How Microsoft revolutionized
the Indian society:
Everyone including the media is
blaming BJP/RSS for the Beef ban, rise in religious activities and building of
new temples even though people have become pseudo moralist, religious as well
as corrupt. If someone try to analyze the changing trend in worshiping
different Gods & Goddesses especially in Odisha in last decade would be
perplexed to watch different cultural change along with it. Jaganath culture
was confined to Odisha, similarly Maa kali & Goddess Durga in Bengal,
Hanuman culture in north India, Sai baba, Ganesh Culture in Maharashtra, Chhat
Parba in Bihar, Kalsh Parba, Dandia dance,Dhan-Talash of Gujarat and many more
including Matajee and Baba jee followers .Now every festival is a mega festival
and the state goes into the business & festive mode-mood for weeks. Many
new temples come up on the road sides on Government land where as the old ones
are slowly meeting their graves due to poor maintenance.
The cultural and religious
changes occurred fast after the Microsoft and IT technology entered India.
There was more job opportunity for Odiya boys and girl in other states. Every
third youth from middle class became an IT engineer and migrated to Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Chennai and other places of India
and abroad. Suddenly we produced robots/head clerks for Bill Gates. Majority
fell in love with a boy or a girl from other state and wanted to get married to the girl or the boy
respectively of their choice causing ‘angina pain’ to their parents who just
looked helpless like an Owl on the top of a Neem Tree. Odiya Pua—Bangali jhia,Odiya
Pua –Madrase Jhia,Gujrati Jhia –Odiya pua,Odiya Jhia—Banglorian Pua and many
more, hundreds of permutations and combinations made the ‘remix culture more colorful. There is a cultural mix up and a new generation of youth mushroomed
in every state more so in Odisha as Odiya boys& girls are soft targets.
Marriages were performed in two different styles one as per the bridegroom’s
choice and the other as per bride’s choice if the girl is non Odiya. And whatever
money the boy or the girl had saved goes for a toss during the receptions in
star hotels, accommodating the barat and Gifts as per the culture. More the
education worse has become the dowry culture in a perverted way. In one case
the grooms’ parents from another state said “No demands no dowry, but you have
to take care of barat numbering 40(male, females& children combined) who
would go by air, stay at star hotels for 5 days at Bhubaneswar, you have to
take them to Puri, Konarka and other places of Bhubaneswar. From Bangalore
airport and back is your responsibility, that’s all.” The bridegroom father
added further “the marriage reception at Bangalore will be shared 50—50, OK.”
Most of the working women have docile husbands hence they live happily ever
after love stories cum arranged marriages. The only difference is earlier it
was parents who used to select a groom or a bride for their children but now
it’s the reverse, the children select the partner and the parents have to agree
as there is no other way with one or two child family.
The bride pursues her husband to
purchase a house away from Odisha to escape from the dos and don’ts of her mother
in law. They invite their parents to be a baby sitter or as a helping hand
during pregnancy or look after the house when the couple goes on holidays.
Costly gifts are poured over their parents and in-laws to keep them happy. They
travel by air “as cattle class people travel by Indian railways” as they say.
Once in a while the couple visits their parents but fortunate are the ones who
have a daughter married to a non Odiya and staying abroad.
Along with the language culture
other re-mixed cultures has come up like remix Hindi albums. The dress culture
has transformed the scenario in receptions and meetings, like the blouse which
has no covering on the backside except few threads. If mother in law points out
then she is outdated and primitive. Even the grannies have started wearing the
bare back blouse & mehandi in public places. The bahu moves with a Capri
& a half shirt in her house .Most of the days they take their food in a
restaurant or hotel while coming back from office and bring packed food for the
parents if they have come to spend some time with their son and bahu. Except Saturday
and Sundays the old couple is confined to the house watching the idiotic box or
reading news papers. No easy way to come back to Bhubaneswar as there are no
vacancies in train or in flights. Many old couples have sold their parental
land and house and have migrated to capital as per the advice of their son or
daughter in law because it has an airport.
The “puja room” has multiple Gods
and Goddess even though no one remembers them except at the time of need. The
mother waits in vain for years for her son to return back to India. The son comes after three days of his
parent’s death to give the “Mukhagni”. For that reason different morgues are
coming up in the cities and towns for business purpose as it’s less risky than
building nursing homes. Then we have the “Heavenly Aboard” for the dead at Puri
‘Swargadwara. Is this the beginning or end of our Indian remix culture?
Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy
