By;Rao Muhammad Shehryar Khan
Anthropology suggest that humans when started living in groups, even in the stone age, people used to wear capes made up of leaves in a certain way so that they could be identified. It was like carrying an identity. Furthermore, during the ice age, man learned how to cover himself by wearing dresses made up of animal hides, mammoth skins and woven or knitted grass. And then it goes on with several civilisations, process of evolving and eventually learning to dress up was the ultimate milestone.
The same way when humans started to use all their 5 senses. They started to discover the taste of foods, starting from nibbling leaves to quenching their thirst with the nectar of berries, satisfying their taste buds with the sweetness of fruits. Figuring out the scent of roses and differentiating it from odour of a stagnant puddle. Touching the soft grass and feeling thorns on a cactus, sensing the ability to touch. Hearing various sounds of animals, and witnessing the beauty of nature with the ability to sight.
Dating back to 1950s, when patriotism was at its peak and liberation was being enjoyed as the british raj left. They turned their residencies into presidencies and unfortunately inculcated this into our minds that we were inferior to them. They used to call indian civil servant working for them “babus” derived from baboons which happen to be animals. Turban used to be our prestige, they gave it to their darbaris who used to open door for them. Lord Macaulay said that even if we leave, we will leave a mark on their minds making them subservient for generations.
We used to see noble people smoking hookas which were replaced by tobbaco pipes and cigars. It was a cultural norm that men used to wear a cloth wrapped around their legs which happens to be a tradition known as “tehmand in urdu or dhoti in punjabi.” Those were replaced with pants and shirts. Westernisation had taken over.
We got liberation in 1947, but we are still mental slaves. Colonialism is a menace which must be exterminated. Learn to live by embracing your own culture and norms. Take pride in what you are and stay connected to your roots. Otherwise you will be like a tree who has grown with zero foliage because trees’s can grow without roots.
I wish and dream of a day, when wheat harvesting was celebrated as a festival in our villages. Falconers used to keep their falcons awake known as “jagraata festival in punjabi.” Tentpegging festivals were held where desi breed horses were promoted. Buffalos were kept as pride, our black gold, beauty competitions and milk competitions meylas were held. Mashkis used to keep water in leather flasks. Farriers used to do horseshoeing, chariots were the mode of travel. People used to give ushr when wheat was harvested. Local economy was boosted. Cotton was weaved on the charkha.
Our norms, culture, traditions were all passed on as a trusteeship to us by our ancestors. Lets make a pledge to ourselves that we will try to be what we are and not to be what we were not.
-Rao Muhammad Shehryar Khan from Rao Khan Wala, District Kasur
“A lawyer who wants to break the shackles of societal taboos. An agriculturist, equine breeder and dairy farmer.”
