My Culture or Nothing

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Willingness to adapt.

Compost. We nurture the soil with vegetable peelings from the kitchen, dead leaves from the garden and some water during the dry season, so that it can return the favour and allow seeds to grow into mischievous chillies, proud spinach and lazy pumpkins.
It’s the same with culture.  There must be a willingness to understand why certain cultures believe 13 is an unlucky number. That is why buildings in North America don’t have a 13th floor.

That understanding should include why other cultures eat with their hands, use what you think are sticks to eat, walk barefoot, sleep on the ground, bow in greeting, pour a drop alcohol on the ground before drinking, call each brother or sister and touch elders’ feet.
Canada seems to be the ideal place for that willingness since it is a compost country, but it is not hundred percent because of humans’ selfish nature.  It is my culture or nothing, an attitude that presupposes that culture is perfect.

 
It is not.  It leads to women crying on the bus, women in shelters and men going to other countries to work for dollars in order to sustain imperfect cultures, but it is culture nonetheless, and it’s theirs.

India is film.  It is the biggest producer of theatrical movies, not counting television productions.  Therefore, people interested in film watch Indian cinema.
The willingness to accept the other culture can be gleaned from Om Jai Jagadish, directed by Anupam Kher, starring Urmila Matondkar, Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan, Chet Dixon and many more.

The movie’s storyline is real estate and the thirst for land to satisfy the demand for condominiums. Three brothers grew up in a house next to the sea.  A land developer gets hold of their home through unscrupulous means.
Fardeen Khan’s character is the second born and lives in the U.S. and has a best friend, played by Chet Dixon.  In one scene, Khan’s character touches the feet of his friend’s grandfather.  The old man explains to his grandson that it is Indian culture, a sign of respect.
It is a miniscule example, but it demonstrates what can be achieved through a willingness to learn, to grow, to be a better person.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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