India is a torch bearer for modern times, and given its rich heritage, ancient and modern history, it’s story is crucial for sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future of the planet. For context, France became part of EU more or less from an Empire status, and USA, though an old state, became true democracy only around 60 years back. As Indian democracy is celebrating ‘azaadi ka amrit mahotsav’, every citizen needs to do something towards preserving, protecting and upholding democratic values. First and foremost of these is to be self-confident, willing to put in honest and hard work needed to produce success and grandeur, as have been amply demonstrated time and again in this land – this is where heritage sites, monuments and museums play a key role. India’s material culture produced over the years, has also captivated the world like anything. Indian Monuments attract the people in millions from world over. India has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than majority of the countries.

On this World Heritage Day, as the world celebrates its efforts to salvage the rich cultural heritage, India also takes pride for its efforts on the front. India has 10 more of its sites added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list since 2014, taking the total to 40. Considering that 49 more sites are on India’s World Heritage Tentative list, India’s heritage monuments will be a game changer in the tourism sector.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has created an online portal for Indian Heritage Sites/Monuments with an e-ticketing facility & a “Must See” List that features outstanding monuments. On the other hand, initiatives like ‘Adopt a Hertitage’ Scheme aim to enhance tourism experience of travellers. The scheme allows Public or Private sector companies to become ‘Monument Mitras’ after putting forth a proposal for adopting sites. As of now, 24 MoUs have been signed with Ministry of Tourism, ASI and Monument Mitras for active collaboration in upgrading and developing amenities at tourist heritage sites.

The government has also built many monuments of national importance to give our young generation a richer sense of Indian history. “Today, the development of tourist centres is not just a part of the government scheme, but a campaign of public participation. The development of our cultural heritage is a great example,” said PM Modi during the inauguration of the new Circuit House near Somnath Temple, Gujarat. This initiative of building new monuments of national Importance across the country has set new avenues for Indian heritage and its popularity across the globe. The government built the National War Memorial in New Delhi, the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, APJ Abdul Kalam memorial in Rameshwaram, etc. Similarly, the places associated with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Shyamji Krishna Varma have been given grandeur. Adivasi museums are also being built across the country to bring forth the glorious history of Indian tribal society.

India, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, is an all-embracing confluence of religions, traditions and customs. A walk through any of the Indian heritage site fills one with ancient exuberance infused with stories of great rulers, spiritual leaders, artists, and all other beings that once walked the Indian soils. The finesse of Indian handicraft, the ethnicity of jewellery here, its silk and cotton textiles, even sweets and classical instruments, everything has come down as a heritage from ancient times and is being kept alive generation after generation. All said, Indian heritage is such a treasure and so subtle that it not only encompasses art, music, flora & fauna, print,designs and classical dances,but also its architectural advancement and intelligent engineering.

For human civilisation, what could lie beyond the currently unfolding 5th Industrial Revolution? Culture, and economics of Culture, are surely going to be at the core of these discussions. As India is rapidly evolving its innovation, adaptation and large scale implementation capabilities, it surely is in the spotlight as a potential steward and guide to the rest of the world due to its rich cultural heritage. India’s soft power comes out of its moral, ethical and cultural values.

It was India’s moral authority that inspired it to give shelter to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in 1959. India’s principled boycott of South Africa for its racist Apartheid policies, which Gandhi had started in late 19th century, won it respect from post-colonial states across Africa and rest of the world. In 1971, when India, despite overwhelming opposition from America and the UN, intervened in East Pakistan, which resulted in the formation of the independent state of Bangladesh, this urge came out of its moral and spiritual authority only, which it espoused and nurtured for thousands of years.

Observance of International Day of Yoga is the latest feather in India’s hat, thanks to the persistent efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre. This celebration has not only boosted Yoga’s popularity over the years, but also expanded its geographical presence by inspiring its adoption across the length and breadth of the world. Last week, Argentinian federal police decided to effectively use the techniques of Yoga for stress management of its personnel. Yoga is truly considered to be India’s greatest modern gift to the world. The Ministry of Ayush has also been striding forth to establish yoga’s curative and calming impacts and trying to integrate it with diverse disciplines in order to promote psycho-physiological well-being of the people across the globe.

When Natalie Di Luccio, an Italian-Canadian classical-crossover singer from Toronto sings Bollywood hit songs- ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’ and ‘Pehla Nasha’, Luo Ping- a Chinese TV reality show Super Idol 13’s contestant sings ‘Tujh main rab dikhta hai’, a US school chorus decides to sing a superhit Tamil song ‘Balleilakka Balleilakka’ from the hit movie ‘Sivaji’ at a yearly event, Ary- a Canadian girl sings ‘Kolaveri’ sung by Tamil superstar Dhanush, a Turkish boy sings the famous ‘Awara Hoon’ song from Raj Kapoor’s movie in a reality show and when Dubai appoints Shahrukh Khan as its ambassador — they are not just an aberration or eccentricity, but adequately exemplify how India’s ever rising soft power, amply bolstered by rich and age old moral, spiritual and cultural value system, is being embraced all across the globe.

