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Traditions Re-engineering!

To be or not to be? To follow or It set me thinking how the Indian traditions and
not to follow? This is a typical festivities intended to foster relations with family
dilemma people, especially friends and neighbourhood. The festive menus
working women, belonging to designed to match what was best for health during the
my generation face when it specific season that they were celebrated. The art and
comes to following traditions, craft meant to develop the creative talent.
Prof. Pradnya Mahajan
living up to the cultural standards
and benchmarks. On the one hand there is hi-tech life So, instead of blindly following a tradition or
style, and on the other there is a legacy of traditions, discarding it completely, a re-engineering approach to
culture, food and the list goes on. The outcome of such following traditions would probably work best for
a dilemma, often is that you give up the tradition or a those in such a dilemma.
cultural ritual conveniently justifying the action by Re-engineering here can be a radically different
modern day life styles, both working partners, and approach of carrying out a tradition by keeping the
several other reasons.
value-add steps and discarding the ones that are
Those who still manage to follow the traditions either redundant and not relevant in current context.
do it under the pressure of some senior at home, or a In the context of traditions the value add steps or
social group, or fear consequences of not following the rituals can be those that bring happiness, joy, develop
tradition (without any scientific or logical reason) or creative talent, build relations, create a positive aura in
simply because they are habituated. The question still your living and the redundant or the non- value add
remains. Do I keep following what my Grand Mom or ones can be those which stress you out, have an option
Mom followed as a tradition, ritual or a festive to be out sourced or are not possible to be carried out in
process? Or can I reengineer the traditions without the present day context.
losing the intent, with due respect to the legacy that has
been passed on from generation to generation. Over the years that I have been following such
traditions, I have looked at them as stress busters,
The 'Chitale Bandhu' advertisement, that was making little modification when necessary and strictly
circulating on social media during the Diwali festival, adhering to the ones that I felt were value add to the up-
shows how the son is habituated to his Mom preparing bringing of my children.
all the sweets at home and his wife, a working woman
who turns the entire picture around by outsourcing the So, instead of To Be or Not To Be, To Be by holding on
sweets from 'Chitale Bandhu' and spends festive to value-add and let go the redundant may be a better
moments with Mom-in-law making lanterns, bursting approach when it comes to following traditions.
crackers and gifting near and dear ones together.

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