Vande Matheran

It was Jan 26, 2006 when I had a brush with the new meaning of independence. An independence that is more about personal freedom than national freedom. An independence that is free of nationalistic feelings and more about personal enjoyment.

The realization of this new independence dawned upon me as I set out to do study. As a part of this study I had to speak to a wide section of corporates. The holiday on January 26 seemed to be just the right time to speak to people at leisure. But the nuclear ball of reality hit me when I realized that I could not get appointments from anyone around these dates.

Why? Everyone was traveling.

Where to?
Kashid, Alibaugh, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Chokkhi Dhaani (some of the weekend getaways from some of the big cities in India) - anywhere that one could get bookings!
Why suddenly?
Well, we had a national holiday or festival around the weekend, and if we added a day’s leave to it, and sometimes even without it, one could easily get 2-3 days as off. Two-three days away from the work schedules and an ideal opportunity to ‘take off’, as most of us like to call it!

The research that I was gunning for around these holidays, looked impossible becuase the strained temple nerve of the urbanite needed a much-deserved break!

As I sat thinking about this I realized how a set of working people looked at national holidays and even some of the festivals. They saw these as opportunities to break free from the routine; an opportunity to move away from people and look for some solace.
This is a departure from what we have traditionally looked at festivals and national days to be. These occasions have stood for an opportunity to get together, meet friends and people from the community, a time to remember the significance of our hard-earned independence and the citizenship of a secular & democratic republic.
All this seems to be fading away from our collective memories as we embark on our professional journey. For the urban working species, patriotism is more about taking off to Palanpur (a scenic and historical town in West India) rather than remembering Pandit Nehru. It is about cooling off, recharging and forgetting things rather than remembering the past.


This change could be a result of two factors –

1. Pressures on time, which makes us, prioritize patriotism. For a working executive there is limited room for relationships and religion, leave aside Rabindranath Tagore’s national anthem!

2.It could also have to do with our generation - a generation born much after independence. It was way too young around the Chinese aggression and the multiple wars with Pakistan.
We have been groomed in ‘English medium’ schools with a focus on performance rather than patriotism. There also is limited exposure to nationalistic values as parents engage in preparing kids for the competitive world.
It is no surprise when the memories of standing in the queue for the laddus, that one used to get in school on Independence and the Republic day, are fading in the mist of time. And August 15 or January 26 shrink in their significance to National ‘Holidays’ declared by the central government rather than National Festivals to be celebrated with patriotic fervor and joy.
The meaning of patriotism has shrunk further, from watching the republic day parade on TV or hoisting of the tricolor in the neighbourhoood, to having a paper flag on the car dash.

Perhaps the only other moment when one gets to see our ‘patriotic potential’ other than these occasions is when we play cricket with Pakistan!

Personalization of public occasions is not limited only to the national events. Even religious festivals and family events are moving in that direction. More and more these are turning into opportunities for people to indulge themselves. ‘Parties & purchases’ are emerging the new rituals around the old religious or festival occasions.

If we step back and see there is almost a slow but steady drift from rituals and religion and towards revelry. The emergent mindset is more about enjoying the moment than cherishing memories.
The meaning of patriotism is changing. The significance of different religious and family festivals/ events is taking a new shape. We as marketers and a part of this social and cultural group called India could do well by finding a way of ensuring a patriotic continuity for the generations to come. Finding ways of rekindling the ritualistic roots of all our family and religious events & festivals. Imagine a brand talking the language of doing Diwali pooja the way we saw our parents doing it when we were 8. This would make tremendous sense for the migrant nuclear families living away from their town/village of origin. Those whose understanding of rituals and roots is either determined by the faint memory of the past or what they see being television.
Or a brand that stands for the new meaning of patriotism as we move into the borderless business world.
A lot of primetime soaps parade traditionalism. This traditionalism is centered on events as marriage, engagement etc. There is an opportunity to deploy some of the learnings from here by looking at occasions beyond marriage.

Changing lifestyles impact culture. As marketers we could do well by understanding the new needs, or should I say wants, created by this ‘culture on the move’. There could be product and service propositions waiting to be explored.
As observers of culture we could consciously work towards ‘planned patriotism’ that can further the feeling of nationalism beyond its present scope which is limited to schools, armed forces and some other government contexts.

And perhaps even I need to take a break on the next republic day – a break to reconnect with the Indian inside of me, a break to rekindle my patriotic preferences.

Vande Mataram!