Indian cultural heritage

1. The Legacy of
Indian Cultural Heritage
Ifalloftheworld´sculturalheritage(sports,music,fashion,architecture,literature,painting,etc..)
wascontainedinatimecapsule,whatwouldyouincludetodemonstratethelegacyofyour
country?
-Deepak Kapoor

2. Ihavechosentoincludethemarquee
contributionsofIndiainfieldofeducation,
medicalscienceandliteraturecoupledwith
uniquebeliefsandtraditionsinthetime
capsuletodemonstratethelegacyofIndian
CulturalHeritage.
For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application 2

3. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application 3

5. 5For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
NamasteexpressedasNamaskarorNamaskaram,isa
customarygreetingwhenindividualsmeetorfarewell.
Namasteisspokenwithaslightbowandhandspressed
together,palmstouchingandfingerspointingupwards,
thumbsclosetothechest.
Itmeans"Ibowtothedivineinyou”
FundamentalTraditions
AHinduJointFamilyorJointFamilyisanextended
familyarrangementprevalentamongHindusof
theIndiansubcontinent,consistingofmanygenerations
livingunderthesameroof.
Familytiesareofutmostpriorityandthefamilygrows
withthemaritalties.Thearrangementprovidesakind
ofsocialsecurityinafamilialatmosphere.

6. 6For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
AtithiDevoBhavahTheguestisGod'or'Guestbecome
God'isaSanskritverse,takenfroman
ancientHinduscripturewhichbecamepartofthe"code
ofconduct"forHindusociety.
AtithidevobhavregardsaprocedureoftheHost-Guest
relationship.
FundamentalTraditions
PūjāisaprayerritualperformedbyHindustohost,
honourandworshiponeormoredeities,ortospiritually
celebrateanevent.
Itisdoneeithertohonourorcelebratethepresenceof
specialguest(s),ortheirmemoriesaftertheypassaway.

8. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application 8
TakshilaUniversity
Theworld'sfirstUniversitywasestablishedinTakshilaorTaxilaor
Takshashila(nowinPakistan)in700BC.
Morethan10,500studentsfromallovertheworldstudiedhere.
ThecampusaccommodatedstudentswhocamefromasfarasBabylonia,
Greece,ArabiaandChinaandofferedoversixtydifferentcourses.
ThefamoustreatiseArthashastra(SanskritforTheknowledgeof
Economics)byChanakya,issaidtohavebeencomposedinTakshashila
itself.
NalandaUniversity
Foundedinthe5thCenturyA.D.,Nalandaisknownastheancientseatof
learning.
2,000Teachersand10,000StudentsfromallovertheBuddhistworldlived
andstudiedatNalanda,thefirstResidentialInternationalUniversityofthe
World.
The universityattractedscholarsand students
fromKorea,Japan,China,Tibet,Indonesia,Turkey,Greece,andPersia.

9. 9For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
Thevalueof"pi"wasfirstcalculatedbyBudhayana,andhe
explainedtheconceptofwhatisknownasthePythagorean
Theorem.Hediscoveredthisinthe6thcenturylongbefore
theEuropeanmathematicians.
Algebra,trigonometryandcalculuscamefromIndia.
QuadraticequationswerebySridharacharyainthe11th
century.
ThelargestnumberstheGreeksandtheRomansusedwere
106whereasHindususednumbersasbigas10**53(10to
thepowerof53)withspecificnamesasearlyas5000BCE
duringtheVedicperiod.
Theplacevaluesystem,thedecimalsystemwasdevelopedin
Indiain100BC.
TheBinarynumbersystemwhichisusedinmodern
computersanddigitaldeviceswasinventedinIndia.

11. 11For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
Languages
Indiaspeaks780languagesexcluding220languagesthathave
beenlostinlast50years.
SanskritisthemotherofalltheEuropeanlanguages.Sanskritis
themostsuitablelanguageforcomputersoftware-areportin
Forbesmagazine,July1987.
Religions
ReligioninIndiaischaracterizedbyadiversityofreligiousbeliefsandpractices.
WhatisindubitablyuniqueaboutIndiaasa'landofreligions'isthatitisthebirthplaceofseveral
majorworldreligions.
Three-fourthsoftheIndianpeopledescribethemselvesasadherentsofHinduism,theoldest
continuousfaithintheworld.
Indiaisequallyalandofotherfaiths:theworld'ssecondlargestpopulationofMuslims,nearly130
millioninnumber,istobefoundinIndia,andtherearealsosome25millionChristians.

13. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application13
Festivals
Indiaisoftendescribedasalandoffestivals.Indiacelebratesholidaysandfestivalsofalmostall
thefaithsintheworld.
Inoneregionortheother,festivalshappenalmosteveryday,eachwithaspecialtyofitsown.
Eachfestivalineachregionhasitsownparticularfoodsandsweetsappropriatetotheir
customs.

15. 15For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
Ayurveda
Ayurvedaistheearliestschoolofmedicineknownto
mankind.Thefatherofmedicine,Charaka,consolidated
Ayurveda2500yearsagoinIndia.
Yoga
Yogaarethephysical,mental,andspiritualpracticesor
disciplineswhichaimattransformingbodyandmind.
OtherContributionsandAchievements
Sushrutaisregardedasthefatherofsurgery.
Over2600yearsagoSushrata&histeamconducted
complicatedsurgerieslikecataract,artificiallimbs,
cesareans,fractures,urinarystonesandalsoplasticsurgery
andbrainsurgeries.
Morethan3000differentsurgerieswereperformedand
nearly120surgicalinstrumentshavebeenusedbefore2600
yearsitself.
UsageofanaesthesiawaswellknowninancientIndia
medicine.

17. 17For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
Chess
ThegameofchesswasinventedinIndiaandwasoriginally
calledAshtapada(sixty-foursquares).
Laterthisgamecametobeknownaschaturanga.
Chaturangawasplayedonanauthenticclothgamesurface
by2,3or4players.
Chaturangacombinesthebasicstrategyofchesswiththe
dynamicchallengeofchanceaseachmoveisdeterminedby
therandomrollofwoodendice.
TheGameofCards
ThepopulargameofcardsoriginatedinancientIndiaand
wasknownasKrida-patram.
ItwasoneofthefavoritepastimesofIndiansinancient
times.Thisgamewaspatronizedespeciallybytheroyalty
andnobility.
ThisgameisrecordedtohavebeenplayedinRajputana,
KashyapaMeru(Kashmir),Utkala(Orissa)theDeccanand
eveninNepal.

18. 18For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
SnakesandLadder
ThegamehaditsorigininIndiaandwascalledMoksha
PatamorParamaPadamorMokshapat.Itwasusedto
teachHinduDharmaandHinduvaluestochildren.
Thegamewascreatedbythe13thcenturypoet
saintGyandev.Theladdersinthegamerepresented
virtuesandthesnakesindicatedvices.Thegamewas
playedwithcowrieshellsanddices.
Thegameservesadualpurpose:entertainment,aswell
asdosanddon’ts,divinerewardandpunishment,ethical
valuesandmorality.
MarshalArts
Bodhidharma,aBuddhistmonkfromIndia,introduced
KalariintoChinaandJapaninthe5thcentury.
HetaughtthisartinatempleThistempleistodayknown
astheShaolintemple.
TheChinesecalledhimPo-ti-tama.Whathetaughthas
evolvedintoKarateandKungFu.

20. 20For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
Musicalinstrumentsandstyles
MusichasremainedanintegralpartoftheIndianculture
sinceantiquity.
Musicalinstrumentslikethesarod,sarangi,tablaand
sitarwhichareverypopularintheworldofmusictoday
hadalsobeenapartoftheancientIndianmusic.
Gazals,khayal,tala,gharanaandragaarethemusical
genresoftheIndianclassicalmusic.
InancientIndia,musicusedtobeapartofthefamous
SanskritdramaslikeMirchakatikaandAbhijnana
Shakuntalam.
TheoriginoftheancientIndianmusicbeganintheageof
theAryans,withthechantingoftheVedas.
Themusicwasfinallycreatedwiththerhythmand
melody.ReferencesoftheancientIndianmusiccanbe
foundintheVedas,Puranas,Upanishads,epicsand
SrimadBhagavataGita.

