From Bollywood to butter chicken and more… India’s big contributions to the world

“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only,” said famous American author Mark Twain.

And wouldn’t you agree?

India is a diverse land of rich culture, history, and innovation. Over the centuries, Indians have contributed to almost every sphere of the human race — be it medicines, mathematics, culture or food. In fact, many believe that India isn’t on the path to becoming a vishwaguru — the teacher or knowledge-giver of the world — but is already a vishwaguru as it has gifted the world many innovations over the years.

Today, as we mark the 78th year of Indian Independence, we take a closer look at the many gifts that the nation has given the world through the ages.

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Zero

Albert Einstein, the renowned scientist once said, “Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

And it’s true. What would the world of mathematics look like without the zero?

It was way back in the sixth century that the concept of zero was used in India and it is Indian scientist Aryabhatta who developed it further. Historians note that it was initially called ‘sunya’ meaning void and slowly travelled across the world, reaching different civilisations, with each of them translating it accordingly. The Arabs called it ‘sifr’ in the ninth century, it was termed ‘cira’ in 13th century Latin, the French called it ‘ciffre’ in 14th century and finally by the time it reached England in the 16th century, it became ‘zero’.

It is also thanks to the invention of zero that concepts such as negative integers and infinity were developed. The rise of calculus was also seen which is most prevalently used in predicting things ranging from Covid case curves to stock market prediction.

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To think all of this would have been impossible without that humble zero.

Yoga

Today, the entire world marks June 21 as International Yoga Day. Countries as far as China and America have yoga studios where millions of people practice this form of exercise. But all of it is thanks to India where it originated.

The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. As per Yogic scriptures the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body, man and nature.

While it is said that the genesis of yoga can be traced to ancient India, it is hard to pinpoint the exact beginning of this practice. Yogic lore that says yoga has been as old as the dawn of civilisation. In this lore, Lord Shiva is said to be the first yogi or Adiyogi. Several thousand years ago, on the banks of the lake Kantisarovar in the Himalayas, Adiyogi poured his profound knowledge into the legendary Saptarishis or “seven sages”. The sages carried this powerful yogic science to different parts of the world, including Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa and South America.

Since then, yoga has only grown leaps and bounds and has been widely adopted by the Western world. This occurred after Swami Vivekananda made his famous speech at Chicago in the Parliament of religions in September 1893.

And as they say, the rest is history.

Ayurveda

Take a look at social media and there are thousands, nay millions of reels, propagating the use of natural ingredients for medicinal purposes. For instance, there are many influencers telling their users to skip coffee for a herbal concoction of Ashwagandha and Amla. This is courtesy the spread of Ayurveda across the world.

Today, Ayurveda — the ancient system of medicine — has entered the mainstream not just in India but across the globe. It isn’t considered as folklore, but an evidence-supported and credible way to adopt holistic health choices, bringing balance into our lives.

Derived from the Sanskrit words “ayur" (life) and “veda” (science or knowledge), Ayurveda translates to “knowledge of life” and originated in India more than 3,000 years ago. It is based on the ideology that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, spirit and environment, and places great emphasis on preventive strategies rather than curative ones.

Bollywood

Bollywood, India’s Hindi-film industry, can be dated back to 1913 when Dadasaheb Phalke created Raja Harishchandra. The movie’s success contributed to countless movies that followed him as inspiration and expanded the Indian cinema industry to incredible heights. A few years later, in 1931, India’s first sound movie Alam Ara was released. The first colour movie of India called Kisan Kanya was created in 1937.

Soon, Bollywood began exporting its movies; Dharti ke Lal was released in the then USSR, followed by Aan in 1952, which marked the first Indian film to be released globally. And the mania caught on across the world.

Heroes such as Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and many more became household names not just in India but in countries such as Russia, France, USA and the United Kingdom.

