Astitva - cultural differnces - Page 6

Akshata you summed it up so well !!! 👏 👏 👏 Great one ya .

Infact there are certain values i would like my future kid to learn from the West . And that is respecting all income levels . I have seen kids here respecting the bus driver , toilet cleaner , labourer etc . Thats one thing are desi kids still need to learn . So my point that values are more or less similar every where but stress is paid on different things . We as Indians stress a lot more on morality . While the west stresses on some other things that are important for them.

Originally posted by: lalit1

i just wanted to convey that if we are born indians we cant become totally westernized without not having problems adjusting with our family or society

I agree with you totally on this!! This gets very difficult for many Indians whose children grow up here..I know some colleagues raised here in the US (parents from India) and are very balanced, un-confused individuals.. But there are also some I know who are confused and who have the same problem as you mentioned above.

[dont mean to say that all indians born abroad are abcds or immoral
indians integrate into american society very well
thas the reason for their prosperity compared to other ethnic groups
i just wanted to convey that if we are born indians we cant become totally westernized without not having problems adjusting with our family or society
indian parents abroad shud teach their children to love indian culture as well as western culture
every culture has its own goodness
western culture is not necessarily bad
even we have learnt computers etc from that culture only]

Lalit1,I understand your point of view and agree.

Indygirl, Dignity of labour is indeed something we must all learn from the West.
I just remembered that the value of time,one's own and others' is also something we must learn and teach our children.Our IST is a sad joke everywhere.

Earlier someone had commented on drugs.I feel that a drug addict may not be an immoral person to begin with,but his/her addiction could lead to immoral ways causing self destruction.Hence the need to stay away from that poison.
Cheers,

That is so right... we will remain Indian no matter what... we will question our conscience with what has been imparted to us by people from different walks of life. There are times when teens are influenced with stuff that they see is cool or interesting, but they will realize that it may not be the best and that realiztion will come only if the basics, the foundation is set correctly by the people who they interact with in their daily lives.

Originally posted by: Akshata

I just remembered that the value of time,one's own and others' is also something we must learn and teach our children.Our IST is a sad joke everywhere.

True and that is where I feel privatization has helped. I have worked in Privatr Companies in India and US and Public Sector companies in India and I feel the private companies are not too different as far as work culture is concerned compared to the West.. In fact I was in India working for a week last year (my company's branch office) and I was really really happy to see the value and respect for time there and the difference in attitude compared to a few years ago..Some of my friends have also moved back to India and work for some companies and their observation is the same..I feel the same difference even between the Private airlines and IA.. Most other airlines in India are usaully very punctual and I do think private companies, organizations, etc. are beginning to learn the good stuff from the West..Agreed most of this is limited to Private companies but at least there is an attempt that is being made to learn the good from other cultures!

Originally posted by: rachel490

I totally disagree with you and kruti on this one. Kkrutilynn also mentioned in an earlier post that abcd dont have self identity.

I have many friends who are born here and happily living and married to americans or indians or some other countries whom they loved. Dont generalise your experiences and say that its a classic example.

Every human being have their own identity irrespective of where they born.

👏 because you finally caught it and brought it up - my intention in putting that line in my long rant was to basically indicate that just like we cannot generalize about people born and raised abroad, we should not and cannot generalize about people born and raised in india!! Circumstancces surrounding an individual are what shapes his/her core whereas society can only dictate social norms and paradigms.

Originally posted by: krutilynn

👏 because you finally caught it and brought it up - my intention in putting that line in my long rant was to basically indicate that just like we cannot generalize about people born and raised abroad, we should not and cannot generalize about people born and raised in india!!

Agreed, but did you mention all this earlier? I thought you were talking about ABCD only. I must have missed it then. Will read the whole thread again during the weekend.

Originally posted by: krutilynn

Circumstancces surrounding an individual are what shapes his/her core whereas society can only dictate social norms and paradigms.

👏👏👏

Do you remember, lalit1 mentioned earlier that , society cannot point at someone for whatever he/she is doing and should be allowed to whatever he/she likes to do. I guess society will not be quite in India and interferes in personal lives and dictates the lives sometimes.

Nah, i probably didnt mention it explicitly so dont waste time unduly looking for it...i should have - is a different story 😕
Ya, society does take time to catch up with reality at times... 😆

Yes,xyzzeePrivatization has helped.It has led to competition which in turn has some Govt.companies pull up their socks.There is a considerable positive change in the quality of service/production.

We have to give due credit to the youth of today.They are professional and non judgemental.
I think most of the problems we discussed are of the adolescence,which is a very confusing and demanding period of life.In most Indian homes,whether in India or abroad,there is a disparity in the values held at home and the society at large.Peer pressure can take it's toll sometimes.
Atleast I have seen a huge transformation in the kids who leave home for higher studies at 17/18.

Like my husband tells me" Don't be a nag,but at the same time don't ever give up on your child.He is definitely "storing" what you are telling him.It will show in him as an adult".
We as parents have to be vigilant,but have to let them learn through their mistakes as well.Vigilant because some mistakes could be irrepairable!

Cheers

Another thing i like about the West is respect for an Individuals life and property . When i came to the U.S i was shocked to see that people hardly built walls as boundaries . It was understood - private property - keep out!!!!! . In India we would have happily extended over to our neighbours property and then spent years fighting with our neighbour over the possesion of their land .

About Individual life , i must say i have a strong aversion to the cops in India ( sorry don't want to hurt any one's feeling ...........but i have a strong reasons to say so )
1) Once i was harrased in a car accident case , when we took a accident victim to the hospital, the cops wouldn't let us go and demanded money when we were just being good citizens( they realised i was with my boyfriend ( now hubby)and did not want too much fuss made) !!!
2) Once i was attacked by a cranky old neighbour who hated me walking my dog in the park . I reported the case . Nothing was EVER done about the situation !!
3) One time , me and my boyfriend( now hubby) were sitting in the park .....a cop came and harrased us for money .
Now can such blatant corruption happen in the U.S ? So far i haven't seen it . Also can people get away by beating up other people , and the person lodges a complaint with the police in the U.S ?
Would like to hear your opinion !!!