The Indian Culture Essay Example for Free

The Indian Culture Essay Cultural patterns define the people of a country and help in understanding their behavior, mind-set and mode of living. In India, the diverse population of the country shows some singular similarities in communication, inter-personal relations, and views about marriage and family which together constitute the unique structure of the Indian culture. Man-woman equations in the family set-up as well as the position of elders in the house are significant pointers to the culture of India. The Indian Culture Every culture has its unique characteristics which define its identity and amplify the behavioral pattern of its people. In the Indian context, the diverse languages, religions and regions of the vast country play a major part in the multifarious communication and relation markers within the same cultural texture. However, certain qualities remain uniformly similar within the assorted hues of the Indian culture. As Nirad C Chaudhuri writes: â€Å"modern Indian culture was based on a fusion of two independent and unconnected cultures, the European and the ancient Indian† ( The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian 474). The effect of long-term British colonization and the rich heritage of the Sanskrit past combine to give the Indian culture its distinctive color and identity. By nature, Indians are usually verbose and like sharing/discussing ideas with each other, at times personal problems, even communicating thoughts on public issues from politics to sports. Greetings are usually with folded hands (and the accompaniment of ‘Namaste’ in Hindi, the national language), but significantly, respect to elders is shown by touching the feet of the seniors. Greetings normally go hand in hand with queries about health and life in general. However, unlike the Western concept of a strict adherence to one’s privacy, Indians by and large want to know what’s going on in their fellow men’s lives, and the questions are expected to be answered with detailed explanation about the current situation in one’s life. Emotions run high in the horizon of the ordinary Indians’ existence, from the annoyance at the over-crowded bus to the jubilation at the Indian cricket team’s victory. The western concept of direct eye-contact while talking with colleagues or superior suggesting a honest rapport is deemed an act of shamelessness especially with someone senior in age or status. Downcast eyes are a symbol of good values and respect for the other person. The American idea of private space is difficult to follow in the Indian family set-up, especially in the joint-family structure. Time is a relative term of understanding in India, as punctuality and discipline are often dependent on the irregular schedule of public transportation, people’s habit of taking things at their own pace, and long queues everywhere. Marriage is generally a family matter rather than a personal choice in India. Men and women meet in social and professional gatherings and may emotionally bond with each other. While marriage by choice or ‘love marriage’ as commonly referred to, is on the rise in modern Indian culture, most Indians still resort to an ‘arranged marriage’ to the prospective bride or groom selected by family members on the basis of status, education, and often caste, region and religion. As Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni portrays in her Indian characters in Arranged Marriage, it does not matter what the origins of the marriage, the ultimate consideration is the compatibility of the partners engaging in it. ( Transcultural Women of Late Twentieth-century U. S. American Literature 210) Unlike the liberated parlors of Western life, sex or topics about sexuality are considered taboo and it is socially unacceptable to discuss or question one’s sexual preferences openly. The cultural texture of India bars the liberal thoughts and voices on this subject. Premarital sex is discouraged by the unwritten rules of the conservative society. Modesty, virginity are praised in unmarried men and women, especially in the latter. The role of family is of paramount interest to the average Indian. The joint-family set up is an umbrella structure sheltering extended branches of the family grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins beyond the usual parent-child family of the Western world. Though nuclear families in the lines of the western model are increasingly popular, the common Indian is rooted in the traditions and customs of his family life, especially the joint family-structure. Indian society is predominantly patriarchal in nature, and the head of the family is usually the eldest son of the family. The equation of the genders in family and society is not evenly balanced, as the women normally are submissive to the decisions of the males in the Indian culture. However, the aged play a positive role in the family context, as grand-parents and seniors are treated with respect and love, and cared for in most households. Though old people are at times sent to old-age homes by their family members for reasons of economy or scarcity of care-givers at home, usually the aged are taken care of at home, and they in turn, help with the children, spending time with them and instilling in them values and good morals. The women are expected to be the primary care-givers in the family, performing the duties of the kitchen as well as taking care of children and elders. Even if the woman is a career- person, her family obligations are her first priority in the Indian culture. The man of the house on the other hand is the financial provider, and is responsible for the standard of living. However, in the changing dynamics of modern lifestyle, men and women have become flexible about their roles and responsibilities and the distinct line of difference between their gender expectations is blurred today. References Chaudhuri, N. (2001). The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian. New York: The New York Review of Books. Newton, P. (2005). Transcultural Women of Late Twentieth-century U. S. American Literature: First-generation Migrants from Islands and Peninsulas. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.

