Made in India ; From Gandhi to Buddha, From Bindis to Bollywood Dancing, From Yoga to Ayurveda, From Mangoes to Managers, 30 Exports That Have Turned India Into an International Brand

India Today › December 18, 2006

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Summary

Bollywood Dancing

When Spike Lee's Hollywood blockbuster Inside Man made its theatrical debut and opened to the strains of Chhaiya chhaiya, I received countless messages telling me to go watch the film. When I finally caught it in Singapore with my husband Arbaaz, it was wonderful to see the audience, consisting of a mix of locals and tourists, cheering, clapping and whistling when the song came on- just like in Indian theatres. That, to me, was one of the instances when I felt that the world had woken up to the wonder of Bollywood song-and-dance routines. Of course, Chhamma chhamma rocked the theatres in the Nicole Kidman-starrer Moulin Rouge. And the latest instance has been Farah Khan choreographing a dance number for Latin sensation Shakira. All these have stemmed from the fact that Bollywood is reaching out to the world. It has not been an overnight phenomenon. Our tracks play at the coolest clubs and the best of parties internationally. Hindi movies are finding commercial release all over the world and are being screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. Worldwide, Bollywood song and dance shows are finding wider audiences. When we perform abroad it's fun to see a large number of foreigners swaying to the beat and going berserk to the tune of the latest Hindi film chartbuster. With the increased attention and interest, more and more international alliances will take place. Who knows, I might soon be doing a dance number for an American film set to open with a Hindi track?

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Made in India ; From Gandhi to Buddha, From Bindis to Bollywood Dancing, From Yoga to Ayurveda, From Mangoes to Managers, 30 Exports That Have Turned India Into an International Brand

-By Malaika Arora Khan

(The writer is a model and dancer)

Asian Hip-hop

As an Indian growing up in Britain, it is inevitable that different strains of music impact your life in different ways. I remember listening to R&B and hip-hop as a little boy and at the same time tuning into Hindi film music. The fusion took place somewhat mysteriously and unknowingly in my head and before long I began jamming to all these diverse vibes. As an export, Indian music is right up there, even ahead of Bollywood films. Whether we liked the films or not, the music invaded every Punjabi household in London like mine. It is very hard to actually explain how and why the blend actually took place because it is a very natural process. And before you know it, you have come up with a whole new genre that is Indian, yet not entirely so. I think the high point of this fusion came when artistes like me and Panjabi MC started taking our brand of the exported sound back to its roots in India. I have toured extensively across India, in Punjab, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, and everywhere the response has been absolutely crazy. Probably even more than in Britain because fans here get to hear us a lot more and Indian fans grab every opportunity to join in. There has been some talk of fusion music going through a slump. It isn't true. It is important to take some time and ensure the quality is perfect rather than churn out album after album that has nothing new to offer. The sound that began as an export has definitely reached a point where it has established itself in its own right and own brand.

-By Rishi Rich

(The writer broke on the UK music scene in the 1990s with his album Love2Love)

Royalty

The institution of Indian kingship enshrined in the word raja, with its original Sanskrit meaning of both "one who rules" and "one whose duty is to please", is as old as the Mahabharata. It is founded on the Hindu notion of kingship as a two-way contract between the ruler and the ruled. While successive dynasties came and went, the institution of Hindu kingship remained constant, providing an autocratic, paternalistic but essentially benevolent authority. With the arrival of the Mughals and the British, this institution suffered a setback as the raja now became answerable to the ...

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