PW invited parents of Dharav High School, Jaipur to share insights on how they help their children imbibe Indian culture and traditions

“We are a joint family with 13 members living under the same roof. This made it easy for us to teach our daughter Saumya (class VIII) Indian values, culture and traditions. Festivals are about celebrating together. In our household, we touch the feet of our elders to take their blessing. Our children observe and follow this religiously. As much as we cannot avoid Western culture, we also strive to make our children understand Indian culture and traditions so they can pass it on to future generations” — Garima Jain, Director, Beacon Public Senior Secondary School, Murlipura

“By encouraging active participation of our daughter Bhavya (class XI) in all Indian festivals and reading about Indian history and mythology to better understand their cultural significance, we are ensuring she grows up with a strong sense of identity and cultural roots. We discuss these stories and highlight the valuable lessons they teach. In today’s globalised world, taking pride in Indian heritage and culture assumes special significance. Moreover, we have enrolled Bhavya in Indian music and dance classes, and routinely organise visits to museums. Through these efforts, we hope to instill a sense of pride, appreciation, and deep-rooted understanding of Indian culture” — Taruna Sharma, homemaker

“As a family, we pray, eat, and work together. Our son Dev (class X) loves to read Panchtantra and Jataka Tales. From his childhood, his grandparents have told him stories from Indian mythology and folklore We observe all Hindu festivals to ensure our children appreciate the value of Indian customs and traditions. Often, we set off on a ‘discover India’ vacation with the children to dance festivals or haath bazars so they can explore the local markets, languages, dances, costumes and traditional food” — Neelam Agarwal, homemaker

“Our daughter Akansha (class XII) has embraced our culture willingly and remains curious about diverse Indian traditions. From youngest age, we introduced her to Indian folk tales and mythology through storytelling from the epics and focused on the basic values they represent. All Indian festivals are celebrated together during which Akansha wears traditional Indian attire. We also introduced her to traditional Indian meals at home and involved her in the cooking process to make it a fun and educational activity” — Ratika Agha, homemaker