My village!

cyberhippie

This thread is in part inspired by a wonderful invitation to visit a IMer's "village"

An invite to the village he knows, as his own!! (my village)

I started thinking about how this was a reoccuring theme in my travels in India.

Many talk of their village roots, alongside caste and religion, I've noticed a proud grasp of family traditions and geneology. A real sense of worth, in what has been achieved, within the feudal family unit

It seems sometimes, as if present realities, are forged in Indian loyalty to family and their roots. Perhaps a good model to build on???

Anyway the question : for a wee bit of insight into India and her people, is it something Indians still cherish, a sense of belonging, history, and Aunty Ji's Gujia recipe??

Indian family awareness seems to exude a sense of family, history, hardship and gain.
The present day family bonds are apparent but somehow I think in India, it's more than that,there's an prediliction with the continuation of the family!! A tie to the past, present and future of the fuedal family, something that is almost unshakable!!

I digress anyone if our India members care to tear me to shreds???

Paagla Dashu

You bet!

You can take an Indian out of India but you cannot take India out of an Indian.

Don't get distracted by the modern crowds in discos and big cities trying their best to be otherwise (read western) - real India still lives in the family bonds. If you go to small towns and villages, the meaning of family goes beyond immediate blood relations.

Society is more important than an individual - in India.

crvlvr

Add to that tradition and superstion -- which I think is holding India back.

With the divorce rates climbing and employment available for teenagers, I think we are seeing the beginning of a new generation that will feel less bonded (or tied down, depending on the way one looks at it) to the family.

There are "family bonds" in many families today that are just a facade in order keep up appearances to a critical society. the saying, "what will people think?" comes to mind.

As women are becoming more independent, they less inclined to put up with crap. Sadly, the lack of economic/financial independence was one of the main ingredients that kept families together in the past.

sudheer poppa

I feel the attachement to the larger family is drastically coming down as visit to relatives for vacation is being replaced by summer camps and activity camps... Which is supposed to be doing the same things as a visit to village would have done, sans the affection and proximity with relatives and ofcourse a much bigger price tag.

There is a definite shift in the age blocks, say with the ones in 40's most attached, 30's more of less closely linked, 20's finding it difficult to remember most relatives names, and teens trying to name most of the relatives !!!

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Paagla Dashu

I guess Indians living outside India might be more attached to their families compared to those living in the country.

With the benefit of the exposure they are also less likely to see only positives in the western ways of life - which on the surface can look very attractive to a 20 something kid working in a BPO in India.

Just what I think - not necessarily right.

Hyderabadi

My village is always a part of my me, not just me but my kids too, only they have 'Our Villages' their Mom's and mine. We are devoting a major portion of our next trip to India in both these villages. Thanks for bringing up the topic CH

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cyberhippie

By the wistful way I hear some Indians talking about their village, it seems like it's their bond to the mud of mother India a realisation of no matter what their present circumstance are their roots were born in rural India.

I see this as a healthy outlook and I'm saddened that perhaps this link to ones past may be lost as India takes on a new role in the lives of young Indians, as a sense of a more complete identity is I think a good thing and something we have largely lost in the west!!

So who else still visits their home village???

indira

So who else still visits their home village???[/quote]

Me, I was bought up in Goa, I still go barefeet in the village, still jump over the wall to see what the neighbours have cooked, still goes fishing, and getting muschels from the sea, still buy my groceries from the same shop...and and and....

rhytha

The village is still a thing to remeber for most. An often asked question to a newbie is "whats your native?"

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jyotirmoy

crvlvr, I fail to understand what role does superstition play in family bond. I also disagree that family bond to most of us is a facade. Ok employment opurtunities are expanding but how does that make some one unattached to ones family? Do you think Indian women think family as a crap? You might have seen a very very minute rather molucular size sample of Indian people to make you think so. There are many many very affluent, educated & modern men & women who have maintained very strong bonding with their folks. Have you attended a marriage in India? You will see how families arrive much before the wedding from different places even from abroad. House are often taken on temporary lease to accomodate them. No my dear friend we do value our family bond too much.

greenchutney

one of the ingredients..was it main?..that is subject to debate. nobody can debate the child care aspect. a child growing in a joint family has many advantages at least in the earlier stages of life. sense of social security kept the family together. sense of belonging kept people together..sense of taking care of each other in times of sickness and age..

women putting up with crap, men putting up with crap, fathers putting up with a grown son's crap, mothers putting up with grown daughter-in-law crap..its all over the place and there is lot of of crap everywhere!..

traditions dont hold us back. it is we who are making excuses of such. adapt to the times. respect traditions for what they are. there are plenty of good ones too and i can list quite a few of them. science is bringing out the explanations for many of them which we followed as rules from the past...

capt_mahajan

I might, but its in Pakistan,

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wonderwomanusa

I recently read a book called MOTIBA'S TATTOOS by Mira Kamdar. After her grandmother's death, Kamdar went on a trip to Gujarat, to the family's ancestral village, and although she didn't discover why her grandmother was tattooed, she did find much of the family history that was new to her.