21. 21For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
TheatreInIndia
TheancientIndiantheatresplayedamajorroleintheIndian
cultureinthepast.
Indiaintheancientpastwasinvadedseveraltimesandthis
contributedinshapingthecultureandheritageofIndia.Twoof
thebestknownancientIndiantheatresareRamayanaand
Mahabharata.
DramaticsandfolktheatrewereverypopularwiththeVedic
people.ThemainingredientsoftheancientIndiantheatres
usedtobedepictionofeventsofeverydaylife,dance,ritualism
andfood.
NatyaShastra
TheancientIndianwriter-BharataMuniwhoexistedbetween
the5th�2ndcenturyBCbecamefamousforhistheatrical
treatiseNatyaShastraofBharata.
Itincludeddance,song,musicandtheatre.
Accordingtothehistoriansthiswasthefirstsystematicformof
drama.

23. 23For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
IndianArchitecture
TheIndianarchitectureembracesavarietyofstructuresthat
cameintoexistenceintheancientperiodofIndianhistory.
ThevastdiversityofIndianculturegetsreflectedinthe
country'sarchitecturalmonumentsandstructures.
ThearchitectureofIndiaexhibitsawonderfulamalgamationof
ancientandvariegatedtraditionstakenfromEurope,Central
andWestAsia.
BuddhisttemplesandViharasemergedduringtheruleof
MauryaEmpire.
ApartfromtheViharas,stonearchitecturalstructuresalso
cameintoexistence.TheAshokanPeriodmarkedthe
emergenceofrock-cutarchitecturewithwonderfulcarvings
anddepictionsonthem.
DuringtheMughalempireinIndia,theartistsandsculptors
adoptednewstylesandarchitecturalforms.Mostofthe
structuresconstructedduringtheMughaleraarearchedor
dome-shaped.

25. 25For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application
IndianLiterature
Indianliteratureisconsideredoneoftheoldestintheworld.
Indiawasoneofthefirstplacesintheworldtostartthe
writingsystemandthisbeganinaroundthe2500BC.
TheAncientIndianLiteraturedatesbacktotheVedicAge.
TheoldestliteraryworkofIndiaistheRigVeda.Italso
happenstobetheworld’soldestliterarywork.
ThescripturesofancientIndianliteratureareclassifiedinto
twocategories-TheShrutiliteratureandTheSmriti
literature.Shrutiliteratureconcerns�therevealed�or
�theheard�or'therevealed'whereastheSmritiliterature
concerns'theremembered.‘
Around300BCRamayanawascomposedfollowedby
Mahabharata.AportionoftheMahabharataisBhagavad
Gita.

27. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application27
IndianfoodisasdiverseasIndia.
Indiancuisinevariesfromregiontoregion,reflectingthelocalproduce,culturaldiversity,
andvarieddemographicsofthecountry.
Indiancuisinecanbesplitintofivecategories-northern,southern,eastern,western,andnorth-
eastern.
ThediversityofIndiancuisineischaracterisedbydifferinguseofmanyspicesandherbs,awide
assortmentofrecipesandcookingtechniques.Fromsaladstosauces,fromvegetariantomeat,
fromspicestosensuous,frombreadstodesserts,Indiancuisineisinvariablycomplex.

29. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application29
ClothinginIndiavariesfromregiontoregion
dependingontheethnicity,geography,
climateandculturaltraditionsofthepeople
ofthatregion.
Historically,menandwomenclothinghas
evolvedtoelaboratecostumesnotonlyused
indailywearbutalsoonfestiveoccasionsas
wellasritualsanddanceperformances.
Inurbanareas,westernclothingiscommon
anduniformlywornbypeopleofallstrata.
Indiaalsohasagreatdiversityintermsof
weaves,fibers,coloursandmaterialof
clothing.
Colourcodesarefollowedinclothingbased
onthereligionandritualconcerned.For
instance,Hinduladieswearwhiteclothesto
indicatemourning,whileParsisand
Christianswearwhitetoweddings.

31. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application31
Handicrafts and Hand Painting

32. For Evaluation of Masters in Finance Program Application32