The word culture is derived from cultrua which means cultivation. Ideas, values and knowledge, behavior, attitude which work as the basis of culture, keep changing with time and evolve differently with different philosophies. Culture is a mode generating meaning and ideas. Culture becomes an important and integral part for the growth of a personality of a person and his harmonious existence in the society. Culture gives a sense of belonging, identity and purpose to people. Meanings are governed by power relations. It is always elite culture which decides the meanings and ideas and dominates all the sub classes. Culture has a significant role in the formation of a society and ultimately becomes the society’s expression. In small societies, culture is over all same, whereas in big societies multi culture prevails. One can classify culture as high culture, low culture, popular culture, folk culture, material culture, global culture and so on. The subject is vast and needs a proper approach to gain insights into it. Culture gets constructed by the society {means people of a particular region} based on beliefs, values, norms and knowledge. Culture has four major components: communication, cognitive, material and behavioral aspects. Under communication, language becomes the main force of culture, which develops communication and symbols. Through the symbols, the interaction and communication are carried in significant ways. In cognition, ideas, knowledge, belief, values are covered. In behavioral component, behavior becomes the major component. Moral and ethical values fused in a fine manner form the behavior pattern. Material component includes objects or materials created by people for utility or as vehicles of artistic communication.
Art is a testimony which reflects the cultural scenario of different regions and of different times. Directly and indirectly, art shows how cultural evolution has taken place in different parts of the world place over time. Architecture, artifacts, technology are the means through which one can study culture and the influences of cultures on one another. Non–material culture like ideas, values, and knowledge are reflected in literature, art, and technology. As there is constant development and evolution in the cognitive process, new ideas, values and knowledge are generated from time to time, and these ethos reshape the culture of a society in different ways by going beyond the traditional methods. And through these means one comes to know what moral, ethical and cultural values prevailed during a particular time. Material culture always communicates about the by gone eras, as well as the present, and offers hints about future also. History documents through the available materials like monuments, art works, manuscripts, coins, utensils, dresses and so on. As culture evolves constantly and continuously, changes in life styles are inevitable. To adapt to new culture and life styles, one needs to change one’s outlook. The drastic cultural changes create generation gaps, which are difficult to bridge because a new set of values are difficult for the previous generation to accept and lead life accordingly. When there is all round progress, like in the field of science, technology, art, literature, and music and so on, culture evolves on new lines absorbing the new ideas and values generated in the different fields. If we look in to the today’s culture, technology is governing the present culture in such a strong manner that it is pretty difficult to remain unaffected by the impact, whether one likes it or not. Each and every event offers direct or indirect insights of culture. Ideologies and values of culture have changed drastically over time.
Festivals, functions, events – all these show how culture works at different strata in the society. The way the festivals are celebrated, the functions are conducted, and the participation in the events shows how things are moving in a rapid way. Economical independency has enabled people to lead better life and enjoy life as they desire. Joint-family structure, which was the main characteristic of Indian culture, has been vanishing with economic independence. Over time, people have become more career minded and are pursuing different types of careers, in different fields. Now a day, people being more career oriented than the earlier generation and wish to excel in the fields which they have selected passionately. Words like competition and competency are upper most in once consciousness.
For the cultural study, festivals are the best examples to have insights of paradigm shifts in the society. There is some kind of remarkable exuberance in the celebration of festivals in the contemporary culture. Markets are flooded with varieties of things on such occasions, which is a sign of consumerism. People are in mood to spend freely, so all malls buzz with people on such occasions. Parents and children shop together – these shows, the economic liberation and the impact of consumerism. While shopping, brands dictate the buyers. Everyone wants to showcase one’s money power by buying gadgets which fare in thousands. Festivals have become occasions to highlight one’s money power than warmth, love and friendship. Now a day, every human being is valued by money power. Humanity, which is the basic element of human being, is no more an essential to count upon. People becoming self centric are longing for temporary relations and satisfactions. Technology has changed the whole scenario of the 21st century. The technology seems to have connected people globally but has disconnected people locally. People, especially younger generation people seem to have immersed into computer and mobiles, and have no time for cordial interaction. Human interaction has narrowed down to a just nod or smile. What sup messages like good morning and good night from immediate neighbors have become quite common. Discussions and discourses have taken back seats.
Over time, global food culture has replaced local food culture. People have become more conscious about food than ever before. Due to globalization, Pizzas and Dominos have entered into the remote corners of the world and people desire to taste different sorts of food. Small food joints have come up every where in India and have been doing wonderful business. As feminist philosophy has brought some consciousness in women, women are trying to be educated and independent both economically and psychologically. Local varieties of traditional dishes have gained importance and are available at all food joints. Renewal of traditions is taking place everywhere, in every city and villages take pride in promoting their specialties. Economic liberty and psychological impact of consumerism have enabled to promote every kind of business. Home businesses are flourishing like anything. Today, women, being well educated, have established themselves efficiently in the field of medicine, engineering, aeronautics, social sciences, humanities, and army and so on.
There are remarkable changes in the field of work culture. More and more people are opting for independent businesses. In near future, people will not go for jobs. Even though being employed, people are working from houses to save time and generate more work. And in many sectors, workload has come down as a technology has been adopted and used successfully. Gender discrimination has lessened and in each and every field women are working efficiently.
In the contemporary culture, sex has become more open. The difference between the private and public is remarkably diminishing. The terms like ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ are openly used to identify oneself. Gay and lesbian marriages have been accepted socially in some countries. Live in relationships are quite common in metro cities. Some new concepts like Sperm bank, sperm donation, surrogated mother have become quite common and every one wants to have designer baby. In the medicine field, lot of changes have taken place which are advantageous to people. The cultural changes have brought new concepts and new perceptions and with these new concepts and perceptions, our way of living has changed drastically in every aspect
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