Culture

Modi’s trip affirms India-Japan spiritual bonds

September 3, 2014September 4, 2014 - by India Writes Network

Centuries-old spiritual connections came alive during India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan, as ancient civilisational linkages were reaffirmed by the message of harmony and non-violence. Non-Violence in India’s …

Kyoto-Varanasi Connect: High noon for cultural diplomacy

August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 - by Manish Chand

Feeding the fish to attract good fortune. Praying in a Buddhist temple. Twinning Kyoto and Varanasi in smart city bonding. Sharing notes on stem cell research. Blending the ancient and the modern, the spiritual and the scientific, cultural diplomacy has acquired a new resonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to Kyoto, a modern-day pilgrimage that kindles anew possibilities of diplomacy and the two nations coming together in pursuit of national resurgence.
Thinking Smart – this is the game of the new diplomacy that’s going to renew old friendships and forge new coalitions to uplift India and help carve a friction-free Asian century in days to come.
In Tokyo, there will be weightier subjects on the table – nuclear deal, investments, maritime security, Chinese assertiveness, the elusive Asian balance of power – but spirited cultural diplomacy in Kyoto has already softened the hearts, rekindled civilizational bonds and set the stage for transformational outcomes that will pitch India-Japan relations into a higher stratosphere.

Modi embraces Kyoto smart heritage city model for Varanasi

August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 - by India Writes Network

Varanasi, the holy Hindu city which Modi represents in the Indian parliament, will be developed as a ‘smart city’, using the experiences of Kyoto. Kyoto, home to over 2000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, is renowned for its ability to merge the modern with the ancient, and is symbolic of the development of Japan – where cutting edge technology is used to preserve their historic legacy. The Kyoto-Varanasi pact has set the stage for rekindling civilizational ties between India and Japan, which will deepen the spiritual foundation for the burgeoning multi-pronged modern-day partnership.

Shah Rukh Khan turns Interpol’s anti-crime ambassador

August 28, 2014August 28, 2014 - by India Writes Network

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is set to fight crime in real life, as he joins the Interpol as an ambassador for its Turn Back Crime Campaign. “It’s a very …

B.K.S Iyengar: World’s yoga guru and India’s global emissary of soft power

August 24, 2014August 24, 2014 - by India Writes Network

If yoga is a global brand today, inspiring millions around the world to pursue wholesome living, much of the credit goes to a man who was born in a small village in Karnataka. With the passing away of Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar at the ripe age of 95 years, the nation has lost a stalwart in the Indian psycho-physical science of Yoga. Aptly, Yoga is referred as ethos of India’s most inspirational soft power to have created a global impact and to a great extent BKS Iyengar had enhanced this to newer heights. This renowned Yoga Guru, often named as the father of modern Yoga, breathed his last at Pune in India’s western state of Maharashtra on August 20.
As for the celebrities around the world who passionately adopted Iyengar Yoga are the famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin, author Aldous Huxley and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar apart from the highly respected philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthy. Even the uniformed personnel including the para- military forces have invigorated themselves with yoga. Reportedly, prisons in Israel have adapted Iyengar Yoga as an ideal medium to reform the inmates in the prisons of Israel.