An innovation is not limited to just the sector in which it initially occurs. It spreads to other sectors, and in the process gives rise to a succession of other, related innovations. Electricity is a good example. It has reached all corners of society to illuminate dark areas. Even places of worship, which had a distinct pattern of lighting in pre-electricity days, have welcomed the new form of energy to brighten their environs. What is interesting, though, is that the new innovation has not replaced the old system of lighting the lamps. The Aarti before the gods’ images in temples is still performed with lamps lit with oil or ghee. But the rooms, the alleys leading to the temple, and other buildings are now lit by electric bulbs; of course, there are times when an ethnic touch is added by placing electric bulbs in traditional vases. The celebration of Diwali—the festival of lights—has been transformed by the use of electricity. Mosques still issue the Azaan, but now broadcast them via loudspeakers.
New inventions thus enhance the utility of old practices and extend their coverage. A number of innovations in the area of religious worship were facilitated by the introduction of new technology. In this sense, these successive innovations are consequences of a new invention—electricity—in addition to its multiple uses.
An innovation, and succeeding innovations related to it, paves the way for the convergence of several influences. To quote Ogburn and Nimkoff, ‘This combining of influences is a very common phenomenon. The growth of suburbs is the result not of the automobile alone, though it is a significant influence, but also of the electric railway, the steam railroad, the telephone, the radio, the moving picture theatre, and the chain store’ (1958: 678).
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