In that exact way, some cultures can influence other cultures for example; some traditions from one culture can be bought into another due to some change like getting married, curiosity about another culture etc. Also in the same way beliefs can be passed on in the same way. Sometimes people pass in on in their own families from generation to generation, kind of like Chinese whispers it changes through the ages. The next generation may change it slightly to get a hint of their way of life into the tradition. There are many different races in east ham, and you can tell the difference between two races because of their cultures, there are many ways to identify the different cultures. One being the way they dress, for example in the eastern cultures most of the girls and women wear salwar kameez, the western culture wear top and trousers, skirts, dresses etc. some that have both eastern and western culture show that by inventing a new style that mixes the two cultures dress sense and come up with something that both the other cultures may approach. Examples of this being the style that was in last summer, the eastern style kurtay were worn on top of the western style jeans, this brings a taste of another culture into your own yet not eroding your own culture away. In the poem ‘Presents form my Aunts in Pakistan’ there are various texts that can be related to my experiences and others that I myself find hard to get my head round. Quoting “My salwar kameez didn’t impress the school friend who sat on my bed”, I think I can relate to this text in one-way or another but not entirely because yet my salwar kameez may not have impressed my primary school friends them being so narrow minded that if it wasn’t western style it was rubbish, now its different, my secondary school mates like clothes from both eastern and western cultures. We all share quiet a lot of interests.
When visiting each other’s houses we wear salwar kameez, get compliment like “Oh I like the way your clothes have been made, who made them?” just hearing that makes you happy that you can be accepted by your mates just the way you are after all if you have to change to fit in then they aren’t true mates in the first place. Just like in the poem I wish I could sometimes get away from my clothes quoting, “My costume…” and just slip into something that I feel more comfortable in. Clothes that wont label me one culture or the other yet give the image that I’m a girl that has her own culture, her own style and her own way of life. Bringing new fashions into this age is something that everyone does but yet you can never go wrong with the old fashions, quoting, “I longed for denim and corduroy.” Some things will never change just like culture fashion can also rot away yet unlike culture something’s can come back to fashion in a while or so. In the poem Half-Caste you can see that the poet is pissed off that he has been called half-caste, he’s angry because he has been labelled. You can tell how he feels, when your just trying to have fun with mates and something happens you feel completely down someone calls you a “paki”, obviously your going to feel some sort of hate towards that person. The poem is like an argument between two people, conversational, where you can only read what one person is saying. The poet is being sarcastic making fun of the other person yet with a serious tone near the end. Quoting “Explain yuself” this phrase is repeated in the poem quiet a lot, when someone says something to you obviously now-a-days you would say ‘what you talking to me?’ or something that would make the other person know that your angry and to back off. When the poet says this it makes me think, would you ever say that to someone instead of what we say now a day?
My birth was in Pakistan and my mother tongue is Urdu, it’s the language in which I speak to my parents in and some other people. I find it an advantage to be multilingual because that way you can say things to people and they wont understand what your saying to them, you could be swearing for all they know. Only joking, it’s an advantage because not many people are and the fact that you can cope with ‘two tongues’ in your mouth is something to be proud of. In the poem “Mother Tongue” I feel that I cant really relate to the entire poem a few things here and there but that’s about it because first of all it’s Gujarati whereas, like I’ve already mentioned, mine is Urdu. Also the fact that the poet says, quoting “And if you lived in a place you had to speak a foreign tongue, your mother tongue would rot away, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out”, I don’t understand what that’s all about because I live in east London which is a place I have to speak a foreign tongue yet I can still manage to keep my mother tongue intact with my brain. It’s important for me to stay in touch with my roots; it’s a part of me and will always be if I can help it. One thing I can relate to is the last stanza, quoting “Every time I think I’ve forgotten, I think I’ve lost my mother tongue, it blossoms out of my mouth”, every time I start to speak English Urdu just comes out my mouth. When talking to my mates, gladly they all understand Urdu; I throw a few of my own words in it. When I don’t want someone to know what were talking about I talk Urdu, its kind of fun, a code within itself. People bring their own culture to where ever they go, from Pakistan to London, from Scotland to Wales, from the biggest moves to the smallest it can all spread around.
