Keeping traditions alive

It is interesting to see how people, away from their native land, hold on to their culture, writes Nabanita Sircar.

Navratri and Durga Puja celebrations are over and preparations for Diwali are in full swing. Yet each year, it does not cease to amaze me how London transforms itself to suit every religious festival for every community. Every year when I attend Durga Puja, and there are plenty of them held in London itself, it is as if all those present have managed to transcend the boundaries of time and distance. Women attired in crisp Bengali cotton saris, no matter what the weather outside is, or what their work pressures are, never miss the daily pushpanjali.

This year, because Puja fell during weekdays, I found women made the effort of rushing home from office, at lunchtime, to get changed into traditional Bengali attire and attend puja, before going through the same routine to rush to get back to work. On Vijaya Dashami, you can hear the skies resounding with sounds of fireworks. Such efforts, I guess, is what keeps one's tradition and culture alive in a home away from home. It is interesting to see how people, once removed from their native country, make a concerted effort to hold on to their culture. Garba is celebrated with great aplomb here during Navratri. Even the younger generation, I find, and many will agree with me, is far more traditional than their counterparts in India.

A popular Indian, and a face seen at almost all charity events in London, Lord Navneet Dholakia has now completed his term as President of the Liberal Democratic party. At a farewell dinner hosted for him by several Indians at the Savoy hotel, his party leader Charles Kennedy paid him rich tributes and said that he believed that the best is still to come for Lord Dholakia. We hope it does!

But one thing is for sure, this Bollywood 'in-the-face' routine at most dinners these days is getting a bit too much too bear. It is really not popularising Bollywood-style dance, instead it's an apology for it. Even at Lord Dholakia's farewell dinner one young lady gave a solo performance, which made most of us, with some knowledge of Indian dancing, be it Bollywood or classical, cringe in our seats. What are desis here trying to popularise in the name of Bollywood?

If you are aping something you need to do it well. Look at our Madhuri Dikshits, Urmila Mataondkars and Karishma Kapoors and you realise it is not merely about wearing bell-button-showing dazzling outfits and trying to shake your hips, a lot of hard work and knowledge of some classical dance form does go into it. May be exponents of Indian classical dance need to invest their efforts in making young Indians here more aware and provide training facilities for them. They are obviously keen to learn and perform, seeing the rising popularity of Bollywood numbers. But what they get are few video clips of Hindi film dance scenes, or trainers who have very little qualification but have been smart to make a name by jumping on the Bollywood bandwagon.

Basere se dur, keep the tradition alive!