Question

1)What insights did you gain by looking at the past of diwali festival?

2)What two aspects of your culture diwali festival reveal?

3)In what two ways has your culture (Punjabi Culture) influenced the way you are today?

4)In his essay on “Cultural Identity and Diaspora,” Stuart Hall, a cultural theorist and

sociologist, wrote that our cultural identities emerged from the retelling of the past. But Hall argues that cultural identity is a matter of “becoming as well as being.” Our cultural identities belong to the future as much as to the past. “They undergo constant transformation. They are subject to the continuous play of history, culture and power.” (Hall, 1990)

Do you agree or disagree with Hall’s interpretation of the formation of our cultural identities? Please use your own experience to support your position.

Answer 1

(1)- The Diwali festival is called the “The festival of Light” in Indian subcontinent and belong to Hinduism. Festival are the notions of culture and tradition of any society as well as cultural identity.

Insights – The festival is the traditional way to work together and support each other to form a good and healthy society as well, active participation is best way to know about the festival and tradition behind the cause to celebrate. Diwali is celebrated on different aspect of Indian society, every community has a different way to celebrate this festival.

(2) -The Diwali festival reveal may aspect of cultural Indian society.

a-     Diwali is the festival of light and hygiene so that people prepare special task to celebrate the festival like colouring the houses and cleaning every part of house.

b-    Diwali is big and vast enjoying festival so that it belongs to economy too, rural India wait for year to get new way to enjoy the festival and do their business.

(3) -The Punjabi culture is also the part of Indian sub continental socio-cultural development so it connects people from their roots and family members.

(4) -Hall’s interpretation of the formation of our cultural identities – Hall urged that “the cultural identity is the matter of becoming as being” is belong to the cultural development of any society, culture and tradition is not only an identity but also forming standard of society.

Social and economic development is the main aspects of any cultural occasion like Diwali or Lohri etc. During the formation of society and community, people started to celebrate the festival, these festivals were the mean of entertainment as well as economic trends so that Hall’s theory can be defined on that way too.