جنوبی ایشیائی خاندانوں کی بہت سی روایات کی پیروی نہیں کی جاتی ہے۔
From the mid-1950s to the early 1990s, South Asians developed a close-knit community in the UK. In addition to leaving their homeland to seek a new life in a white-dominated country, holding onto their traditions, values, and culture gave them a way to retain their links back to their homeland and origins.
It can be said that most of the South Asians who originally came to the UK did not anticipate staying and the majority of them worked and sent money back home with the aim of returning.
However, this never happened and the next generation known as ‘British Asians’ were born. They began to accept the UK as their home and country.
The newer generations found it easier to adapt to the UK than the immigrants. The offspring attended British schools and universities, educated themselves, and secured jobs in different industries and professions compared to those who originally came to the UK for mostly manual work.
The settling of South Asians in the UK saw the transition from a working-class way of life to a more integrated, professional, and business-oriented lifestyle.
This integration has resulted in the loss of traditions over the years. Many of the family traditions followed by South Asians are no longer followed due to British Asians adopting more Western ways to develop an identity for themselves.
Here are some examples of how South Asian traditions have eroded over the decades.
ناموں
You will find that many British Asians have English names like Steven, Peter, David, Anne, Sheila etc. Some are alternative names for their real name, while others are, actually their real name.
So is this practice just a way to blend more in the Western culture? Does it make the pronunciation of their names easier for those who do not speak South Asian languages?
Surely, a name is the basis of your identity and therefore, keeping an authentic name provides a definition of your cultural origin.
Besides, if South Asian people made tremendous efforts to integrate into British society, why can those who cannot pronounce the names correctly make the effort to learn how to do this?
In addition, the other significant change seen is that even British Asians are pronouncing names that sound like the British pronunciations. For example, Sandhu is pronounced as a ‘sand-who’ instead of ‘sund-hoo’.
مادری زبان
Many British Asian children can only speak English and not a word of their own mother tongue. This causes problems if the grandparents reside in the same household, producing a language barrier between the two generations.
So do parents no longer value their mother tongue as important as their parents or grandparents? Is English now dominating in British South Asian households?
Many feel that this is the biggest loss to the South Asian communities.
Living in Britain and having the ability to speak in South Asian languages as well as English gave a certain edge and pride to people.
Some would argue this is due to both parents or sole parents working and grandparents or extended families no longer playing a part in British South Asian society.
However, the trend of English being spoken more widely among the Desi communities is not just happening in the UK. The same is happening in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Does this mean the native languages will erode over time completely?
Ironically, English the language of colonial rulers today is now beginning to rule in countries like India.
شادیوں کا اہتمام کیا
Arranged marriages are decreasing and love marriages are increasing. Couples are even ساتھ رہتے ہیں۔ بہت زیادہ.
The concept of finding your own and marrying them is now more acceptable than in the past.
The days of the ‘vichola’ (the middle person who arranged family meetings between suitable matches) have practically diminished because many think it is not right for somebody else to find you a partner and tell you who to marry.
The fact that many British Asians prefer to find their own is because they want to know the person prior to marriage or commitment.
The general expectation of most South Asian parents is for their child to seek and marry a person from the same background i.e. culture, religion and even caste.
However, this has changed with interracial marriages becoming increasingly common and the tradition of staying within the boundaries no longer being necessary.
Traditional families see this change as a ‘bad thing’ and feel that only parents can find suitable matches. They cannot accept that young British Asians prefer a relationship before marriage and do not want to get married as their parents did.
Is this modernisation of relationships a good thing? Many feel that because families are not involved in arranging marriages, it is a possible reason for so many divorces among British Asians.
باورچی خانے سے متعلق اور کھانے
For South Asians cooking and meals are a huge part of their lifestyle. However, the tradition of cooking freshly every day, eating ethnic foods often and encouraging youngsters to learn the basics of cooking ethnic food for their future lives has begun to erode.
There is a major rise in British Asian women who now cannot or even will not learn to cook some of the typical Desi dishes or make chappatis, rice etc. Skills that their mothers and grandmothers combined with the other demands of being part of a Desi household, including working as well.
This was once a tradition seen as an important skill for a woman to have when it came to marriage. Additionally, not seeing men in the kitchen has also changed. British Asian men are playing a more active role in the kitchen and domestically, compared to the past.
Western foods are being eaten more in British Asian households. For example, Pizzas, Pasta, Chips, Burgers etc. Eating out and takeaways are also part of this new lifestyle with apps galore encouraging you not to cook.
Some would now question the validity of which is healthier – traditional or newer diets.
Is the move from traditional cooking and foods towards more ‘quick’ food substitutes suited to British Asians? Have people just become more lazy or too busy to cook proper homemade Desi food?
A tradition once enjoyed and valued by so many seems to have now lost its appeal and substituted by foods which are more for lifestyle convenience. Especially, الٹرا پروسسڈ فوڈ.
نوزائیدہ نام
A tradition exists for naming a newborn baby. A letter is usually given by a priest at a local place of worship, as the first letter to be used for the name.
This is like a blessing and good luck for the child. But today many do not consider this option and name the child themselves.
شادی کی روایات
دلہن اور شادی کی بہت سی روایات کو اب فراموش کر دیا گیا ہے یا 'جدید تر' بنا دیا گیا ہے۔ مثال کے طور پر:
- The bride not visiting the groom’s house prior to marriage was a tradition once followed. Today, however, relationships often include the interaction of both parties with their respective families before the wedding.
- For Punjabi weddings, the groom wears a ‘Sehra’ (veil), which is tied to the turban. Its aim is to protect him from the evil eye. Not all grooms today wear it.
- The bride-to-be, used to remain in her old clothes for one or more days before the wedding. She would sit in front of four divas lit before her in these clothes, for a period of time. Considered to be essential, this tradition is seldom followed today.
- Red has always been the traditional bridal colour for a wedding because it signifies the status of a new bride. These days colour is not an issue, people want to actually defer away from the traditional red and class it as being “boring” and want to be different.
- The tradition of the bride’s last meal at her wedding is highly valued. However, for some, it is less important today.
حمل
Pregnancy has many traditions associated with it. For example, Young Asian pregnant women are not supposed go out much to avoid people’s evil eye (‘nazar’) and, after birth, the mother and child are not allowed out of the house for a certain number of days.
Many people treat these myths today.
Has the integration and new ways damaged and destroyed the South Asian traditions upheld by previous generations despite where they were in the world?
Do you think traditions are important? If so, why? What makes some traditions more important than others?
Many British Asian generations of today will see traditions as ‘old-school’ and may never opt to follow them. But it does make you wonder why were these traditions created and followed in the first place. What significance and meaning did they have?