Tradition
Every civilization has its positives and negatives. I see India as an strange mixture of old and new. It has not shed its old baggage of blind-beliefs, and it has imbibed the consumerist culture to full. Many may disagree with my above statement. I will try to elaborate my viewpoint in the following discussion. We see the full glory of traditional celebrations during ceremonies like birth, marriage, and death. A priest recites the hymns for several hours in full volume over the public address system. No one seems to care or understand the hymn, yet the loud speaker keeps blaring out loud noise through out. Of course we hear bollywood songs in the intervals. Isn't it a strange mix of old and new. I encountered a very interesting episode recently. For Godan (offering of a cow to the priest) during a death ceremony, a single cow was offered by many people during the same day to the same priest. Priest was wanting to sell the cow right away to decrease his headache. T