In which direction is the youth of today?
Being a youth in the 21st century is a challenging and dynamic experience. We live in an era influenced by myriad factors; in a global melting pot where our lives are shaped by the media, technology, the internet and Western influences.
The Oshwal youth face many more challenges socially and emotionally. They are brought up in a multi-cultural environment where they are constantly exposed to and reminded of their culture and identity and yet experience a Western lifestyle, in terms of education, diet, and music.
Who are we? Where do we come from? Whether it is a search for belonging or just curiosity about our heritage, we all wonder about our ancestral roots. Do these questions perplex the minds of young Oshwals? This is where they face a dilemma- are we Kenyans? Indians? Or Kenyans of Indian origin?
In spite of four generations of Oshwals proliferating in Kenya, we have not made up our minds. We claim to be African and yet completely personify Indian social and cultural behaviour. As a society we are completely segregated from the political and socio-economic environment of Kenya. Yet this isolation has not fostered as strong a preservation of our own heritage as would have been expected. Thus, our youth seem to be ‘neither here nor there’.
In our globalized world it is inevitable to be completely immersed and absorbed by other backgrounds. Our youth can no longer be expected to confine their choice of life partners within our community. However, their cross-cultural marriages which are celebrated in accordance with Hindu rites and rituals are an illustration that our youth have still maintained Indian values. To a certain extent they are still cognisant of and respect our customs.
Materialism and individualism are inevitable aspects of the 21st century. Young Oshwals have high-flying careers and as a result, they are independent- financially, socially and even emotionally. The greater their independence, the more difficult it becomes for them to personify traditional Indian values such as joint families, leading simple lives enriched by moral ethics, and financially supporting relatives.
The pillars of community spirit that our institutions were founded on are slowly crumbling because of this materialism. Today it’s all about ‘work hard and party even harder’. The youth would rather enjoy frivolous night life with their peers than attend or volunteer at community events. Our youth should be inspired to give back to, and, be part and parcel of, the community from which they have derived their identity. Let us remind them of our forefathers’ immense sacrifices and foresight and inspire them to build upon and cherish them.
When in school the demands of achieving academic success almost suffocate our youth. Later, in their working lives, it is the pressure to be financially successful that becomes of paramount importance. As a result the youth have lost sight of the simple and basic values of social living such as courtesy and etiquette. Apart from friends and contemporaries they cannot converse easily with the generation above them. Students in our community schools have such a well established comfort zone that they tend to stick to their cliques even at university. As a result they never find the need to be curious or share their knowledge and experiences with other international students.
Most young Oshwals do not return to Kenya once they leave for university. Consequentially, our community suffers from a huge brain drain which has multi-dimensional repercussions. Families are fragmented; the vast distances creating impenetrable barriers to nurturing close family ties. Oshwals are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and family businesses. The very businesses that made it possible for the youth to study overseas are today on the verge of winding up because there is no new family blood to take over the reins of running these businesses.
The youth of yesteryear were much more docile and would take our social and cultural customs at face value, believe in them for what they were. Exposed to todays interactive environment, our youth question some of these values and demand rational explanations. Yet, there are some customs that add intrinsic richness to our heritage, without necessarily having any logical reasoning. Because of their insatiable thirst for rationalism, the youth fail to observe many age old beliefs and customs, leading to a self-imposed dilution of our ethnicity.
Mahatma Gandhi once said:
“Neglect of mother tongue is a national suicide”
Social values can only be fostered through our mother tongue. The fact that the youth cannot converse in Gujarati with their grandparents, is creating an ever widening generation gap within our families. This builds barriers to the passing on of valuable and interesting family history and traditions. Most of the generation that emigrated from Gujarat in the early 1900s are no longer with us. Links with our ‘motherland’ are now more tenuous than ever before and the present youth will have no stories to tell to their children. As if to exacerbate this dilemma, none of these stories have been documented and if they have been, they are in Gujarati, which is as good as Greek to our youth. In this respect, let us rekindle our mother tongue by ensuring that we learn it, read it, write it and speak it.
Oshwals are renowned world over for their accomplishments in every field: business, academia, sport... The basic values that have been the foundation of our success might still be intact in our youth. They have not completely lost sight of them nor have they been eroded. But, as a community we need to guide and nurture our youth towards preserving the best of our heritage. Traditional values must be readapted in a way that they complement, not substitute the basis of modern day life. Let us discover ways of preserving our culture, so that our youth can harmoniously co-exist in modern society. The scent of Halar’s hard baked earth in which our ancestors toiled for a modest living may not mean anything to our youth. From Gujarat to present day Kenya, and onwards to the West, we have come a full circle and lost some of our ‘Oshwalness’. But our youth can definitely learn the significance of cultural pride. They may succumb to Western influence but in the process will gain awareness and appreciation of our roots,
Being a youth in the 21st century is a challenging and dynamic experience. We live in an era influenced by myriad factors; in a global melting pot where our lives are shaped by the media, technology, the internet and Western influences.
