our country our culture....... first we ( entire indians.... i alone is not sufficient) should believe in it and then praise......

bhuvnidhi · Aug 13, 2009

Hey Barthi :hiya, I do not get offended.That never happens in a healthy arguement.:thumbsup

I really appreciate the below statement of yours

but i really get upset when people in real do not really value our culture...... so indians..... if you really feel our culture is good...... show it by your actions...... just saying that "India is the best" doesnt help...... atleast first feel that..... otherwise better not to say that!!!
Click to expand...

It shows a real pain and how you feel.Yes,ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.But do not generalize.You will never know what a person is upto when he/she says India is the best.I do not know why you feel that they do not mean it.Probably you must have come across such people.

I have travelled a lot.But when I came to ME I was just sweeped away by the way the locals are treated.They are the kings.And you see the westerners just fall at their feet.Forget about Americans even the Britishers are made to do that here.That is the power of locals here.I used to think "if only it happens the same way in India" :hide:.Every other nation comes and works for India and we are being treated as Kings and Queens.I know it is a day dream:bonk.But still.

well bhuvnidhi...... do you really think that just by saying India is good..... we will be able to fulfil the responsibility of projecting India's image wisely??? I dont think so...... we need to first believe in it.....
Click to expand...

Exactly , I am trying to say the same thing.Beleive that u r good.The rest will follow you.

Bharti , As I said before ,I have written about Indian culture in the purest form.Not following the culture is totally a different issue.The qn raised by the OP is "Do u like Indian culture or Western culture?."And by west she is talking about American culuture and as a matter of fact America does not have a culture of its own.It is a mix.And Native Americans are different from the whites.

ask the current generation on that..... they are so affected by the western relations that affairs n breakups today is so normal amoungst the yongsters..... with this pace soon enuf the scenario will be like in any western country.....
Click to expand...

See , You said it.They did not break up following Indian culture.:coffee

which is going for toss day in day out as we are imitating western world.....
Click to expand...

You are saying it again here.........

Well , Bharti , While we realise that we are going for a toss following some other culture , why don't we follow something good ?Just adopt the good ones from others.

Regards,
Bhuvana!

Nithu · Aug 13, 2009

Hi,
Every culture has advantages and diadvantages.
But personally I feel my vote is to Indian culture.

Jyothisri · Aug 13, 2009

Whoa! A nice discussion going on here! And timely too, with the coming of India's 62nd year of "independence".

Priti and Bharti have put forward some good points to think about.

I agree with Bhuvana when she says Indian culture in its purest form would be the best.

But hey, be practical, Indian culture in its purest form is only for the books. Priti does say that the title of her thread might have sent a wrong impression.

Does our young generation even know why we have festivals and traditions? For that matter, can our elders explain why our rituals should be done only in a certain way without following them blindly because their elders told them to?

How many people know how many Vedas and Upanishads there are? Is wearing the mangalsutra and bindi and doing karwa chauth more important than a healthy relationship with the spouse?

We do need to generalize here because this is the situation with majority of India.

I have lived and studied in the ME. I still have family there.

bhuvnidhi said: ↑

I have travelled a lot.But when I came to ME I was just sweeped away by the way the locals are treated.They are the kings.And you see the westerners just fall at their feet.Forget about Americans even the Britishers are made to do that here.That is the power of locals here.I used to think "if only it happens the same way in India" :hide:.Every other nation comes and works for India and we are being treated as Kings and Queens.I know it is a day dream:bonk.But still.
Click to expand...

Bhuvana, when you talk about the ME like this, I think you are being biased towards the ME just as you say Priti is being biased towards 'Western' culture?

Why are the Westerners afraid to deal with the locals in the ME? It is because most of the ME is governed by the Shariah law. Even though there is a civil court to address issues of the non-Muslims, you never know when a local can take you to the Shariah court. This is something the Westerners don't fully understand and are scared about.

