CultureGilgit - BaltistanPakistan
[Pictory] Cultural customs and values
Topic and photographs by Shujaat Ali (Shimshal)
We have observed a lot of changes in our culture during the past few years. Some of the customs that have changed include respect to the elders by kissing hand, taking care of younger ones , showing sincerity with fellow human being, greeting people in a welcomign manner – by bowing or putting hands at chest, helping needy through collective division of labor, hospitality – by inviting peopel inside your home, etc.
In my opinion our customs are symbolic representations of our cultural values. Let us discuss what we have in our culture that others have not and whether we need to make the choice between customs and values?
Cultural heritage ranges from traditional norms, philosophy regarding dealing life, conventional / unconventional communication among the members of the society, ethics and built heritage.
In the aforesaid perspective, we gota tremendous / amazing cultural heritage, which is indeed our identity, we need to preserve it rather v need to sustain it further in our society. Modernization does,t mean to adopt the barrowed cultures or presenting a blend of cultures, rather it enforces individuals to consolidate our cultural norms, based on which we could be identified in the society, otherwise we would lost our symbolic representation. Our traditional norms / values are the rare assets of our culture that makes us different in our region.