Genital Mutilation In Sudan :: essays research papers fc

The lights are dim and the voices quiet. Tension fills the room where Nafisa, a six-year-old Sudanese girl lies on a bed in the corner. Her aunt, 25-year-old Zeinab, watches protectively as her niece undergoes the procedure now known as female genital mutilation (FGM), formerly called female circumcision. In this procedure, performed without anaesthesia, a girl's external sexual organs are partially or totally cut away. Zeinab does not approve. For the past year she has been trying to persuade her mother and sister to spare Nafisa from the procedure. She lost the battle with her family, but she will stay at her niece's side. She watches Nafisa lying quietly, brave and confused, and remembers her own experience. Zeinab underwent the procedure twice. At six years old she had the more moderate form of FGM, called Sunni, in which the covering of the clitoris is removed. When she was 15 the older women of her family insisted she have the Pharaonic form, which involves removal of the entire clitoris and the labia and stitching together of the vulva, leaving just a small hole for elimination of urine and menstrual blood. Zeinab still remembers the pain, the face of the women performing the procedure, the sound of her flesh being cut. She also remembers bleeding and being sick for weeks. This extreme form of FGM has been performed on 82 per cent of Sudanese women, according to a recent survey. Today, 85 to 114 million girls and women in more than 30 countries have been subjected to FGM. Female genital mutilation has long been performed to ensure chaste or monogamous behaviour by suppressing female sexuality. It is commonly -- although erroneously -- attributed to religious edict. In fact, neither Islam nor Christianity officially sanctions it. FGM is dangerous. It is estimated that untrained traditional birth attendants perform two thirds of the procedures. They typically have limited knowledge of health and hygiene and often use inadequately cleaned traditional instruments. Side effects of FGM include trauma, bleeding and haemorrhage; pain, stress and shock; infections (which can be fatal); painful and difficult sexual relations; obstructed labour and difficult childbirth; and psychological trauma. The effects can last a lifetime. The practice was declared illegal in the Sudan in 1941, but that did little to stop it. About 90 per cent of northern Sudanese women have had it done. Why does FGM continue? In surveys, the most common reason

