We are living in the 21st century. We are in an age of cloud computing and technological convergence. We are in the age of the ‘Avaataar’ and ultra-mobility. We are in the age of nuclear families and women heading organizations. We are in the age of sharing every minute of our lives via micro blogs such as twitter and facebook. This is the day and age where women and men are competing for everything – be it ranks in schools, admissions to colleges or jobs in MNCs. This is the day and age when couples start looking for day care options the day after the pregnancy is confirmed so that the new would be moms can resume their jobs as soon as possible.
And this also the age where we still watch the saas-bahu serials. We still read of honor killings and khap panchayats. You may call it a paradox or the strange anomaly of our times. On one hand we have a society that is racing towards a technological revolution. The society that has their entire lives on a small cell phone. We have parents learning to use skypes and g-talks; emails and desktop sharing. We have 3G coming soon. We drive in swanky cars loaded with Bluetooth and GPS but yet navigate our way through cows sitting on the roads. We buy the latest and most advanced appliances, but put vermillion and flowers on them before using them. We carry ‘Coach’ and ‘Louis Vuitton’ bags but still do not forget to put ‘sindoor’ on the forehead. This is the uniqueness of the cultural ethos of India. It is like a two lane highway. One lane is the ultra suave urban life competing globally and ever dependant on technology; while the other lane is the rural, rustic India trying to catch up but at the same time holding its own. So which lane do we take? Maybe find a middle path - keep our feet in the age old lane but our heads in the urban, progressive lane. What say? It’s worth a thought, isn’t it?
And this also the age where we still watch the saas-bahu serials. We still read of honor killings and khap panchayats. You may call it a paradox or the strange anomaly of our times. On one hand we have a society that is racing towards a technological revolution. The society that has their entire lives on a small cell phone. We have parents learning to use skypes and g-talks; emails and desktop sharing. We have 3G coming soon. We drive in swanky cars loaded with Bluetooth and GPS but yet navigate our way through cows sitting on the roads. We buy the latest and most advanced appliances, but put vermillion and flowers on them before using them. We carry ‘Coach’ and ‘Louis Vuitton’ bags but still do not forget to put ‘sindoor’ on the forehead. This is the uniqueness of the cultural ethos of India. It is like a two lane highway. One lane is the ultra suave urban life competing globally and ever dependant on technology; while the other lane is the rural, rustic India trying to catch up but at the same time holding its own. So which lane do we take? Maybe find a middle path - keep our feet in the age old lane but our heads in the urban, progressive lane. What say? It’s worth a thought, isn’t it?
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