What Defines Success in Indian Culture?

The Culture of India is a result of years of rich heritage and diversity. India is home to a variety of civilizations, constituted by people who speak different languages, eat different kinds of food and follow different religions. However, despite the huge contrast among the different regions of this large country, their regional subcultures possess several commonalities. The definition of success in India is one of them.

Indian culture is an amalgam of numerous traditions, beliefs and practices. It is based on a strict social hierarchy. The Indian society is highly family centric. It is very important for Indians to strike the right balance between their career and their home. Be it a man or a woman, the metric of success for both is more or less decided by these two factors. Money and property may define one’s success in the Indian society, but they are not the only things that make an Indian successful. It is considered important for Indian men to have a prestigious job, with a good salary and a respectable status in the society. For Indian women it is more important to be married at the right age, to the right person and in the right family. Although with the changing times and the increasing importance of education among Indians, having a great career is becoming more and more important for Indian women.

The Indian society can be further classified into the urban and the rural communities. Among the rural people the definition of success is absolutely different from that of the urban people. In most rural families the concept of individual success is not very popular. The head of the family is the main earning member and his position in the society indicates how successful his family is, as a whole. While the success of the male member of the family is rated by his ability to provide for his kin, the success of a woman is measured by how well she runs the house and takes care of her children.

In the Urban Indian society the emphasis on career progression is catching up fast. But the essence of the Indian traditions and cultural values has not lost its significance among the modern Indians as well. Like in most other societies, the Indian people believe in getting the best of both worlds. Their idea of a great life is to have a perfect family and a perfect career. Both Indian men are women are venturing into creative career fields matching their interests and capabilities. Having a satisfying career, which pays well and earns them good reputation in the society, defines success for the urban Indians.

Relationships are considered very important in the Indian culture. Respecting one’s elders and valuing one’s parents is expected out of every Indian. Also, it’s a norm for the Indian people to get married by a certain age. For Indians, marrying late or not getting married at all may raise many eyebrows among their peers. People who don’t value their marriage and refrain from attending to their children are considered nothing less than sheer failure in the Indian Culture. This is one of the reasons why divorces are not very common in India. The Indian culture stresses upon tolerance and empathy among relationships.

Thus, In India, success may be measured by a variety of factors. A good combination of all the above mentioned criteria defines success in the Indian society