Rashika Lungani

Sep 27, 202015 min read

CULTURE AND COMMUNITY

Updated: Mar 24, 2021

Mahalakshmi pooja

As any other child of the 21st century, I have absolutely no knowledge of my ancestral culture or even my community. When we were given the briefing I was extremely confused regarding what festival to choose as I had no information regarding any festivities except holi or diwali. A talk with my grandmother led me to know about “MAHALAKSHMI POOJA”, surprisingly I had been a part of this festival in the past but never payed attention or bothered to ask about it.

Mahalakshmi pooja is a vrat that’s kept to enhance the quality of life, do away with disease, and ensure child birth. Though it has a mythological story behind it, what interested me more was the various variations to the traditional festival that is performed by my community.

The pooja begins early in the morning, where everybody eats sargi, coconut and some sweets under the shadow of the stars. People then tie a thread with 16 knots on it. Each representing the various hardships in life. This is followed by a vrat where people abstain from food and water. At 4 pm, there is a pooja. This pooja involves a prayer to a horse made out of mud or clay. Infact this year due to covid, when my grandmother was unable to buy this horse, she asked me to make it for her with dough. I never knew what it was about but I still obliged, it surprises me how ignorant we can be sometimes towards things that are right in front of us. During the pooja people hold the thread in there hand and recite the “katha” or the story of the goddess. This is followed by the exchange of gifts amongst the elders and children, where children offer an oath to take care of the elders until death.

What surprised me was the fact that in our community, during the first Mahalakshmi pooja of a child, he is kept on sand and encouraged to crawl/ or dragged. This was something I had never heard of before. It is believed that the contact with the sand would help the child learn how to walk faster and would make him stronger and healthier.

DAY 1

Due to my personal beliefs , I was never someone who paid attention to my culture however, even I can’t deny the role played by it in bringing about our society and creating communal bonds. The images that my grandmother showed me of the Mahalakshmi celebrations in the past, involving the entire family and neighbourhood ,is the something that we hardly see these days. I could not find any images of the Mahalakshmi celebration in recent times and had to have my family impersonate it in order to get some photos. I wish I could go back in time and experience these extensive cultural celebration and understand how it feels to be in a well bonded community.

Mahalakshmi celebration in the past

Mahalakshmi pooja at home

My family impersonating the pooja

Tying the thread with 16 knots

REFLECTIVE WRITING 1

(Grammatical errors have been addressed)

Making the mind map using the 5W1H rule was a great way to question and think about the minute details that we often miss. I wrote down the procedure of the vrat and asked myself questions at very step. It made me rethink things that I never questioned and took for granted. I was more encouraged to find the answers when I went about it with the fixed format of 5W1H. I always believed that my culture was just mythological and religious and only consisting of “non material” stories. However this activity changed my perception entirely. Now I started to focus more on material aspects. I always knew that we eat coconut before vrat, but for the first time I wondered why? I always knew that we worship Lakshmi but this time I questioned why? I knew that we used atta to make the Horse but I wanted to know why? It helped me get a deeper insight into the celebration.

MY MIND MAP

LINK TO MY MIRO MIND MAP: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kkaWaTg=/

For me materials are the prop while non material is the story that led to the use of that prop. In context of Mahalakshmi pooja the prop is the horse made out of atta, but the behind reason the use of the horse is related to the story of Maharaja Agarsen and his queen, and how throwing of the thread in the horse stable induced the bad lucky while the reason behind the use of atta is used to prevent waste as it later can be eaten by the ants, as was told to me by my peer , Mehak.

maharaja Agarsen (non material)

clay horse ( material)

One is intangible, something we can only hear in folklores, while other is tangible, something we can touch and feel, though so different in terms of there existence, they are still inter related. You can not have material without non material, one can not be considered without the other. The best way I can describe it would be as two fraternal twins- they are different in every way yet they emerged from the same womb.

During my presentation Anshoo ma’am commented on how I shortened the story to make it more understandable but I missed the important details and elements in order to make it simple and less complicated. I was able to resonate with her comment and it encouraged me to stop finding half answers and dig deeper into the material and non material aspected of a culture and this is something I’ll continue to do during the rest of this project.

MY CHOICE OF FUNCTIONAL OBJECT

I chose PENCIL as my object since this is something I use everyday. It is the most basic material. As a budding designer, pencil was the first material I ever used for my artistic creations. Pencil is used to sketch out ideas and it lays down the foundations for all the paints and colours I use. A pencil though simple is the tool through which I express myself as an artist and is very important for me. Thus, I decided to choose pencil.

