I happened to read an exhaustive article on the diminishing concept of ‘family’ and ‘filial affections and commitments’. The concept is old and the new era we see now is modern, partially westernized (not fully!) and basically self-oriented.

Well, comparisons are odious. It is stupid on my part to compare the ‘family’ that existed in the 1950s and 2023. There is a gargantuan difference between the two. May be true, in those days also there were well educated, well employed, rich and foreign returned men and women, but, we understand that those families were not impersonal as they are now. Hello, that is not at all true.

In those years also people and relatives who were well off were not too close with relatives and friends from lower levels. Krishna-Kuchela story is undoubtedly a concocted one. I have heard several stories of rich versus rich and versus poor with bitterness. My family itself had been a victim of it at one point of time. Well, let me not expand it.

It is a fact, today the relationships are mostly synthetic, artificial and with purpose. They are almost blatant now. Those days also it was. But, not to this extent probably.

What we wax eloquent nowadays on ‘personal space’ and ‘independent’ for which we were not given this much importance in those years among the middle, lower middle and poor community. In the rich this was very much there. The children of rich families were invariably brats and never docile.

In my opinion, in India we try to ape the foreign culture very selectively like fashion, speech, (ill)manners, arrogance and independence. But, as for acquiring, saving wealth and hoarding it for the sake of the so called ‘future generation’ remain Indian.

I feel the major problem of an Indian wherever he is he continues to be an Indian and he uses the culture, habits or principles very selectively those which suit him. They are an odd blend. The present and future will be still worse with a lot of confused preferences, weird practices, and insolent behavior.

It is difficult to buy respect, empathy, character or behavior unless the individual develops all these qualities on his/her own consciously.