If I were asked under what sky the human mind has developed the choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life , and has found solution of some of them, which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant – I should point to India.

Max Mueller

The people of India are the successors to a rich cultural heritage of over 5000 years. Over several generations, material and intellectual components have given India its unique identity visible in myriad aspects of its culture including architecture, literature, dance and music, paintings, sports, values and practices. I would like to include the below parts of this heritage to be transmitted to posterity.

In literature, I would include the Vedas, the world’s earliest cultural heritage which have been dated to 2000 BC, the contents of which were revealed to the ancient ascetics in the depth of their mystical experience. Next would be the Bhagvad Gita which contains discussions on problems of life and death, duty, devotion, meditation and solutions there to.

Then on the list of literary gems would be the Ramayana and Mahabharatha which are respected as the basic foundations of Indian Culture. Apart from these fundamental scriptures, there would be other literary creations of ancient India like the treatise on grammar by Panini, on medicine and surgery by Charaka and Susruta, and on politics by Chanakya.

Literature from later history would include Deen-I-Akbar from the time of the Mughal rule and works by Swami Vivekananda, Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi from recent history. Modern literature would contain works of RK Narayan, VikramSeth, and ArundathiRoy.

The master piece paintings of ancient India which include the frescos in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, the works of Ravi Verma, MF Hussain and Amrita SherGil will represent the Indian Art arena .

The Architecture of India, known for its marvelous richness and intricate beauty would encapsulate the Sun Temple at Konark, the temple of Jaganath at Puri, the Jain Dilwara Temples at Mount Abu, the forts of Chittorgarh and Gwalior, the Hawa Mahal, the Mughal architecture of the Gol Gumbaz, the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.

Modern architecture would include the Victoria Memorial, and the Bhakra Nangal and Nagarjuna Sagar dams.

Aryabatta’s works on geometry and his everlasting contribution to mathematics-the concept of zero, Varahamitra’s works on astronomy, Dhanavantri’s science of Ayurveda along with the works of Charaka on medicine would constitute science from the ancient age.

Sir JC Bose’s discoveries on plant life and radio waves, the mathematical genius of S Ramanujam and the contributions of Sir CV Raman in the field of Physics along with the contributions of Dr. Abdul Kalam would stand as the loud representatives of Indian science.

The two sects of Indian Classical music – Carnatic and Hindustani, Natyashashtra, the treatise on music and dance, the works of Tyagaraja, Shyama Sastry, Muthuswami Dikshitar, the legendary Amir Khusro and Tansen and the present masters Ravi Shankar, MS Subbalakshmi, Zakir Hussain and AR Rehman will constitute the legacy in music.

The eight gold medals in Hockey, the gold medal in Shooting, the four silver and the eleven bronze medals at Olympics, the three World Cup victories in Cricket, the Grand Slam titles in Tennis doubles, the Chess world championships, the two victories in All England Open Badminton championships and the victories in Billiards would complete the sports heritage.

The above few examples of the socio-cultural heritage of India would serve as a pointer to the wider aspects of its rich heritage whose edifice is built upon pluralism and diversity.