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 Culturally, Nepal and India are more similar than different
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Posted on 04-15-11 11:03 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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I know that it is very difficult for us Nepalese to get past the instinctual gut response that comes from decades of hating Indians. 
Putting that aside, I wanted to share an article that I found to be quite insightful and interesting.

It is a radio interview and an excerpt from the author's book: 'India Calling'
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/04/132631222/india-calling-the-new-land-of-opportunity

In many ways, as much as we Nepalese want to 'differentiate our brand' and say that Nepal is different from India, the fact remains that we probably share more in common with India in terms of culture than any other country in the world. We Nepalese need to think less locally and more globally.

As much as it is changing today because of an increasing spirit of creativity in Kathmandu, a lot of our entertainment (Bollywood songs and movies) in Nepal has come from India. There is a lot of literature, spirituality that comes in from India. Just look at Baba Ramdev's infuence.

But, in many ways, Nepal also struggles with the same cultural issues that India struggles with. 'Castism', a permanent sense of 'master & servant' molds that are hard to get out of. Status both in Nepal and India are more rigid. In America, 'land of opportunity' (cliche) social mobility is more fluid.

"In India, you're eternally a master and eternally a servant," Giridharadas tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "Servants in many ways have been seen — and [have] been taught to see themselves — as being not someone who is situationally inferior, but someone who is eternally, intrinsically inferior."

In Nepal we have the same above problem.

What I am saying is that progressive Nepalese need to more think along the lines of how to promote and prosper Nepali culture by piggy-backing on India's cultural and economic success in the world, instead of seeing India's success as a threat to Nepal. Certainly, even within India, Nepali culture is one of it's recognized cultures (though, the flavor of Nepali culture in Darjeeling and Sikkim are certainly different).
Last edited: 15-Apr-11 11:09 AM

 
Posted on 04-15-11 11:13 AM     [Snapshot: 11]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Giridharadas experienced first-hand the different treatment of the servant and the served one morning when he visited friends for breakfast. A "typical elite Indian breakfast with all of the fussiness and all of the servitude" was presented by the family's obsequious and much-loved servant.  Later that day, Giridharadas returned to the friend's house — this time in shorts and a T-shirt — to bring over a mattress. The same man who had served breakfast mistook Giridharadas for a delivery man and began gruffly barking orders at him.

When Giridharadas reminded the servant who he was, he says the man underwent a "total human metamorphosis ... he shrunk right in front of me from a master to a servant," Giridharadas says. "And you realize that almost every Indian is engaged in both of these transactions at different moments of their days: superior to some, inferior to others. As an Indian poet once said, 'never thinking to resist the one kick from above, nor to refrain from giving the kick below.'"

In Nepal, we have the exact same problem.


 
Posted on 04-15-11 11:17 AM     [Snapshot: 16]     Reply [Subscribe]
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 i think you should find yourself a hobby and make good use of your time buddy! 
 
Posted on 04-15-11 11:21 AM     [Snapshot: 23]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Pirka,

I am spending time with you on sajha.com and enjoying your company. Thanks.

Last edited: 15-Apr-11 11:22 AM

 
Posted on 04-15-11 11:45 AM     [Snapshot: 49]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Our religion made us rigid and we  were banned from inter-racial marriage which did not let us mingle with other race. That is the reason of this chaos all over the world that what Hitler did. The truth is we Asian residing Hindukus area  were the one trying to purify thier race and religion long time before Hitler did and still doing.  But somewhere it was advised if you are about to loose your family tree get inter-racial marriage to save it.


 
Posted on 04-15-11 11:57 AM     [Snapshot: 89]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Syanjali,

Can you explain further what you are trying to say?
 
Posted on 04-15-11 12:54 PM     [Snapshot: 124]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Everyone knows that we share more similarities that anybody else? Let us be a hypocrite you crip, will ya? Thats how we enjoy our freedom or at least i do.

I do watch bollywood movies, buy their spices and even look like one of them. So what? I use their products not because its the best out there, but only because i got no options. Despite, i will never in 100 years be willing to accept the fact that our decendents came from India. Not that its not true, but i just don't want to.
When i will have a baby, i will never expose him/her to an Indian Culture/ Bollywood/ Food/ TV or Cricket. Wish my parents had done the same.
 
Posted on 04-15-11 2:02 PM     [Snapshot: 175]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Dimag Kharab,

Why should us Bir Nepalese be so afraid of India?

Do you really feel that India and Indian culture are such a threat to your children that you need to 'protect them from it?' Do you really feel that us Nepalese are that weak that we need to stay away from the Indian disease, in such an active way, otherwise we will get the 'Indian Cancer?' What exactly is the harm that comes from this "Indian Cancer?" What is your greatest fear?

Do you really feel us Nepalese are not strong enough about our own identity that we need to be so fearful of Indian culture or influence? Are we truly incapable of accepting how Indians are different and respecting them for how they are different from us?

