"ARE WE LOSING IT?"

"Have we lost it?" Are South Africans of Indian-origin losing their cultures and values? This is a question that a mourner posed to me while attending a funeral at the Mobeni Heights cemetery and crematorium in Chatsworth, Durban on Wedensday, September 3 2014. I visited the place to attend the funeral of the son of a late family friend. Before his funeral, there was another group of mourners attending the funeral of an 82-year-old elder citizen. What caught the eye of the mourner in question was the dress code of the women. While one or two of the women were dressed in the traditional sari as a mark of respect and for the occasion, the majority of the women folk - both young and not so young - wore dresses and jeans. One young woman was even attired in high heels and skin tight pants and another in a dress above the knees. This the mourner felt was completely out of place at a funeral and not in keeping with the culture of the people of Indian-origin. After the funeral service, he asked: "What is happening to our people? Have we lost it as a people?" Another person accompanying the mourner chipped in to say that people attending funerals should dress appropriately and that "we should not ape other cultures of this morally-decomposing world". This got me thinking and I approached the pastor who happened to walk past. I introduced myself and he gave me his name as Clinton Chetty. "Tell me, Sir,", I asked. "I have this observation that some of the women are not dressed appropriately for a funeral. What is happening? What is going on?" He looked puzzled and taken aback. He then went onto explain that there's a difference between religion and culture but some people don't see the difference. "But ARE we not losing it?", I asked. "I totally agree with you. We are having a serious problem. People have become used to the western way of life and have forgotten where they come from. I believe that irrespective of our religion, we cannot forget our cultures and languages. "I also agree that we as a people will become lost if we don't hold onto and treasure our traditional values, norms and cultures." The pastor, a young man, gave me the impression that he's concerned about the situation. His colleagues with him also agreed that the people of Indian-origin must not forget their cultures, languages and traditions ---- no matter their religious affiliations. It seems all religious and other leaders must make and take the extra effort to emphasise to their people that whatever their religious affiliations - their mother tongues, cultures, values and traditions SAFEGUARDS them from the social evils of this modern and degenerative world. In the new South Africa we are facing all kinds of social, economic and other problems. It's therefore vital that we must not forget where we come from, lest we will not know where we are heading to.