By Oliver Lyngdoh
“Im Ka Kyrteng, Sah Ka Nam!”
Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you that this write-up has nothing to do with what the Khasi phrase means. Rather I am just using it as an attention grabber so that people will read this small write-up. And for my non-Khasi speaking friends who do not understand the phrase please ask your Khasi friends to translate it for you. For my Khasi friends who do not understand the phrase, this write up is meant exactly for you!
Sometime ago, I attended a function where important officials, ministers, educators and other dignitaries were present. I won’t bore you with the details of the event but two particular performances stood out. One was the “Khasi Harvest Dance” as the announcer informed the audience and the other was a traditional musical number performed by an all-female ensemble.
The important guests who were from various parts of India and some international guests were in awe at the breathtaking performances and at the end of the program, where a small group of us were gathered, a question was asked if those who had performed were people from the department itself. To our dismay, the response was that the performers were all hired from a famous local group who had recently gained traction and fame nationally. The reason given was that the employees of the said department lacked the knowledge and know-how of such cultural themes and didn’t have the time to learn the same. But it was not because of lack of talent.
This led us to question firstly the lack of cultural knowledge in the department and secondly the lack of knowledge and the neglected interests of our own people for our own cultures and practices and surprisingly, even to our own language (dialect?).
Our conversations and the narratives which lead to debates and arguments can be summed up as the recent trend of neglect of culture and cultural elements due to a highly globalised world; a lack of interest from people concerned, disengagement of students and the absence of cultural education in mainstream curricula. Additionally, the uncritical adoption of western media – content, fashion, living standards etc, – and western educational models without retaining our unique traditions contributes to the erosion of our cultural identity.
Any person with a smartphone can now easily access the internet and with a single sign on can sign up to various Social Networking Sites (SNS). This easy access is not only limited to the access of entertainment websites, but to a whole lot of other educational, financial and other important information on the digital world. But that is beside the point of this article. The world has become so connected that it is hard to comprehend where one block starts and where the other ends. This has led to people from the rural corners of Meghalaya to be able to connect with someone in rural Africa- bridging the gap of information sharing, building bridges and bringing the whole world together. But the main point of discontent here is that people focus more on ‘entertainment’ rather than the educational aspects of this connected world.
Education plays an important role in shaping the mindsets of students, individuals and communities. Unfortunately the neglect of cultural education in the curriculum has contributed to the dilution of our own cultural heritage. Add to this the reluctance of parents and teachers to teach and talk about our cultural heritage due to their own lack of knowledge of the same or due to the excessive burdens in their own lives has led to the slowly diminishing connection to our roots.
The rise of Westernization, driven by connectivity and globalisation and the prevalence of western ideologies or the unwarranted desire to western culture and philosophy is another factor eroding cultural diversity. The best example to be taken on this is the widespread adoption of cafes in our city serving international cuisines. Very few however actually serve our own authentic local cuisines. Musical shows, which are plentiful, due to our government promoting local talent showcases best in class artists and performers. However, the sad part here is that there are hardly or very few artists and performers who would showcase our own cultural heritage via song and dance.
Our musical interests and inclinations, mine included, are shaped by the rock and pop stars, metal bands and pioneers of the 80’s-90’s-2000’s music which we grew up listening to on cable TV and tape-recorders. But very few of us would know our own local artists and bands composing songs in our own mother tongue or using our own instruments and genres. Even the Khasi-Jaintia pioneers in music might perhaps have been influenced by others back then; “might” being the focal word.
The blind imitation and adoption of western values, models and lifestyles and the mere replication of the same without understanding the underlying principles and adapting them to suit local needs and customs has led to a form of cultural homogenization. This perhaps might cause the loss of our own roots. It has been prevalent for quite a while now as evident from the Gen-Z and Millennials of our generation not being able to converse and write in their own tongue, this author included.
This mimic of western ideologies and practices, albeit not a bad thing, but without retaining our own unique standards and ideals, our own rich tapestry of local traditions has become increasingly threadbare.
While adopting western influences, curricula, lifestyles, brands, values, models etc, it is also appropriate that we tailor the same to our own traditions and cultures to better ourselves. Copying structures, without the understanding of the underlying principles and understanding the basic reasons why the West do what they do, is a recipe for the demise of our own heritage. There is also, in recent times, this growing school of thought that “culture”- read dances, songs, festivals etc; should only be celebrated and performed by those who practice the indigenous belief system. This defeats the purpose of trying to revive and safe-guard our roots. For if we can blindly accept and follow the West with no question or understanding of underlying principles, why should we be offended if others want to step in to learn and partake in our customs? If we are against this so-called intrusion, but continue to blindly take in others’, we face a future as a dying breed. Our roots will disappear and we will be left with oral tales of traditions and history while being homogenized into something new while losing sight of where we came from.
The disappearance of culture and traditions is a complicated issue that stems from blind adoption and acceptance of alien influences, disengagement of people from their roots, an absence of cultural education in our mainstream curriculum and to an extent social exclusion of those who want to genuinely revive and partake in it. To reverse this trend, a concerted effort is needed to instil pride and interest in one’s cultural heritage, integrate cultural education into mainstream curricula, and critically evaluate and adapt foreign educational models to suit our unique needs. Hopefully, perhaps through these measures can we dare hope to safeguard and revitalize the cultural richness that defines our societies.
I hope this article opens up the floor for societal conversation and a pooling of minds and hearts for the whole point of human existence is to think, debate, discuss and find common ground for the way forward.