Can we not, similiarily, demand, that they respect how we are different from them? Why do we need to shake in fear of Indians and be so scared? Is there no way to promote Nepali culture on its own merit, without showing that it is anti-India? Only Nepalese, who are not clear about the beauty and uniqueness of their own Nepali culture will promote Nepali culture on the basis of 'we are not India.' Of course we are not India. In the world stage, we are a lot more than just not being India. Our beauty, strength, uniqueness is NOT defined by how much we are not India.

I don't understand people who can simply define Nepal's identity as being 'not India.'

I would like to hope that you will give your children strong enough cultural roots and that they will know who they are as Nepalese in such a bold and clean way, that your children will not have a single doubt about who they are. I would imagine that they will be able to boldly hit their chest and say, "Yes, I am a Nepali." But why, would you teach your children to be afraid of, and to run away from exposure of any kind, including Indian culture? What exactly are you afraid will get erased from your children if they expose themselves to Indian culture? 

Have you truly not gained anything culturally from the Hindi movies you have seen? Have you truly not seen any parallels of Nepali culture and how society in Nepal works from the Hindi movies? I know many Nepalese watched the Mahabharat and Ramayan and other television serials on Doordarshan and learned a great deal about their own cultural roots.

Nepal is it's own unique culture. We have a lot of similarities with India. And what I am saying is that if we are clear about what we are and what we are not, we can associate and benefit from what India has to offer, without being threatened by India and needing to demonize Indian culture.
 

When the only way to show how we Nepalese are different is to demonize Indians, it doesn't make us look strong. It makes us look weak. Stop hurting Nepal by making her seem like she is weak!
 

Last edited: 15-Apr-11 02:40 PM

 
Posted on 04-15-11 2:52 PM     [Snapshot: 214]     Reply [Subscribe]
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"Why should us Bir Nepalese be so afraid of India?Do you really feel that India and Indian culture are such a threat to your children that you need to 'protect them from it?"
~ Our own culture is so much enslaved by Indian culture that i can barely find any uniqueness anymore. Almost every festivals of ours are virtually being "Indianized" by the media and its not going to take long before we realize that we are transitioning into their cultures. that's what i fear about. I want my kids to understand that Nepalse culture is not altered or affected by the Indian Culture and it has its own values to appreciate without relating it to someone's else culture.

"Do you really feel that us Nepalese are that weak that we need to stay away from the Indian disease, in such an active way, otherwise we will get the 'Indian Cancer?"
~ Because of the fact that we are now living in the place where nepalese resources are unavailable and we got not choice other than assimilate to indian food, spices and culture to some extent, i feel that its making us more weaker.

"
Do you really feel us Nepalese are not strong enough about our own identity that we need to be so fearful of Indian culture or influence? "
~ Yes. Why would an American when invited to your place for dinner would classify your food as the one they had in an Indian restaurant? Its because we used their spices instead of the ones my mom used to prepare at home.

"
Are we truly incapable of accepting how Indians are different and respecting them for how they are different from us?Can we not, similiarily, demand, that they respect how we are different from them?"
~  No, we cannot. Its actually them who consider that Nepalese have the same cultures that they have and speak Hindi because they have seen us buying spices from the indian store and watching a bollywood movies. 

"I
s there no way to promote Nepali culture on its own merit, without showing that it is anti-India. Only Nepalese, who are not clear about the beauty and uniqueness of their own Nepali culture will promote Nepali culture on the basis of 'we are not India.'?"
Hindiusm itself share a lot of similarities, but our access to the resource is totally dependent upon the indian culture and that's why we are loosing ourselves. We follow many festivals that does not even belong to us. Wahtever uniqueness we had, is slowly diminishing especially because we no longer live in Nepal.




 
Posted on 04-16-11 12:46 PM     [Snapshot: 281]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Dimag Kharab,

The solution to the problem you are mentioning is to encourage more Nepalese to follow in the footsteps of these people:
Prabal Gurung, Tara Devi, Narayan Gopal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, B.P Koirala, Manjushree Thapa, Parijat, various Nepali visual artists, painters, Hari Bansa and Madhan Krishna, Samrat Upadhyaya, Santosh Pant and others who have produced Nepali television serials and movies, etc

We all need to take responsibility and do our little part to promote Nepali culture. It is not the Indians responsibility to promote Nepali culture. It is ours.

From what you are saying, it seems that you are afraid of being culturally absorbed by India and losing your individuality as a Nepali. It seems that this is what you're fighting against.

It is Nepali cultural values that is destroying Nepali culture, not the Indians.

If Nepal is today threatened by Indian culture, it is not India's fault. It is because not enough Nepalese are putting their energy in the right direction. Not enough Nepalese are creatively expressing and inspiring other Nepalese. There are not enough Nepalese who are taking what is good and beautiful and wonderful about Nepal and promoting it all over the world the way Indians are.

