First thing that entered my mind when i stepped in to that restaurant was , oh this is for Muslims run by a Muslim .We were so hungry that now i did not want to change my mind and go back looking for another place. After ordering and settling into the restaurant ,i kept saying this place has a lot of Muslim population. The owner was a Muslim , so he had another restaurant in the same building specifically catering to the Arabian cuisine .So, some of them who did not get a table landed up here.Just when i kept thinking on those lines,i realized the kind of mindset that we all develop towards a certain community, nation or be it even gender.
It is all in us to change the mindset. Starting from simple things to serious issues.These things register in our minds starting with comments as funny as " don't select this dress, you will look like a Muslim " .Well this has happened to me so many times.. I don't know why people think Green is only for Muslims. My wardrobe is filled with many greens. In fact , during my wedding , i picked up a Saree that i liked instantly. But to decide if i have to buy that or not should have taken more time than i took to decide my wedding date. You know why -just because i have heard that Green color comment from so many and i did not want that coming up on my wedding day. Finally
- i picked it up.
I made the decision after thinking -i like it and i don't care if people are going to say i look Muslimish on that. In fact , i even came up with an answer when some people commented that i look like a Muslim -My answer would be "Yes, i was Zubeida in my previous birth" . Well this is not it, so many things start this way only . Simple comments from everywhere registers in our minds as a child and we grow up with it.And when we are so grown -it is so difficult to part with it ..It definitely takes an effort to change.If we change, we are not going to have the telenganas , Jai maharastra talks and even the muslim talks. It is okay to be proud of where one comes from but what is the point in claiming only we own the place we stay and we cannot let others have it / enjoy the experience .High time we stop that .I know a lot of them comes up with "This wont happen in Saudi Arabia yaar , will they celebrate diwali etc" but then that is what is special about our country na ...India If we say we are united in this diversified land..let us really practice that and not have the differences . I also have to say that many contribute a lot to not being liberal in some ways . I know some of them who give preference to their community or their language speaking folks to encourage their own community/race -is in't that wrong too ..why discriminate based on the religion. So it works both ways ..whether you are a hindu , or a muslim or a christian ..or a madrasi or a gujarati -change your mindset dear from that of thinking about your religion / native language alone to seeing the human connect in oneself & the others !
4 comments:
Aha well said well said!!Even I say its kind of muslimish when I see some jigujigu dress...dono where from, it got stuck to me.
But this green color relation to muslims is totally new to me...anyways hats off to u on selecting the saree for the reason that u liked it...I am that kind actually...If I like I dont bother abt anyone else and viceversa is true as well :) Luved every bit of reading the post Viji
Prejudices and fears are like the warp and weft of the fabric of our growing years and later become the determiners by which we react to people and situations. They subtly define who we are. I can fully understand what you mean.
As a teen whenever I would not wear a bindi, my mom would say, I look like a Muslim. If I dared to wear lipstick, I looked like a Christian. But no one ever told me that if I did or did not do something, I would cease to behave like a human!
Yes it's time to change the way we think.
We need to remember that like utter idiots we have for generations played into the hands of the Caliphs and the Brahmins who have corrupted out our genes. The mindset will go only when we eat with each other, marry into each others families..So what if its Muslim or Christian or whatever..EVERY single religious book says only one thing - love fellow humans and respect God ! But we choose to misinterpret it and the world painfully spins as instead of fighting hunger or malaria or AIDs we fight each other. Mndsets are nothing but fossilised experiences...is your mind of old rock that you carry them ?
Or is your mind like the spring which eventually breaks down the rocks to find its own way ? You decide
Anurag Mathur
Good Start Viji..
I liked ur idea on the open mind set.
I recently went to a Navratri Function in my Colony and the Puja was going on and some friends from the Hindu community asked how was I present there?????? I said I am here to participate in the function of Navratri and I dont mind to be there where Puja is happening ... It does mean I am part of it but just there to show I am here for Communal Harmony.. Tolerance is the right word I guess..
Jai Hind
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