Possible Solutions to Self-Harm

[Enter title here] A large number of people in western society have found self-mutilation as a means to â€Å"escape† from the problem’s haunting their everyday life. The act of cutting oneself has been proven to release chemical compounds into the body to momentarily clear the mind of such problems. These compounds, known as endorphins, relieve the body of whatever tension and stress that is undergone in the individual’s life.Harming one’s self is a serious problem that must be assessed and treated in an appropriate manner that will not only stop the act within the individual but also remove the source of such trauma in their life. The cause of such actions has been known to come in from a large multitude of personal problems. Problems such as an unsuitable household, difficulties within a person’s social background, or even the image they see within themselves. Professor Keith Hawton oversaw a study taken over the amount of adolescents who admitte d to inflicting harm upon themselves.His survey took place in forty-one schools involving 6,020 subjects aged fifteen to sixteen. The results were that â€Å"398 (6. 8%) participants reported an act of deliberate self harm in the past year† (Hawton 2002). According to the results, more females admitted to this act than males. Of those females who were accountable to deliberate self-harm, they confessed the causes being their â€Å"friends, self harm by family members, drug misuse, depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and low self esteem† (Hawton 2002).The factors found within the males were drug use, suicidal behavior found within their friends and family, and low self-esteem. Patricia and Peter Adler discuss the effects that undergone by the individual through the expectations of those around that person. In their writing, â€Å"The Glorified Self† the Adlers present how a society creates an image of those within it and the pressure placed upon those people create an inner conflict â€Å"between their desire for recognition, flattery, and importance and the inclination to keep feeding this self-affirming element† (Adler 195).As society continues to surround the individual, the pressure increases as the person begins to take on a role which they may not feel is best suited for them, yet must be upheld in order to feel better accepted within their society. Such expectations are found in those closest to that person: parents, siblings, friends or anyone who could affect that person’s life. These expectations can create a dilemma within the individual, whether they wish to be who they want or who they are required to be.Through the burden of deciding on they wish to become, the troubled person begins to turn away from the sources of their problems and look for a quick escape. That escape varies among the individual experiencing such complications in their life, anything from substance abuse to physically abusing their own body. The human body finds whatever means necessary in order to cope with the difficulties presented in their life. This coping mechanism is the brain’s way of releasing the stress that builds up over time from dealing with whatever obstacles that are laid out before the person.In order to stop such actions taking place, the source of the problem(s) must then be removed, or tuned down enough to no longer give the desire for the person to find a momentary escape. Removing all sources of responsibilities in a person’s life is nearly impossible. Instead of removing the source of the problem, a more possible solution is to show the people undergoing such problems that they aren’t alone in their responsibilities. Giving out a hand to those in need will show them that they don’t need to hold their problems to themselves.Encourage a troubled individual to express their fears, problems, and concerns in hopes that in doing so, that person may then be able to realize that a s tough as things may be, they are never alone. Another way to relieve stress in a positive manner is meditation. True this seems like it won’t do much, but â€Å"that small amount of peace in your day can help you deal with or even release stress† (Alvarez 2012). There are countless ways to combat the problems in an individual’s life, remedies that expand anywhere from eating healthy to taking a few minutes in their day to meditate or exercise.Sources Cited Adler, Patricia A. , and Peter Adler. â€Å"The Glorified Self. †Ã‚  Social Theory. Ed. Roberta Garner. 2nd ed. [S. l. ]: Univ Of Toronto, 2009. 195-207. Print. Alvarez, Manny. â€Å"10 Ways to Relieve Stress Naturally. † Newsgroup. Fox News. Fox News, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Hawton, Keith. â€Å"Deliberate Self Harm in Adolescents: Self Report Survey in Schools in England. †Ã‚  Ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/. National Center for Biotechnology Information, 23 Nov. 2002. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.

Case Study on Track and Field Reward-Based Systems

Track and field events are among the individual sports whereby individual effort is more important than the team strategy in winning the event. Team work on the other hand is quite important since when people work together, they tend to gain more as opposed to individual effort (John, 2007). This is well attributed to Kenyan athletes who in most cases employ team work in this individualized event to scoop top medals more so in 3000 m steeple chase, whereby they are seen to encourage one another and more so working as a team through out the race. Reward system can be good or bad depending on how it is implemented. To enhance team work, the coach needs to emphasize to athletes the importance of winning many medals as this will count on overall performance of the institution. Though an individualized sport, the coach can emphasize on rewarding the whole team rather than individual in that particular event, based on their performance. For reward system to be used, it has to include all documentation that will sustain improvements. First is to develop infrastructure where participants feel free to talk about their skills with open discussions in groups, (Volckmann, 2007). There are many ways of rewarding and encouraging team work in the institution. Some of the recommendation for rewarding the best performance will include a day out, a weekend to some of prestigious training grounds, partial or full time scholarship to the team that wins consecutive trophies and promoting the team with sports attire which will elevate their morale. In order for the athletes to work as a team, the coach should categorize the events so that all the athletes that fall under that category embrace the element of team work. The reward system should be based on the sub category of the events athletes fall in. These categories may include short races, middle distance races and long distance races. On the side of field events, he can include throwing events and jumping event. Conclusion The reward system will encourage participants to be more cooperative and be more competitive, thus more teamwork. References: John,H. (2007). Benefits of team work and collaboration. New York: Penguin publishers. Houlihan and Green (2008), Comparative elite sport development: systems, structures and public policy, First edition, Oxford, Elsevier ltd.