As the year-end comes around, the talk of the Christmas Spirit along with new year happiness becomes the hype of the English language programmes, from a month before Christmas. All the programmes in regions where Christianity is in a majority, start talking about kindness, giving attitude and forgiveness.
It does not stop only here. A lot of movies revolving around Christmas are released by various channels of English speaking countries. Netflix has a line up of movies based on Christmas to be released this year. The effect of this is that people start feeling and getting into that spirit way before Christmas comes in. The various movies and TV programs portray lives and scenes as what Christmas could mean for each individual. The hallmark channel in the US makes movies exclusively for various festivities around Christmas to bring focus on emotions of love and good spirit. This is a celebration in its own way to spread the festival itself.
In the recent years, during major festivals of India such as Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Nav Durga, Janmashtmi, Rakhi, Diwali and many more, there seems to be a lack of exuberance that can be felt, as compared to earlier decades. In previous generations, if you have heard their stories, there used to be plays which were based on the stories based on festivities. People used to begin preparing way before the festivals, and this spirit of togetherness could be felt making the festivals way more fun.
True, times have changed, but these feelings of love, happiness and belongingness, that were an integral part of Indian festivals, can still be kept intact. It is just the methods that need to be changed. Bollywood industry can release a movie or animated movie that might be based on the stories of the festivals or real-life scenarios which encompass the true spirit of festivals. This will encourage people by way of advertising to watch these movies along with their children. These movies will make children aware of their culture. When people of India can watch Frozen-II, they surely will go with their families to enjoy these movies and make their children aware. The hype around these movies will surely increase the talks about the reasons these festivals are celebrated. Similarly, the TV industry can release mini-series based exclusively on these festivals, which people will not get bored of watching. Small and great stories of our culture, which used to be a part of our childhood and are now getting forgotten, can be brought back to life again, inspiring new generations with good values of life.
The governments can encourage plays and fairs around these festivals. This will bring in lot of revenue along with the awareness on Indian traditions and cultures. In my humble opinion, these festivals can be a source of new kind of industries, which the world has never seen before. If America can give new kinds of business models, why can’t India, using its traditions and festivals, give new kinds of business models which will be more humane and family-oriented? It just requires a new way of thinking to bring in new ways to keep traditions alive, along with imbibing modern values.
Although a lot of people earn due to these festivals, there is a lack of coordinated efforts from sections of society as well as industries. This results in a lack of impact that we desire. New packaging of the values of festivals will surely bring in a lot of employment opportunities. Bollywood, TV industry, cloth industry, paint and sculpture industry and many more can surely work together to make these festivals refreshing for the new generation.
In the times of social media, Hindutva is a propaganda where its senanis are fighting with other people to prove their culture better. Instead of wasting time in defending and hurting others for our own culture, these methods can be employed to show people around the world what Indian culture is and what it means. These are more effective ways and can surely make India a truly democratic country.