Winter has finally set in full throttle. For the past few years, the winter season has begotten less precipitation but killing dry and cold weather. There have obviously been drastic changes in the ecosystems that surround us at our own behest. We have been at our best while we talk of deforestation and destroying ecosystems. Our approach towards the environment has markedly been ridden with discourtesy and a very vivid, unsympathetic attitude and these are the things which are coming back to us in the shape of unbearable and severe weather conditions.
Speaking of winter and our attitude towards seasons in general, we have undergone a critical un-cultural metamorphosis. We have digressed from what our culture is and have adapted ways and mechanisms which are the saplings of commercialism. For instance, most city dwellers have stopped wearing the traditional Pheren (a cloak of sorts) and we have installed modern heating systems in our homes which, as a matter of fact, are not good at all for our health. Our departure from the traditional Kangri (fire pot) has changed our attire entirely and instead of keeping ourselves warm with the Kangri tucked neatly under the Pheren, we roam around in our houses wearing thermals. I am all against all kinds of modern appliances that are being used to keep ourselves warm and cosy as these appliances are health hazards and none of them match the intimate and warm embrace of the Kangri.
The Kangri is a cultural emblem of sorts and it earns us an entirely distinct identity along with other cultural emblems like the Pheran. But we have intentionally chosen to deviate from all this and are busy “aping the West”. Now what would you do with a LPG Heater, a heating appliance so common across the length and breadth of the Kashmir valley? Well, you could keep your room warm and that is it. With a Kangri you would be availing a lot too many services. With a Kangri, you would keep yourself warm and if you were in a row on the road, you could very well toss it across at your opponent who would be in shape to fight you back once the fire pot has hit him. I am not advising that you should be doing just that but rather reminding you that a Kangri under your Pheran is a potential weapon in case things turn too ugly. While you are at it, you could roast nuts (water chestnuts especially) in the Kangri and bite into these delicacies without ever having even to budge a bit. You could take a small potato or two and bury them under the ash and coal in the Kangri and, hey, with a little salt and pepper, you would be munching a very healthy snack. If you happen to smoke, you would know the value of the Kangri when at times you want to light a cigarette but are out of match box. Just dip the cigarette into the burning coals and pull. I am again not advising that you do that but you could if you were in a tight spot. During winters, washed clothes don’t dry up easy and for that you could again avail the services of the humble Kangri. And the best utility of all when it comes to a Kangri is that it is ultra portable. You can take this facility wherever you go and it is really cheap in comparison to modern heating systems which cost you a fortune and a half. I guess Kangri is not a health hazard even though it may have some titbit issues like, for instance, you are very close to a pot filled with burning charcoal and you could very well burn your hand if you are not cautious enough.
My point is that we are persistently turning away from our tradition and culture and are trying to go hip which does not leave any traces actually leaves us stripped of who we really are. We have almost entirely forgotten our folk lore, folk dances and stuff. I myself do not recall any folk tales that my mother or my father narrated to me when I was a kid. And that way my own kid never got to hear them and thus he might lose respect for his own culture and tradition. Yes, that is what is happening! We are losing respect for our culture and tradition and this in turn earns us no respect from non-Kashmiris. We have placed ourselves in a dingy isolation chamber and then we complain.
There is immense need for all of us to gain proximity to the culture and values of our land. Time is running out. There will be a day when we will not be able to ascertain our own identities while having lost ourselves to the hues of anonymity.
