To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In deve

A society is a community where people contribute to each other's well-being in one way or another. This definition doesn't quite suffice when it comes to cities because people in cities are a lot busier in their work and other responsibilities as compared to their rural counterparts, who devote a substantial amount of their time towards the societies they dwell in. Therefore, it is important to observe the functionality of a society in a rural area in order to truly understand the essence of a society.

In India, in order to fully understand the beauty and nuances of its rich culture, it is worthwhile for us to pay a visit to villages. The manner in which the people celebrate festivals like Diwali, Holi, Janma-ashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi, is worth noting and appreciating. Even today, these festivals are celebrated with the same zeal and enthusiasm as they were back in the day. On the other hand, the same festivals are losing their sheen in cities. To begin with, the days on which these festivals are observed are regular working days for students of schools and colleges as well as office-goers, clearly showing the lack of importance given to these festivals. Also, most festivals in India have always been well-known for the music and dance that are associated with it. But, the police and civil authorities in cities impose several restrictions on the way they must be celebrated-no sound and music beyond a certain time; no lighting of fire crackers during Diwali; proscribing the sale of colors during Holi. If this continues to happen, there will come a time when the celebration of these festivals will come to a full stop, thus creating a serious dent on our culture.

Nowadays, the cities in India are being more and more 'westernized' by non-resident Indians, or the NRI's, that settle down after having lived abroad for a substantial period of time. Their so-called 'western lifestyle' rubs off on other members of the society which, again, isn't a good sign as far as preserving culture is concerned.

Communalism is a social glue that holds a society together. It is most perfectly depicted in villages, where everyone works together towards accomplishing a task and the fruits of labor are enjoyed by everyone, equally. For example, in India, the farmers, who are generally men, provide ingredients such as fresh water and grains to the women who cook for the community, and everybody gets to enjoy the meal. This invariably promotes unity. On the other hand, people in cities have to fend for themselves, making them selfish and self-centered. It also promotes individualism which goes against the principles on which a society is built.

The reasons stated above are indicators of the fact that the structure of a society is better observed in villages than in cities, and in order to understand it's functioning, one must study the rural areas.