We Nepalese encourage the most brilliant and creative minds in our culture to build their careers by being doctors and engineers so that they can stand independently. We think it is only when someone is rich that they have become a great man, worthy of respect by all other Nepalese. These are the cultural values that we promote amongst each other. The Indians did not promote these values in Nepal, we Nepalese did.

What is our Nepali cultural logic?
We say that everybody with a good mind should study the sciences. If you aren't hard working and sharp enough to make it in the sciences, then study business. And, if you don't have enough ability for hard work and intelligence to even study business (in other words, you are that useless), then study arts. Of course, if you study the arts, most Nepalese will look down on you.

So basically, we encourage the most brilliant minds in our country to study the sciences so that they can look out for their own careers. And we make fun of and look down on all the people and careers that could promote creativity and communication (arts). And then us Nepalese sit around crying to each other saying that our culture is being lost, and we blame the Indians. How convenient. 

Why haven't more Nepalese been able to promote Nepali culture? Could it be because we Nepalese have put so much emphasis on our children being doctors, engineers, and bankers that we have discouraged them from pursuing the arts? Could it be because as a culture, we have actively discouraged our children from pursuing movie production, writing, as careers? Perhaps, that is why, unlike Bollywood, we don't have as sophisticated as an industry that communicates Nepali culture to the world the way the Indians do?

So why blame the Indians? When are people like you and I going to admit our own responsibility in all of this?

Let's talk about what you and I can do today. Blaming India does not solve Nepal's problems. It just makes Nepalese seem like we are weak and powerless. Many of the Nepalese I mentioned up top have shown how we are strong, creative and capable.

Last edited: 16-Apr-11 12:55 PM

 
Posted on 04-16-11 1:11 PM     [Snapshot: 299]     Reply [Subscribe]
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हाम्रो धर्म र सन्स्कार को प्रभाब हो यो , राम र रावणको कथा दुई बर्ग बिचको द्वन्द हो । ४ जात छत्तिस बर्ण को कुरा पुस्तकमा र भाषाणमा सिमित भए। भयो होला १-२ दसक अन्तर जातिय बैबाहिक तेती ठुलो बिबादको कुरो हैन। हामी जात र बर्ण मिलाएर बिहे बारी मा अझै विश्वाश गरेका छौ , त्यो बर्ण ब्यबस्था को solid Foundation  हो । सबैले आफ्नो आफ्नो जात र भात मिलाए । नयाँ नस्ल कही दखिए त ? दुई बर्ण को मिस्रण हुन लाई बैबाहिक सम्बन्ध भन्दा अरु कुनै उपाय छैन । किन स्रन्कन गम्पो लाई नेपाली छोरी दिए त ?
आज तराइ बासी लाई पहाडी मुलका ले मान्छे नै गन्दैन थिए , उनिहरु सँग पनि हाम्रो जात पात मिलाएर बिहे बारी गर्न सकिन्थ्यो तर तेसो भएन , बिभाजान र भिभाजित परापुर्ब काल देखी गर्दै आयौ, तेसैको तुस र उपज मा माओवादीले उज्ज्वलनशिल प्रदार्थ थपिदिएको छ । म ठुलो मेरो सन्स्कार ठुलो को अहम लिएर आएका छौ ।
नेपालमा तथ्यान्क खोज्न गाह्रो छ , काली नेपाली मुलका ले तराइ मुलका सँग बैबाहिक जिबनमा प्रबेस गरेका छन । उनिहरु लाचर भएर पारी जानु परेको छ अनी नेपाल भन्दा भरत्को बदी माया मोह भएको हुन सक्छ ।
भन्नु होस् न , अमेरिकी नागरिकत लिदैमा हाम्रो नेपाल को मोह गएको छैन अनी एही जन्मिएकाको पनि केही नेपाल प्रती आस्था देखिन्छ। I do not see any major differences as place and time changes things get modified that is all.




 
Posted on 04-16-11 1:16 PM     [Snapshot: 297]     Reply [Subscribe]
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BABAL_KHATE
<Quote>
In many ways, as much as we Nepalese want to 'differentiate our brand' and say that Nepal is different from India, the fact remains that we probably share more in common with India in terms of culture than any other country in the world. We Nepalese need to think less locally and more globally.
</Quote>

Well , If you talk about people who look similar to indian Yes you are right but remember there are different kinds of people and they have different kinds of culture even though Nepal is small country. Dont you see even the culture of all Nepalese are not same how can you say its same to  India.  

Besides that Pakistan and Bangladesh have more common culture to India than Nepal.
 
Posted on 04-16-11 1:19 PM     [Snapshot: 305]     Reply [Subscribe]
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Syanjali,

I am still trying to understand what it is you're trying to say. Many different people have posted in this thread and I understand what they are saying. But I still don't understand how you are relating the topic of this thread and the contents of this thread to what you are saying. I want to understand what you are saying.


 


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