What would you rather be- Original or Knockoff ?

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In this very high paced,ever evolving ,current world that we all are living in, all the inhabitants that we are, have been reduced to dynamic objects in constant motion. Objects of our own goals, aims and the undying desire to reach the zenith. The only thing permanent is change-rest almost everything else is transient.

Man’s quest for knowledge, unbeatable hunger to unearth the unknowns – has undeniably elevated humankind to the pedestal of accomplishment in respect to multiple lenses. Men in this 21st year of the 21st Century have not only made amazing groundbreaking advancements on this planet, the achievements have far and beyond reached into the astral space as well.

The country of India with population of ~1.4B inspite of all the catastrophic challenges that the world has faced collectively in the form of Global pandemic in 2020 continuing to 2021 is gradually marching her way in all forums of development be that economic or scientific to engrave her presence amongst the “Developed Nations”. All these positive changes highlighted here, hopefully comes with modified thinktanks on the block.

With progress in the world,one expects to see progress in the mindsets too. This narrative is done through India’s lenses. Urban India indeed has seen seachange advancement in numerous fields of science, technology, space studies over the the past couple of decades. Generations have also evolved in every aspects.

Interestingly,over these years as India’s urban sector continues to see growth spurts, what has become very notable is an uncanny blending of the East and the Western World .

What was once a “Western” aka “American “ dream of fancies, riches , glitters, fashion, gadgets& many more , has over the years commingled with the smart, intellectually very efficient “ Desi” vision and has transpired to become an adaptive, emerging new generation of tech savvy , progressive,forward looking amalgamated culture.A rich Indian culture which has been embellished even further by embracing new thoughts by liberating from the shackles of ungrounded myths, and has marched forward valiantly with every zeal.

And as Sir Winston Churchil had once quoted “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” and as long as change is for the better-progress is inevitable.

With every progress,comes challenges which the society faces as a whole. In today’s blended culture, where on one hand Halloween is celebrated on the last day of October (with frightful as well as interesting costumes ), with almost the same zeal as Diwali in many urban pockets in India, Holi’s colors are sprinkled with equal fervor in different cities of America ushering the advent of Spring.

The day after Thanksgiving popularly known as ‘Black Friday’ which is a “dedicated Shopaholic’s Day “ has started getting much momentum back amongst the Indian diaspora as well. Similarly “Cyber Monday” – doesn’t trail behind too and has enthralled online shoppers across both the continents.

Thus blend in cultures has been unanimously accepted across both the sides of the globe and has extended well into cuisines, fashion statements, music, movie etc.

Just as Indian Curry,attuned to the Western Taste Buds has acquired a permanent softcorner amongst most of the Firangi “Foreign” counterparts, likewise most of the American joints like Chillis, AppleBees, TGIF, along with the cheerful jesters of Mickey Ds i.e. McDonalds too have sprung in nook and corners in most of the metro and big cities of India.

Thus where festivals, food, music, cultures have intermingled, it is of no surprise that the fusion & steady Western influence has exhibited gleefully amongst the demi couture industry as well!! The fashion statement amongst the current generation in India is marked by a heavy Western influence .

These are all healthy telltale signs of progress within a society. Afterall what is the value added in a society marked by stagnation of thoughts , ideas and words.

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However, this advancement beckons for the hidden disclaimer to be spelled out aloud.

Every rich delectable food comes packed in ostentatious package with dietary labels at the back. The label gives out unspoken Warning Alarms in equal intervals every single time we indulge in devouring one gulp after the other- reminding of the illeffects of over-consumption that it would have.

Thus in this society,in this age of mutual influence of the East and West on each other, where adaptation of mutual traditions takes the prime seat, one could only wish that this too comes with a statutory warning-

“Try to adapt to the changes – yet don’t get lost; Try to build upon what you have- instead of tearing down your own”.

This thought and the need of such statutory warnings stems from a very recent happening that has hit the headlines when an Indian woman cladded in the Indian traditional dress code of saree enters a posh Indian restaurant in the capital of India – Delhi. On grounds of not being adorned in a “ smart outfit” aka Western Outfit this respectable lady had been denied entry – hence the pleasure of dining in that eatery. This untoward , unpleasant incident has left many agaped,pondering about the choices we have made collectively as a society as a whole-A gnawing question automatically crops up nagging the minds “ Have we as a society wronged our ownselves? Where did we go wrong that we feel the urge to disdain our own cultural values?”

It is the mindset which determines the smartness, it is the pure vision within the soul which sees the picture bright and clear. This oversimplified fact gets overshadowed by the pretentous makebelief ideas of some coveted class.

In the bid to emulate a culture foreign to us, in order to prove that tradition is outdated which needs to be replaced by something trendy, hip and happening, this one instance not only depicts the deplorable low to which our concocted tastes have plunged to ; it sadly exposes the shallowness of the human mind .

While it is true,to move ahead, one needs to know to adapt,but it also imperative at this point to always keep this in mind to look back before making plans to move ahead , before adapting to changes.

A society flourishes in a symbiotic environment,when adaptation to changes are done on the basis of the existing ones – instead of fighting the old to build the new. Thus leaving you with this “Food for thought”:So time to decide –

Would you choose to remain blindfolded, oblivious to surroundings &imitate a culture ignoring the relevance and in turn get ridiculed?

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Revel in your own culture, adapt to the surroundings, imbibe the richness from the other traditions and build upon your own to make a mark of your own?

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Think from your heart – and Stand Out… 👍👍🙌👍👍