Vox Populi
The familiar smell of Punjabi cuisine that clouded the air of New Delhi was what greeted me upon my arrival. Although I psyched myself up to rid my mind of stereotypes, I couldn’t help but prove this particular one. India, indeed, reeked of masala and a number of different spices, curry included.
This, however, is not what one would expect upon reaching the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Welcomed into India in an airport with modern architecture and an edgy design, foreigners would barely even notice that they have reached their destination. In addition, the Delhi Metro make our MRT and LRT lines look like time-worn railway transits; India has a more sophisticated system that masks the poverty lying above every station.
This peninsula in the Southern part of Asia suffers from the same fate that the Philippines does. Poverty-stricken and complete with stray dogs (and pigs) galore, the picture is not a far cry from our homeland’s current state. India is still a third-world country, and no amount of advancement in technology created a false pretense masking the realities both Indians and Filipinos face.
The difference between the two worlds, though, lies in the approach of each to embracing change. Filipinos have constantly wanted a facelift—we’ve had protests and revolutions to counteract the norm, reforms to improve the system, and more of these movements that call to arms for change. India, on the other hand, embraced the power of going with the times and cutting across obsolete practices without sacrificing its heritage. Both countries strived to break free from their impoverished states, but only one managed to not lose hold of what was essential.
Walking the streets and touring the cities of Agra and New Delhi were like coursing through a Bollywood movie. Everyone was dressed up in colorful saris, bindis were ever present, and traditional tunics for men were still widely used. It is without question that despite the hundred-year British rule and the waves of adaptation to the new millennium, Indians have kept their cultural identity—living it every day, while breathing the same musk of the air as Gandhi did.
Tradition, I believe, grounds the people of a country to look back and remember their roots. By being motivated by ambitions that are tied to one’s own culture, an individual is moved to fight for each other instead of pursuing a selfish battle.
It is a shame that most Filipino children nowadays—the future of this country—do not even recognize what tinikling, anahaw or baro’t saya is. The solution to this problem is not an easy one, because it will require time. Nevertheless, the smallest amount of effort to reignite the Filipino spirit will definitely drive this country to greener pastures.
As Filipinos, a people of different races and ethnicities that have shared one destiny across the centuries, we are not necessarily at fault as to why our culture is spread out too thin. Still, the drive to nourish and cultivate what is left of us should move every Filipino to action—that is something we, as citizens of this nation, should never overlook.
