What would my contributions be from India to a time capsule.

2. If all of the world´s cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion,
architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time
capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of
your country?

3. India in the Time Capsule
It is rather difficult to shortlist the various artistic, musical
architectural, literary, fashion, food, landscape and sports related
representation of India, a country with a 15000 year old civilization
where the dialect changes at every 100 kilometers you travel….
… I have tried to assemble those masterpieces which have
contributed most to the Indian and global cultural legacy
What follows is a collage which represents India and a short write up
on each of the elements which went into making this collage…

5. The Sari1
 Traced back to the IndusValley
Civilisation 5000 years ago this most
basic yet most elegant form of Indian
dressing has followers across the
globe, with more than 80 different
styles of draping it and over 40
forms, the sari is made in over 10
types of fabric.
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari

6. The Architectural marvel of Madurai Meenakshi
Temple1,2
 Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu
temple located in the southern bank of river
Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil
Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati who is
known as Meenakshi and her consort, Shiva.
The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the
2500 year old city of Madurai. Ancient Tamils
have used the principles of “vibration of bodies”
in constructing musical pillars in the temple
making it an acoustic marvel, there are an
estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple and
it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the
"New Seven Wonders of the World".The annual
10 day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival
celebrated during April–May
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meenakshi_Amman_Temple; 2: http://www.maduraimeenakshi.org/#2

7. The Vedas1,2 - Divine knowledge simplified
 The Vedas are considered the earliest literary record
of Indo-Aryan civilization, and the most sacred books
of India. They are the original scriptures of Hindu
teachings, and contain spiritual knowledge
encompassing all aspects of our life. Vedic literature
with its philosophical maxims has stood the test of
time and is the highest religious authority for all
sections of Hindus in particular and for mankind in
general.
 “Veda” means wisdom, knowledge or vision, and it
manifests the language of the gods in human speech.
The laws of the Vedas regulate the social, legal,
domestic and religious customs of the Hindus to the
present day. All the obligatory duties of the Hindus at
birth, marriage, death etc. owe their allegiance to the
Vedic ritual. They draw forth the thought of successive
generation of thinkers, and so contain within it the
different strata of thought.
1:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas; 2: http://hinduism.about.com/cs/vedasvedanta/a/aa120103a.htm

8. Chaat1,2 the representative of Indian food
 Chaat is a highly popular
Indian snack made mainly of
crisp fried Indian bread pieces
in combination with
vegetables and a variety of
sweet and sour spicy Indian
sauces. It is typically savoured
at the road-side carts or stalls.
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaat; 2 http://www.ifood.tv/network/chaat

9. Bharatnatyam1,2 – the dance of India
 Bharata Natyam is a classical Indian dance
form that is popular and nurtured in the Indian
state of Tamil Nadu. This dance denotes various
art forms of temple dancers derived from an
ancient treatise of fourth or third century BCE,
known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and
sculpturesque poses. Lord Shiva is considered
the God of this dance form.
 Children start at a tender age of 6 and it takes
them over a decade of practice to be able to do
their first public performance at 25
 It has a wide acceptance and is customized
and used in various cultural expressions like
movies and theater.
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharata_Natyam; 2: http://ccrtindia.gov.in/bharatnatyam.php

10. Kalaripayattu1,2 – a sport which gave the world Kung Fu
 Kalaripayattu is an Indian martial art.
One of the oldest fighting systems in
existence. It found its peak with
Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who
lived during the 5th/6th century CE.
He is traditionally credited as the
transmitter of Ch'an (Sanskrit: Dhyāna,
Japanese: Zen) to China, and regarded
as its first Chinese patriarch. According
to Chinese legend, he also began the
physical training of the Shaolin monks
that led to the creation of Shaolinquan.
He was father of Zen Buddhism.
1:http://www.kalaripayattu.org/; 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaripayattu

11. Carnatic Music1 – surviving evolution in style!
 Karnatak music, also spelled Carnatic , is music that
has evolved from ancient Indian traditions and is
largely unaffected by the Arab and Iranian influences
which find place in North Indian music
 The basic principles of raga (melody type, or
framework for improvisation) and tala (cyclical
rhythmic pattern) are the same in the south and
north, but each musical tradition has its own
repertoire of actual ragas and talas, and there are
many stylistic differences as well. Having gained in
international repute Carnatic music learners today
have to find themselves a lineage whose decendents
have specialised in the particular style to learn from
as this form of music has been passed down over
generations and there few if any manuscripts to learn
from.
1: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/96272/Karnatak-music

12. Backwaters of Kerala1 – nature in Gods own Country.
 The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes
lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar
Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five
large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by
38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. In
the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and
cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater
cruises.
 The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the
rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. Many unique
species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers,
water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and
animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the
backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and
bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to
the surrounding landscape. Kerala was placed among the `50
destinations of a lifetime' by National Geographic Traveler in a
special collectors' issue released just before the turn of the
millennium
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_backwaters

13. The culture shaping paintings of Raja Ravi Verma1
 Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an
Indian artist from the princely state of Travancore (presently
in Kerala) who achieved recognition for his depiction of
scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
His paintings are considered to be among the best examples
of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of
European academic art.
 Varma is most remembered for his paintings of sari-clad
women portrayed as shapely and graceful. Varma's paintings
became an important motif of the time, reproductions being
found in almost every middle-class home. His exposure in the
west came when he won the first prize in the Vienna Art
Exhibition in 1873. He is considered among the greatest
painters in the history of Indian art.
1:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Ravi_Varma

14. Thank you for viewing this presentation
Vishal Bellani
Application No :
1:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Ravi_Varma