I have always been fascinated by Indian history and the times under the British, Mughals, Marathas and other rulers. I managed to get a few popular books on history from local libraries and from public domain sources on the net (Project Gutenberg - www.Gutenberg.org) and started reading them. Notable ones being “The Last Mughal” by William Dalrymple and “A Ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan by Harry De Windt”.
My initial impressions were that life was very relaxed during those times.It was nowhere near the hectic pandemonium that exists today. Apparently, punctuality was not a virtue then, the businessmen and traders in particular, used to do things at their own pace without really following a disciplined schedule. The British, seemingly are credited with drilling punctuality into us or so the books have us to believe. With the absence of TV, Radio and other modern forms of entertainment, it appears that there was abundant time available in the evenings. Meeting friends and relatives, and chatting seems to have been the most common pastime. Reading books and enjoying music seemed to be the pastimes of the elite.
I was not able to visualize a “middle class” clearly as many of them seem to fall either under the rich or the poor category. Though one may choose to call the businessmen and trader communities as middle class, their descriptions seem to fit the more affluent ones.
Religion and culture were deeply revered. Prayers, customs and traditions used to consume a significant portion of the day. A far cry from the few or no time that is spent on prayer these days. Blind belief and superstition dominated life in every way. And seemed to have been major deterrents to advancements.
Festivals and ceremonies, both religious and otherwise, seem to have been celebrated with pomp and splendor. Gold and silver seem to have been splashed around extravagantly, gifts distributed to all and sundry - the host sometimes undergoing great difficulties in arranging this extravagance. Several British authors and historians have criticized the people for this lavishness, for it had only burdened the common folk more.
Though I have not touched upon various aspects such as education, outlook or occupation, it is sufficient to remark that these were definitely more in alignment with the local culture and customs mixed with a tinge of the British and Mughals’ traditions rather than the completely western outlook that we have today.
It is evident that the people of the era where scientifically receded with superstitions and blind beliefs impeding them but it does appear that they were more relaxed and culturally loyal. In my opinion, they were able to strike a better balance between work and home. They seemed to have had a good social life and did not need Orkut or Facebook to catch up with their friends! :) Given an option would I have accepted to have been born in that era? Yes, but of course!
