BURDEN OF CARRYING PAHADI CULTURE SOLELY ON PAHADANS?
DEAR PAHADI ARMCHAIR ACTIVIST, If women are the torchbearers of culture, then what exactly are you? Spectators? Gatekeepers who lost the keys? Or just background extras in the story of Pahadi identity ? If your only effort toward preserving culture is scrolling Instagram and judging , congratulations—you’ve truly preserved the tradition of hypocrisy. If culture is so fragile it shatters with a reel, perhaps it's not being carried—it's being caged . If your version of "Pahadi culture" only exists to control and criticize women , then maybe it's not culture—it's convenient patriarchy in a handwoven shawl. 1. She twirls in a Pahadi dress, dances to a Pahadi tune, and uploads a reel —and suddenly, she is the face of erosion . She dares to wear jeans? Or dances to a Bollywood beat? Out come the moral police, armed with comment sections and unsolicited advice. "We want to marry real Pahadans, not these Instagram girls." "These girls ...