Appreciating Unity in Diversity

India is a melting point of several languages, several cultures, several castes and communities, and several rituals associated with each culture.

Somewhere down the line, a vast majority of Indians have learned to appreciate the cultural differences, and have learned to live in perfect harmony with each other.

Yet, we do hear stories of how a Tamilian is not treated so well in Bangalore, or a Kannadiga in Chennai. This is a sad news, and should never ever happen. Even as one should preserve his or her culture,when it comes to appreciating the culture of others, no effort should be spared to mingle with that culture, whatever it be -- Tamil, or Gujarathi or Marathi or the Hindiwala culture. For instance, it is a great sight to see Sardars speak excellent Tamil in Chennai -- people who have settled in this metro for decades for business. They visit temples, contribute their might to social causes, and are second to none when it comes to helping those in need. Similarly,I have seen how hard-working and helping in times of need, Keralities are --whether they are in Chennai or Bangalore or Indore or Mumbai or anywhere else. They quickly learn the knack of getting along well with others, learn the local language, and do any job that comes to them, without waiting for that "good job". For instance, in Mumbai, even today, in the senior most positions, one can find men and women from Tamil Nadu or Kerala, who have joined as typists or stenographers, and worked all their way up. They would have earned their reputation through honesty, integrity, and reliability. They would speak Marathi with as ease as a Mumbai person would.

So, wherever we are, let us try to appreciate the best in human beings, in the local culture, and live a happy life. There is a lot of traffic from the North to the South and vice versa, thanks to the BPO and the IT revolution. This is a welcome trend, and this encouraged a need breed of young professionals to learn about each other, to interact with each other, and sometimes, even become life partners. Only one small catch here. The bond that develops between people should be based on mutual trust, and real affection. Otherwise, the marriage could land both the husband and wife in trouble.

So, as Indians, let us learn to appreciate the new reality of a great deal of melting of various cultures that is already taking place. Let us seek more harmony, so that selfish politicians cannot exploit any of our weaknesses. If we appreciate unity in diversity, it will be the greatest contribution that we would be making to our families, and to the Indian society in general.

Technorati Tags: Art of Living

Vote Result

Score: 0.0, Votes: 0