India is one of the most diverse countries in the world. It’s languages, foods, festivals, monuments and the people who embody that culture are bound together as one nation, and now one application. The portal (www.indianculture.gov.in) was envisioned by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India in 2016. The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay was entrusted with the task of building such a resource from scratch.
The Indian Culture application is executed by IIT Bombay supported by IGNOU
The application is a composite presentation of both Tangible and Intangible Cultural heritage of India including monuments, temples, forts and museums etc
The content available on the Indian Culture application covers the following:
- Knowledge Traditions: Philosophy, oral traditions, healing practices
- Visual and Material Arts: Sculpture, cinema, textiles, crafts
- Performing Arts: Dance, music, puppetry, theatre
- Literature and Languages: Authors, Books, Manuscripts
- Practices and Rituals: Festivals, cuisines, life-cycle rituals
- Histories: Places, movements, social change
- Institutions: Museums, Akademis and cultural centers
- Built Spaces: Places of worship, memorials, historic sites
- Natural Environment: Ecosystems, national parks, native species
The Indian culture repository currently has more than 12,000 Rare books, 80,000 e-books, 3,000 Manuscripts, almost 2,00,000 Digital content from Museums, more than 27,00,000 Archival documents, over 100,000 Photo Archives, almost 1,000 Gazetteers, more than 1,000 audio and video clips, about 15,00,000 images and sections on Musical Instruments of India, Cuisine of India, UNESCO sites and the Intangible Cultural Heritage of India.
Apart from all this, there are very interesting curated stories from Indian history and heritage based on actual archival documents.