Much before Yoga, Ayurveda, Bollywood and others became a craze almost across the globe, Indian spirituality had reached several countries. Buddhism spread in various countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia and other Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries more than two thousand years earlier. India’s universities continue to attract even today a large number of students from especially developing countries. Indian food is also equally popular around the world. India has an excellent track record of leveraging its culture, spiritual, educational, political values and distinct foreign policy for national objectives while taking care of the entire world with the ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it Fate” – Carl Jung. Mahashivratri is considered one of the most important festivals towards this effort. “The Great Night of Shiva” is the most significant among twelve Shivratris, the fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon. Who am I, What is my source, and Where am I, are the three most important and fundamental questions, any thinking human mind seeks answers to. Trinity of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh is at the core of understanding one’s surroundings in Hinduism. Mahesh or Shiva is the Lord of destruction or evolution. Change is the very nature of nature, and this understanding is perhaps most vital aspect of a person’s intelligence.

Fritjof Capra, one of the foremost proponents of the link between ‘Eastern philosophy’ and science, says “Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.”

One of the fundamental issues of our scientific understanding of the physical world is the attempt to superimpose the principles of macro-physics onto the micro-world of atoms, subatomic particles and energy, where they fail spectacularly. Quantum mechanics is a hugely successful theory in modern physics and has led to far-reaching practical applications in our lives today. We still don’t know the basic explanation for some of its foundational predictions.

Fritjof Capra explained in The ‘Tao of Physics’, “The Dance of Shiva symbolises the basis of all existence. At the same time, Shiva reminds us that the manifold forms in the world are not fundamental, but illusory and ever-changing. Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter. “According to quantum field theory, the dance of creation and destruction is the basis of the very existence of matter. Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction. For the modern physicists then, Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter, the basis of all existence and of all-natural phenomena.”

The night of celebrating the changing apparent reality by fasting, singing, dancing and meditating, so that one comes closer to directly experiencing the changeless reality, Mahashivaratri, is celebrated across India and is a Gazetted Holiday.

For popular science in India, it has been a roller coaster ride from ‘Vigyan Mandir’ experiment of 1953 to upcoming ‘ Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ week-long celebration being held from February 22 to 28 simultaneously in 75 locations across the country. India is perhaps the only country in the world to adopt ‘scientific temper’ in its constitution. Article 51A(h), under Fundamental Duties, states, “[It shall be the duty of every citizen of India] to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of 2020 states that in order for India to “march ahead on a sustainable development pathway …towards achieving an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, a greater emphasis may be needed on developing traditional knowledge systems, developing indigenous technologies and encouraging grassroots innovations”.

Perhaps the implementation methodology of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan’ is by celebrating various achievements in the field of science and technology over the 75 years, as being done over next week. It is refreshing to see popular science discussions are going to be held in various Indian languages, including Kashmiri, Dogri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu, Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Nepali, Maithili, and Manipur. The event would display the country’s scientific legacy and technology prowess that has helped find solutions to defence, space, health, agriculture, astronomy, and other sectors. The event is jointly being organized by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Indian Council of Medical Research, All India Council for Technical Education, and Defence Research Development Organisation.

Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate also aims to inspire India’s youth and help them navigate into building a progressive nation; bring to the fore stories of people in science and their achievements; reinforce the commitment of the scientific community towards the economic and social development of the country. It also highlights the work being done by the R&D organizations from across the country. In this post-COVID-19 world, it is absolutely certain that popularity of science has to reach grassroots in regional languages for any society to thrive.

She will not speak again but her songs will continue to represent the mood of the nation for generations to come. Bharat Ratna Late Lata Mangeshkar (1929-2022) will remain perhaps the most iconic figure instrumental in the amalgamation of British provinces, various princely estates, zamindari estates and Jagir into one nation, India.

Over the last 70 years, her songs became part of everyone’s everyday life, as thanks to successive technological advancements, music is in office, while walking, alone or with a friend, to relieve stress, to refresh the mind, to celebrate, to mourn – and she sang them for all occasions. It is a scientific fact that Music does wonders to our mental, physical and spiritual advancement. Lataji‘s songs gave us mental peace, satisfaction, positive thoughts, increased attention, enhanced productivity and creativity. Her songs accompanied Indians on their walks, gym and yoga classes and surely helped with health, as research has shown that blood flows more easily when music is played and it relieves symptoms of depression, stimulates memories, and manages pain. Patriotism is a natural outlet of spiritual progress, and her songs have been the instrument to honour mother India.

Lataji treated music as a sacred ritual, as she removed her footwear every time she entered a recording room. She was trained in Bhendibazar gharana under Ustad Aman Ali. Her rendition of songs after Indian classical music definitely helped in preserving the cultural identity of the land. She sang for stars of Hindi and over two dozen other languages, as every female actor wanted to lip sync to her songs, every music composer, director wanted a piece of her work. Her family? List of siblings consisted of all-legendary singers and composers-Asha Bhonslae, Meena, Usha, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

PM Modi represents every Indian when he said, “I am anguished beyond words. The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people.”

Truly, She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled.