Crowdsourcing Culture
Before creating The Culturist, we (the editors) threw open this question to every person (friend, family and acquaintance) we came across in our everyday life; how do you define culture in India?
It gives you a sense of identity.
Culture is art, art is roots, roots are our identity.
A set of guidelines designed to live harmoniously in a society.
They said.
In essence, a set of practices (traditions, rituals or however you wish to call it), which were laid down by our ancestors to create an identity for ourselves or to design a way of life to live by. Culture could be anything, from clothing to cuisine to art to festivals. And, given how diverse our country is, it’s safe to say that every pocket, every village, every state across the country has a story to tell about its heritage, its tradition, its rich culture.
Without a question, a culture (or practice) that was relevant 5,000 years ago may not be entirely relevant to the world that is today. But, we believe (and we’re certain), there are many, many more that we have left behind, ones that may give us a sense of direction. If not, we believe they will at least help us get in touch with our roots. It is those we wish to unearth in this publication.
Even today, many of us are told to preserve and practice a certain culture. There are still art forms, festivals and practices which are taught generation after generation, in a mere attempt to keep them alive. While we know and we are aware of it, how many of us have taken a step further to understand ‘why’ it came into being in the first place? It is this too, we wish to unearth in this publication.
We are not researchers. We are not historians. We are not archaeologists or anthropologists. We are merely a group of young adults who have set out on a journey to explore our roots. From our journey, we will share stories, photographs, videos and podcasts from what we have seen, read, experienced and learnt.
What we are NOT
We don’t wish to propagate any religious views
Our articles are not opinion-based, but facts weaved into stories, or a result of our own contemplation.
Our articles don’t intend to be a dogma but a starting point for our readers to explore further into ideas that pique their interest.
A note to our readers
We have specifically chosen to create the publication on a free platform (and we hope to keep it so in the long run as well) because we want more people to come together to collate and share as diverse, as rich and as extensive information as possible about cultures in India.
We will be posting only two to three articles a month to ensure that every article that is published is rich with information and not just a quick and dirty job.
If you think you have a story to tell, a photograph to share or videos to embed (from your travels, research and experiences), mail us your contributions at theculturistmedium@gmail.com.
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