Today, Bollywood is everywhere. As of 2024, three Indian movies have been nominated for the Oscar for best foreign language film; these have all been Hindi offerings — Mother India, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan. Moreover, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Deepika Padukone have participated in the Oscars as presenters.

And it seems that there’s no stopping Bollywood. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a little bit of song and dance!

Hinglish

“That flight was first class!”

“That was a really poor joke.”

This isn’t English. But Hinglish — the most famous hybrid of the world. It’s a combination of Hindi and English that is becoming increasingly popular among India’s 1.3 billion people.

India has the second largest English-speaking population in the world (at 125 million), while many speak multiple languages. English fluency is socially prestigious and important for job success and upward mobility. But, acquiring fluent English (or any language) requires rich and consistent language exposure. In India, this is largely limited to the urban upper classes. Together, these two factors – limited English access and the desirability of becoming an English speaker – could mean that communication styles which are more available to the masses, such as Hinglish, grow faster than English.

Snakes and Ladders

Before hi-tech games consoles and computers, there was the board game of Snakes and Ladders. It was once described as England’s favourite indoor sport. However, did you know that the game has its origins in India?

Originally called Moksha Patam/Pat, it was created by a Marathi saint and philosopher Sant Dnyaneshwar/Jnaneshwar in the 13th Century in India as a tool for teaching children about morality and the consequences of their actions. The game was played on a board that depicted a path leading from the bottom to the top, with squares along the way. Each square represented a virtue or a vice, and players advanced or retreated depending on which square they landed on.

The game was played with cowrie (shells) as dice, and the squares were decorated with images of animals and deities. In some versions of the game, snakes were used to represent vice, while ladders were used to represent virtue. The goal of the game was to reach the top of the board, which represented the attainment of enlightenment or moksha.

The game travelled to the west in the late 19th century, when it was brought to England by the English traders. The game quickly became popular in England and was soon introduced to other countries, including the United States.

Over time, the game has evolved and changed, however, the basic concept of the game remains the same, and it is still enjoyed by people of all ages around the world, particularly children.

Butter Chicken

Pieces of chicken, tossed in a simple spice marinade, lightly charred and then submerged in an unctuous, light, buttery, creamy tomato sauce. Butter chicken is a dish so beloved, it’s now ubiquitous on Indian restaurant menus the world over.

Despite its legacy being disputed in court, butter chicken is everyone’s favourite. From butter chicken pizza to butter chicken biryani and butter chicken croissant – the list of variations in which this classic dish is available is a long one.

So much so, that you get it everywhere. McDonald’s in Auckland, believe it or not, sells butter chicken patties and butter chicken pot pies. Similarly, a cafe in New York sells ‘butter chicken croissants’.

All of them have India to thank for this finger-licking delicacy.

Shampoo

Go to any supermarket across the world and you shall witness an aisle, if not more, dedicated to shampoos — for all types of hair and at different price points. In fact, the global shampoo market size was valued at $34.1 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $58.3 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent from 2024 to 2034.

But all of this is thanks to India. In fact, the word shampoo is also derived from the Hindi word champu, which in turn evolved from the Sanskrit word chapyathi that essentially means ‘to massage or press’. It is noted that the earliest form of shampoo was made in 15th Century India by boiling Sapindus – a small shrub which is part of the Lychee family — and adding aamla — a type of Indian gooseberry – as well as other herbs and spices.

It wasn’t until the early 1800s that shampoo reached England, courtesy Sake Dean Mahomed, who belonged to a family from the barber community. He experimented with herbal mixes and soaps, perfecting the art of ‘champi’ or head massage. He even authored a book titled ‘Shampooing Or The Benefits Resulting From The Use Of Indian Medicated Vapor Bath,’ introducing the concept of shampoo to the Western world.

But India’s contributions to the world don’t stop here. There’s so much India has given, continues to give, and will give to the world. In such a situation it’s hard to ignore India’s influence on the human race. For that, we say Salaam India!

With inputs from agencies