DAY 2

REFLECTIVE WRITING 2

Day 2 began with a very interactive video. “God must be crazy” was a very insightful video that helped me organise and segregate my thoughts for the rest of the activities through the day

Pencil, is usually seen as a very basic object, it is usually undervalued by a majority of the people. However for me as a designer, this pencil is an outlet for my artistic thoughts. The choice of pencil as well as my views about it differentiate me from my father who views pencil in a very low light. For him a pencil is just a simple functional object that he uses once in a while and throws it into his drawer, while for me it’s a sacred object that I cherish and store it with the utmost care. Our different perspectives arise from our different goals or “purposes”. While his purpose as a businessman is to create a practical, functional object that sells, my objective as a designer is to create something aesthetically pleasing and out of the box. Thus though we live in the same house hold, and come from the same background, we both have our own different culture. A culture that’s influenced by the different purpose we have in our life. I belong to a community of designers who believe in transforming basic objects into extraordinary pieces of art and thus attach high value to everything around them no matter how simple or useless people assume it to be.

classification based on material and non material

Context, subtext and text, though initially very confusing, greatly expanded my horizon in terms segregation and characterisation. I was able to analyse all the components of an object and the culture surrounding it. It helped me distinguish between the physical, functional and emotional aspects of a pencil. Every aspect of an object is interrelated, context sets the background for text which then influenced subtext. Considering my exploration today, My dad bought the pencil from a stationary(context) ,the pencil is simple and light (text) he doesn’t care about the pencil much (subtext). Maybe if the pencil was bought as a souvenir (context) was colourful and bright, (text) then he would cherish the pencil (subtext) Thus they are very much dependent on each other and today’s activity really helped me understand this dependence in a more rational manner.

SEGREGATION BASED ON TEXT CONTEXT SUBTEXT

LINK TO MY MIRO MIND MAP: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kji0wts=/

HOME TASK

reading about the sherpa community in Nepal was really interested. I was so engrossed in the research that i ended up going beyond the extends of the activity to research about other aspects of there life.

LINK TO MY MIND MAP ON MIRO : https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kjmXW1U=/

DAY 3

todays day was full of group activities and peer interaction. i really enjoyed working with my group members. In order to create the mind map we first divided our domains and worked on them individually compiling our work together in the end. I worked on religion and rituals of the SHERPA community.

INDIVIDUAL MIND MAP

here is the link to my individual mind map: https://miro.com/welcomeonboard/WDNiP05zF3a5xPeXc618jYxQE2X3WES3R0prKrODVrdZcstxYEynEkuUvjPZgySZ

GROUP MIND MAP

LINK TO THE GROUP MIND MAP ; https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kjHuPA8=/

We also discussed the similarities and differences with the Tuaregs and Sherpas with our other peers

In the end all the members had different insights about the community and its culture.

MY INDIVIDUAL INSIGHT

GROUP INSIGHT

REFLECTIVE WRITING 3

Cultural practices are a way for people to express there beliefs and participate in social activities. These cultural practices bring people together in a social setting and encourages interactions which are based on a common faith.

The reason for the formation of these cultural practices are often lost in tribal and clan legends, like the reason for the influence of Buddhism in Sherpa community. However there roots can still be trace, in the geography, religion, vegetation etc, just like the influence of Buddhism in Sherpa can be traced back to there Tibetan heritage and ancestry.

These cultural practices bloom from a particular belief system. In case of the Sherpas, death related rituals and cremation ceremony are given great deal of importance, due to the Buddhist belief that after death the person comes closer to god. Thus, the cremation ceremony involves recitation of the scared text by the Tibetan lama, the spiritual leader, and the shaman (healer) to celebrate the auspicious occasion of death. These rituals are extensive often extending over forty nine days or more.

While researching I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between the Sherpa’s and my community, the peshwari Pathan. In both the communities, meat and liquor are considered very important elements of social gather, however death, which is regarded to be a mournful occasion in my community is considered to be a celebration among the Sherpa’s. What impressed me the most was how they are still in touch with there tribal roots while I hardly follow or am aware of any of the tradition customs or norms of my community.

In the end each community has its own beauty, which lies in its simple or sometimes complex beliefs. It is vital that we protect these heritages and pass them forward to create a heterogenous world full of cultural diversity.

DAY 5

Today’s activity initially created a lot of confusion in my mind. Describing beauty is much more difficult then it seems. Visual elements of beauty and non material elements of beauty often clash together. However todays activity helped me to bridge the gap between the material and non material elements of beauty, leading to a greater understanding of beauty in general.

GROUP MIND MAP

LINK TO MIRO MIND MAP: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kjPw5YM=/

REFLECTIVE WRITING 4

(Grammatical errors were addressed)

Plato considered beauty to be the Idea (Form) above all other Ideas. Aristotle saw a relationship between the beautiful and virtue, arguing that "Virtue aims at the beautiful. Google describes beauty as the quality which gives pleasure to the senses; the state of being beautiful. While I see beauty as uniqueness or the characteristic of being different. Beauty , in the history or in the present , was and is, never same for anyone. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder however the truth is, the eyes of the beholder and the beauty it perceives is influenced by context.

It is impressive how the change in context, whether is geography, age, religion, community etc leads to a change in the conception of beauty. For instance the phemar or the wedding cake of the sherpas, would not be considered beautiful in my community. Who are used to expensive, decorated cakes with white icing and flowers. Phemar is extremely beautiful and delicate but it’s beauty is limited to its geography.

SHERPA PHEMAR/ WEDDING CAKE

WEDDING CAKE IN MY COMMUNITY

Similarly while the sherpas wear black wedding dress with a rainbow sash, which is regarded as auspicious, but in my community red is an auspicious colour for the wedding while black is used to represent mourning.

