by Ashmin

Created on: April 21, 2008

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India, believed that the heart of India lies in her villages. These villages are the haven for all the traditions and customs of the Indian culture good and bad.
India is a land where River Ganga is revered and referred to as mother. The pledge that every child in every school in India so routinely recite every morning has a particularly important line that goes " I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders, respect, and treat everyone with courtesy."

Perhaps that's the reason for much seen guilt that vehemently runs in the mind of a son who, today, drops his parents off at an old age home in the many metropolitan cities in India.
India believes in the existence of paradise at your mothers feet. India strives to fight against the materialistic pompous life so ardently chased by many in the western world.
The beauty and comfort of extended families is gradually diminishing and losing its charm as many Indians migrate to the ever enchanting land of money , fame and comforts.
If one has to study the origins of family structure in India, one might have to go back to the great days of Indus Valley civilization where the individual family was infact a small village on its own. The benefits of extended family structure where there is an alpha male who takes responsibility in decision making and looks after the other members in his clan basically contributes to the emotional wellbeing of the members.
In an extended family you are literally "not alone" in anything.

Benefits of extended family.
1. Right after the birth of a child, when a couple live in an extended family, they begin to count their blessings of having mother and aunts with them. There is always someone to talk to, some one to care for the baby when exhausted new mom takes a nap, someone to cook and clean for you and even the unforgettable beautiful lullabies that only grandparents can sing.
In an extended family , the incidents of post natal depression would be very rare or even completely absent.

2. The development of the child is positively influenced by the various interactions with the relatives in the extended family. If the family has a set norm of rules , the child easily learns to adapt to a social set up. Any child psychologist will convince you that a loving extended family of the parents undoubtedly has an inevitable positive influence on the social , behavioural and emotional well being of the child.

3. In a traditional Indian family living in a village, the orthodox

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