From my experience of life in India, ME, and US, I never felt more free than I do now in the US. Freedom is important to me, culture comes later.

In India, I was 'bonded' by what others in the family think. Everyone in the typical Indian family (and the relatives, and the neighbors, and the rest of the society) has to have a say in how the women of the house live their lives (This is even harder because the men in the family do just as they please and get away with it). I have had to face discrimination and humiliation at every step of my life there, just because I am a woman. I do not face this in the US. I live life on my own terms, within my values and the laws of the land.

In the ME, I was never allowed to say what I wanted to say for fear of the Shariah law. I was not allowed to eat at a restaurant when I wanted to because all restaurants would be closed in the daytime during Ramadan, out of respect for the locals who fast all day. I was told not to even drink water out on the school grounds after a heavy Physical Education class during that month. As a child, this was pretty hard for me. In India, we are free to do as we please, whether we respect other religions or not.

In the US, I am not allowed to work with the visa I have. It is difficult, but life here is otherwise really great. Of course there are disadvantages to life here, but I am more at peace and experience life more fully in this country than when I was in my home country (I feel so sad saying this!)

I have no plans of 'settling' in the US and I would love to go back to India. I just wish the attitude of people there changes to be more open-minded and unbiased. I think that is more important than blindly following 'culture', which in this globalised time, is not really 'pure' anywhere.

Just my opinion. Sorry for the long post.

priti8683 · Aug 13, 2009

I agree with bharati....obviously we are following western culture now...but we are not follwing +ves .....we will have to do that...

" We have our own culture and values (not a copied one) "...If other culture has +ves then y dnt u copy?...

for me....type of culture is doesn't matter, we should live happily and the quality of life is important...

do you really think that just by saying India is good..... we will be able to fulfil the responsibility of projecting India's image wisely??? I dont think so...... we need to first believe in it.....

I believe in it coz I just posted this thread....u guys are projecting India's image

We believe in Long term relationship and single relationship.
Our ambition and goals generally revolves around our familly.
We are thought to respect elders.
We have a structured education and have a goal and ambition in life.
Parents help us during our childhood and we take care of them when they are old.We are taught to help others.
Soft natured
Less psychos since we have good family bonding.

many of them belong to bonding....

I agree with u we have less psychos...good point...

We have a structured education and have a goal and ambition in life

then y many people are going to other countries for education...

I am not talking about american culture...I dnt care wether it was mixed or their own culture....I dnt want to criticise....I have seen goodthings and badthings...

I have been to Europe, singapore, mexico, Canada and dubai...I have few frnds( my DH's frnds) from france, london, china, mexico, south america and middle east...but u know middle east's culture is so different i dnt want to talk about that...we should compare with higher than lower....

I was talking about dignity of labour because if we goto a restuarant in india we dnt respect waiters or cleaners....etc...but here I can see the difference....In india frankly speaking i never respected waiters or cleaners or auto drivers or taxi drivers.....If i go to consult a doctor or engineer then again it different...

But If I go back to India I will respect them too because I learned here....
I never used please or sorry as much as here....

so I told about dignity of labour...

I mentioned it before, dating is the biggest prob here so forget about dating....U know onething recently Canidian govt banned to tell the baby's gender like India because of Indian people...Indian people are going for abortion if the child is a baby girl...Many Indians are living in canada, particularly in someplaces...In India many women's death due to dowry, family problems and rapes...We need to improve ourself to solve these problems...

Greece people also have this tradition but not like ours...Girls parents buy and present everything like car, house, furniture ....etc for daughter's wedding...

In my marriage, dowry became a big issue but I was helpless on that time...I dnt want to marry my DH...but I accepted bcoz of my family members and society...My Dh's parents and his sister demanded directly they need 50lakhs cash...I have fighted with SIL , she is not married she told me, no u have to give 50lakhs ...50lakhs is very cheap for my Brother...I told her y ur parents are expecting money...she said they take care of his studies....so i said my parents n ur parents also take care of our studies....She didnt say anything and she told my Inlaws.....before marriage this happened...But it didnt become a big issue...my parents gave them some money but they demanded 50laks cash...we didnt accpt that....finally my dad gave me a property....