SHERPA WEDDING DRESS

INDIAN WEDDING DRESS

However, somethings are recognised as universally beautiful due to there value. For instance, the Sherpa jewellery, made with a rare coral stone, will be considered beautiful all over the world. This is because all societies tend to have a liking for valuable artefacts which are rare or hard to acquire whether it’s the coral stones of Sherpa or the gold jewellery in India.

SHERPA CORAL JEWELLERY

INDIAN JEWELLERY

Similarly every bride, though in different parts of the world, wearing different dress, is considered beautiful everywhere. Everyone has there own conception of beauty. However, It is extremely wrong to limit beauty to own perspective. We need to broaden our mindset and look beyond the rigid beauty standard imposed on us, only then can we appreciate the real and raw beauty that surrounds us.

DAY 6

FINAL REFLECTIVE WRITING

As a budding individual I have multiple personalities, interests and social circles. All of them combined together form my life, a life that is filled with many communities, independent yet interrelated via me and my personal beliefs. If I had to count the number of communities I belong on my finger tips, I couldn’t because there are just to many. However the influence of someone is greater than the influence of others. The three communities that do or have affected my life the most are social media, my gardening club, and finally my school.

Each of these communities have there own values , beliefs and norms that it’s members follow. Either by choice or force.

LINK TO MY MIRO MIND MAP: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kjYTMjo=/

SCHOOL COMMUNITY

I went to a defence forces school, the Air Force school.

From the very beginning, patriotism was engraved in our own minds. I like any other student was always respected the idea of patriotism and my nation. The influence of which can still be seen by my dire sense of duty and responsibility towards my country

However as I grew up, I understood why it is important to stand with those who risk there life for the nation. I followed the belief like I did before. But this time with more enthusiasm. Thus i transformed a belief In to more cohesive personal value.

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY

Any child of my age is expected to create an Instagram account and post regular updates of his life. We were always made to believe that the number of followers you have or the number of likes you get is an indicator of your popularity. I too blindly followed this belief but in the end influences my life in a very negative way.

However as I grew up I started to question why is the number of likes an indicator of my relevance? The answer was, it’s not. I then started to use social media as a tool for creating new friends. Instead of using it to update people about my life, I now use it to inform people I care about, about my well being. I changed my values and it helped me bring more positivity to my life.

GARDENING CLUB

The “Rajendra nagar gardening club” was initially started to Planting trees and beautiful flowers on barren areas and unkept parks in our locality. The belief was that by planting these trees we will make our colony greener

However gradually we realised that the problem is bigger and requires more active action. Thus we started to discuss environment issues and how we contribute towards the improvement of our environment. This change created a new value regarding concern and responsibility towards the environment.

agreement / disagreement with any of the beliefs of the community

In our gardening community there is a rule, that we if see someone throw garbage on the ground you pick it up and put it in the Dustbin. The idea is to make the person throwing the garbage feel guilty by your actions.

However I disagree with this.

If I see someone throw garbage on the group I will confront them and ask them to Pick it up. This is because

Each person should be responsible for there own actions.
They should not think that there is someone else to pick up there mess for them.
Confronting and talking to them about the topic directly is better than leaving indirect messages by pick up what they throw.

Conflict among the communities belief

Being a part of multiple communities often comes with conflict between there norms. I do face such conflicts at times, belonging to the community of animal lovers and pet owners. I am filled with love for animals, concerns for there safety, as well as a desire to provide them with a better life. However I also belong to the communities of Peshwari pathans, where meat, chicken and fish are the highlight of every social gathering. Naturally I have been raised with the same thinking and belief. So my love for animals often clashes with my families food habits. However, I totally understand that consuming these articles or not is my conscious choice, and just because I was born with certain beliefs doesn’t meet I have to follow them. I can follow my own moral values and maybe in this pursuit I’ll be able to influence others and change there perspectives as well.

REVISED REFLECTIVE WRITING

( FINAL REFLECTIVE WRITING AS PER THE FEEDBACK)

Each of these communities have there own values , beliefs and norms that it’s members follow. Either by choice or force.

MIND MAP WITH VISUALS

LINK TO MY MIRO MIND MAP: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kjYTMjo=/

SCHOOL COMMUNITY

I went to a defence forces school, the Air Force school.

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY

GARDENING CLUB

agreement / disagreement with any of the beliefs of the community

However I disagree with this.

If I see someone throw garbage on the group I will confront them and ask them to Pick it up. This is because

Each person should be responsible for there own actions.
They should not think that there is someone else to pick up there mess for them.
Confronting and talking to them about the topic directly is better than leaving indirect messages by pick up what they throw.

Conflict among the communities belief

Conclusion

Though this process of intensive inquiry and segregation i have been able to analyse and understand my culture in more detail. I have come to the realisation that culture and community is larger than the mythological stories which lead to there existence. They are a culmination of historical, geographical, social, and scientific factors. I now can now create links between the festivals of my community, there misery during partition and there belief in nature worship. All this has helped me become a more informed member of my community who can contribute towards its continuation.