Build your Cultural Capital

Culture is to human beings what the purity of water is to a fish. It defines the quality of life, its beauty and ease. Culture is of course, undergoing change as tradition collides with fashion. It was Gandhiji who said “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.” Cultural vitality ensures that you have strong roots that bind you to the living earth of tradition, while allowing the winds, birds, rain and storms of change to transform you. • Act. For instance wearing of the beautiful saree is becoming rare. There is a Chennai based movement urging women to wear sarees 100 times a year! This would support all the weavers and artisans connected with this unique 6 yards of beautiful material. Use things in the kitchen from your grandmother’s time. Jewellery: pass it down through the generations. • Document old customs, photographs and record digitally, old furniture, artifacts, pictures. Circulate family jokes, stories, recipes and interviews digitally and harvest worldwide inputs. • Learn and discuss religious and spiritual traditions. Look at the meaning of sacred texts and ceremonies, rather than just accept without understanding them. • The Maoris have created ‘language nests’ to help their young to learn their distinctive mother tongue. Indians in the US have ‘Sunday school’ to teach Hinduism to their kids. Some languages like mine, Tulu, have no script. They need to be spoken. Record it on tape; see if people can learn it digitally. • Preserve old customs. • Get together to record cook and eat old world food from your family’s past during Diwali or Pongal • Spend time with members of your community on a regular basis. Events can be in your city, nationwide or even worldwide. Being part of building cultural vitality can make you more participative and build your precious social capital.