Flag Bearers

Are We Getting Carried Away With Heritage?

- Aadil Naik

I believe humans are a sentimental species. We cling to our past in the same way Tom Cruise hung on to the outside of that plane in the last Mission Impossible movie. It reminds us of our days of glory, brings a smile to our face and in many ways determines the direction we take in everything. However, this seems to be at odds with the other defining trait of the homo sapien — our inherent need to progress and move beyond what we know. At the end of it all is a fine balance with constant shifts to either side, and we exist in that grey space in the middle. Take Indian parenthood for example. It is at the far end of the ‘past’ side of this balance, with parents (and I speak from experience) refusing to move ahead with the times (i.e. scientific research). ‘The values our parents taught us are the best, and there can be nothing better’. On the other side of the world, parents are having very different conversations with their kids, and the past is to be lost and buried. ‘You need to figure this out for yourself, Timmy’. And it is this balance that manufacturers struggle to perfect. Some hide their heritage and subtle homages is all we get. And then you have the Ford Mustang GT and the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. There is nothing subtle about them at all.