The Oshwal youth face many more challenges socially and emotionally. They are brought up in a multi-cultural environment where they are constantly exposed to and reminded of their culture and identity and yet experience a Western lifestyle, in terms of education, diet, and music.
Who are we? Where do we come from? Whether it is a search for belonging or just curiosity about our heritage, we all wonder about our ancestral roots. Do these questions perplex the minds of young Oshwals? This is where they face a dilemma- are we Kenyans? Indians? Or Kenyans of Indian origin?
In spite of four generations of Oshwals proliferating in Kenya, we have not made up our minds. We claim to be African and yet completely personify Indian social and cultural behaviour. As a society we are completely segregated from the political and socio-economic environment of Kenya. Yet this isolation has not fostered as strong a preservation of our own heritage as would have been expected. Thus, our youth seem to be ‘neither here nor there’.
In our globalized world it is inevitable to be completely immersed and absorbed by other backgrounds. Our youth can no longer be expected to confine their choice of life partners within our community. However, their cross-cultural marriages which are celebrated in accordance with Hindu rites and rituals are an illustration that our youth have still maintained Indian values. To a certain extent they are still cognisant of and respect our customs.
Materialism and individualism are inevitable aspects of the 21st century. Young Oshwals have high-flying careers and as a result, they are independent- financially, socially and even emotionally. The greater their independence, the more difficult it becomes for them to personify traditional Indian values such as joint families, leading simple lives enriched by moral ethics, and financially supporting relatives.
The pillars of community spirit that our institutions were founded on are slowly crumbling because of this materialism. Today it’s all about ‘work hard and party even harder’. The youth would rather enjoy frivolous night life with their peers than attend or volunteer at community events. Our youth should be inspired to give back to, and, be part and parcel of, the community from which they have derived their identity. Let us remind them of our forefathers’ immense sacrifices and foresight and inspire them to build upon and cherish them.
When in school the demands of achieving academic success almost suffocate our youth. Later, in their working lives, it is the pressure to be financially successful that becomes of paramount importance. As a result the youth have lost sight of the simple and basic values of social living such as courtesy and etiquette. Apart from friends and contemporaries they cannot converse easily with the generation above them. Students in our community schools have such a well established comfort zone that they tend to stick to their cliques even at university. As a result they never find the need to be curious or share their knowledge and experiences with other international students.
Most young Oshwals do not return to Kenya once they leave for university. Consequentially, our community suffers from a huge brain drain which has multi-dimensional repercussions. Families are fragmented; the vast distances creating impenetrable barriers to nurturing close family ties. Oshwals are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and family businesses. The very businesses that made it possible for the youth to study overseas are today on the verge of winding up because there is no new family blood to take over the reins of running these businesses.
The youth of yesteryear were much more docile and would take our social and cultural customs at face value, believe in them for what they were. Exposed to todays interactive environment, our youth question some of these values and demand rational explanations. Yet, there are some customs that add intrinsic richness to our heritage, without necessarily having any logical reasoning. Because of their insatiable thirst for rationalism, the youth fail to observe many age old beliefs and customs, leading to a self-imposed dilution of our ethnicity.
Mahatma Gandhi once said:
“Neglect of mother tongue is a national suicide”
Social values can only be fostered through our mother tongue. The fact that the youth cannot converse in Gujarati with their grandparents, is creating an ever widening generation gap within our families. This builds barriers to the passing on of valuable and interesting family history and traditions. Most of the generation that emigrated from Gujarat in the early 1900s are no longer with us. Links with our ‘motherland’ are now more tenuous than ever before and the present youth will have no stories to tell to their children. As if to exacerbate this dilemma, none of these stories have been documented and if they have been, they are in Gujarati, which is as good as Greek to our youth. In this respect, let us rekindle our mother tongue by ensuring that we learn it, read it, write it and speak it.
Oshwals are renowned world over for their accomplishments in every field: business, academia, sport... The basic values that have been the foundation of our success might still be intact in our youth. They have not completely lost sight of them nor have they been eroded. But, as a community we need to guide and nurture our youth towards preserving the best of our heritage. Traditional values must be readapted in a way that they complement, not substitute the basis of modern day life. Let us discover ways of preserving our culture, so that our youth can harmoniously co-exist in modern society. The scent of Halar’s hard baked earth in which our ancestors toiled for a modest living may not mean anything to our youth. From Gujarat to present day Kenya, and onwards to the West, we have come a full circle and lost some of our ‘Oshwalness’. But our youth can definitely learn the significance of cultural pride. They may succumb to Western influence but in the process will gain awareness and appreciation of our roots,
