(i) Many of our cultural practices are influenced by our social and economic situation. For example, our social situation may influence what we wear.

(ii) Sometimes, our cultural practices may be influenced by both our social and our economic situation. This includes such things as our tastes and preferences in music-whether we like folk songs, film songs, classical music or western pop music.

(iii) While we can learn Hindi film songs quickly from the radio, for example, learning classical music is far more difficult and expensive. It also takes much longer, and many of us might it difficult to spare time for it.

(iv) The cultural objects we produce and use are also often limited by our economic resources. For example, none of us would have been able to build the Taj Mahal even if we had wanted to. This was only possible for Shah Jahan, the ruler of a large and prosperous empire.

(v) In fact, most of the splendid forts, palaces, and religious monuments we see were built by rulers. They not only served as royal residences or palaces of worship, but they were also meant to proclaim the power and glory of those who got them built.

(vi) However, although material resources are important, they are not always decisive. For example, Mira Bai left the wealth and splendour of the palace of Chittor to embrace a life of homelessness and freedom to pursue her spiritual goals.