People bring their own style, music and food to where ever they go; style sets a trend and you can change what people around you wear. One person can make a huge difference, if you start wearing something extra ordinary then someone else make like the look of it and it may turn into a new trend, your trend influenced by your culture. Eastern clothing is very done up and some may even say a bit too much, in my opinion I prefer clothes that are more simple to those that have a lot of work done on them. Some clothes I wouldn’t dare to wear because of what I’d look like in them, eastern culture has a history of bright colours. Quoting, “They sent me a salwar kameez peacock-blue, and another glistening like an orange split open…” I get presents like this as well from my aunt but I prefer not to wear them and plus now I’ve told them that I don’t like bright clothes and they understand what I like so they send me things that I like to wear and would appreciate not that I don’t appreciate what they send. Music is something that can be shared throughout all cultures each one with its own flavour, its own theme, and its own style. From east to west there are so many themes, some influence others, it goes around and times change so do the tunes. East and west beats mix together to form the newest beat of the moment, Bhangra. A mix of western and eastern culture to form on for all Asian’s all over the place. New people can set all new beats, new themes, new songs, new styles and new trends. Some prefer to stick with the original but now that there are new tings being introduced to us from a variety of cultures we have a choice in what we want to wear and what music we ant to listen to. The same with dance, we’ve learnt to appreciate other cultures their ways and how they interpret life and blend it with dance. Food is another thing that has travelled from the eastern culture into the western culture; people go down to places where they sell curries, Indian food, eastern food etc. Food is one thing that is appreciated weather it be eastern or western, although some cultures aren’t used to eastern spices that are put in the food to actually make them as eastern as they are. They still love it though, in my family we all love our spices, chillies are all over the places when my mum cooks. In a way each and every family must have something that they eat that is passed down from generation to generation and same as traditions these have been slightly changed to fit the age that we live in now.
Expectations are different yet very similar in most cultures; eastern culture the families expect the girls to cook and clean the house the boys to find work and provide for the family but now that the families have a hint of western culture to them, they know that the girls can just as far as the boys can. Girls are earning more then boys, it’s the 21st century and women are ahead. The same expectation are still there though, trust is something that every family relies on, by trusting each other they allow love to spread. The advantages of having two different cultures is the fact that you knowledge of more then one tradition and if you are creative enough you will blend the two cultures traditions together to form a culture of your own with your family and friends. Having two culture means you have more freedom to choose what you want to do, eastern culture holds you back. The fact that men are seen superior 2 women is something that the western culture knows not to do. Now, in this age women have more status then men had they have moved a step further and have more knowledge. So when it comes to me being sixteen and wanting to work my parents will let me because even though they have eastern culture in them they know that I also have western meaning that I have a choice and knowing my capability they know I can do better then my brother so that’s that. There are also negative sides to having two cultures especially if your parents are different, some traditions may clash, some things may not be allowed. For example; in Islamic weddings there are three different types of weddings, Bengali weddings where the men and women are separate and it’s kind of dry, then there are Pakistani and Gujarati weddings which are similar but the Pakistani weddings may have a slight hint of other cultures influence. There is music, dancing, functions, and liveliness all over the place, yet you wont see it in all weddings its just a typical wedding. Now if you think about it if one parent has the Bengali culture and the other was raised with the Pakistani culture which one would you go by? It’s hard to decide you don’t want to upset either parent. Overall there are more advantages then disadvantages to having two cultures.
In conclusion my life has been a roller coaster of influences from everywhere, at the end of it all my experiences made me the person I am today. Both good and bad one’s shaped my life to what it is now and the experiences still yet to come decide how my life will take shape in the future and so do my actions.
Meshaal Ihtasham 10L