My MIL and FIL both are well educated and my MIL works as a LECTURER still she behaved like a uneducated person...and they are very rich...My Dh has sent almost 1cr before my wedding... After our wedding I came to here, again she asked his son about my property...they want to sell that....How stupid these people are....my DH supported them...I have changed my DH's mentality but not my inlaws....still my MIL is ready to take my money..

I thought I was lucky these people are atleast not beating me because they are educated, if not they might be beat me for dowry...

So I said we dnt have freedom...we have a fobia of society....We need to change this....how can we change this?

I dnt like my Dh's menatilty....but I compromised because of society....If i told him can u plz change for me then he simply says gate out from my house, I dnt want to leave him, So I have to obey him...

My DH doesnt like me to do a job not because of caring because of insecurity...he doesnt like me to talk with my frnds(boys)...But now I used to it....We are living happily but I killed my thoughts...

I feel bad for being a women....Men can do anything...We have to obey them...This is my story and many women's stories are same as me.....

I have travelled a lot.But when I came to ME I was just sweeped away by the way the locals are treated.They are the kings.And you see the westerners just fall at their feet.Forget about Americans even the Britishers are made to do that here.That is the power of locals here.I used to think "if only it happens the same way in India" .Every other nation comes and works for India and we are being treated as Kings and Queens.

It shows the greatness of Indian people....

priti8683 · Aug 14, 2009

nice post jyothisri...

Does our young generation even know why we have festivals and traditions? For that matter, can our elders explain why our rituals should be done only in a certain way without following them blindly because their elders told them to?

How many people know how many Vedas and Upanishads there are? Is wearing the mangalsutra and bindi and doing karwa chauth more important than a healthy relationship with the spouse?

how many people are doing yoga instead of going to gym?

But hey, be practical, Indian culture in its purest form is only for the books. I do agree with this.....

I am just discussing about this generation....Thats the reason i asked someone to tell about our culture.....Its impossible to follow our original culture...

I have respect for our culture but I am looking for more freedom and happiness...

Many people are going back to settle down in india but they won't be able to adjust there....coz of corruption, politics, lack of discilpline, career growth... not because of bonding or luxirious life style....

If we goto use a govt service, u can imagine how they welcomes u in India? this should change.....Here they welcomes u with a smile....or atleast they would like to help us without expecting anything...

If we go to any movie or any place what should we do we dnt follow a queue....many people may be some people follow....but here they won't cross the queue....

In india too much dependency on labour....We shouldn't do our own work...

If we buy anything we have to fix it so that we gain some knowledge here...In india all ready made....so I like this here....

I dnt bother about dressing... it's optional...but the way of life style is very important me...I just considered way of life style as the culture because no ones follow our real traditional bookish culture....

Yes, I am following indian culture, I wear mangalasuthram, toes rings, bindi. I do poojas and I do respect elders....But this is not sufficent for our life....we need freedom, independancy, equal opportunities, good politics, anti corruption and friendliness...

We have to project India's image by following their manners and their life style...If we dnt follow their life style they get bad impreesion....following their lifestyle means not dating or not respect eleders....Manners and attitude....If I behave like i behaved in India for sure foreigners shouldn't respect me especially OUR COUNTRY and they would treat me as a fool...

Again I am saying i have not discussed +ves about our country because everyone knows that I am not discussing with a foreigner so I have disscussed those we need to change and why we are goin for wesetern culture....

A mother or father never praises infront of their childs...they always say try to improve this time....u can do it better...and they praise infront of outside people....so instead of praising our culture we should change our mindsets and society....w dnt get any freedom or any good thing by just praising...If I am talking with a foreigner I should praise our culture...