At the high-profile WAVES 2025 summit in Mumbai, Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani delivered a stirring keynote titled “Taking India to the World,” spotlighting India’s rich cultural heritage as a powerful tool of global influence and diplomacy.
Addressing an audience of creators, innovators, and policymakers from over 100 countries, she emphasized that India’s cultural footprint-spanning art, music, fashion, cinema, spirituality, and philosophy-has long shaped civilizations worldwide and continues to hold immense soft power in the 21st century.
Ambani traced India’s cultural influence back thousands of years, citing how Buddhist monks traveled to India seeking spiritual knowledge and how Hindu deities like Lakshmi, Saraswati, Shiva, Ram, and Ganesh are still revered in countries such as Japan and Indonesia. She highlighted iconic temple architectures like Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia as enduring symbols of India’s global cultural legacy.
She urged the creative community to see themselves as custodians of India’s soul, capable of inspiring and transforming the world through storytelling, crafts, Ayurveda, and spirituality. “Let our Amar Chitra Katha be the next Harry Potter. Let our epics Ramayan and Mahabharat light up global screens. Let our classical dances sparkle on the grandest stages,” Ambani said, envisioning Indian culture as a beacon for global imagination and well-being. Ambani also underscored the importance of blending India’s ancient wisdom with modern technology, calling for innovation guided by “Dharma” and purpose, not just power.
She showcased initiatives like the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), which promotes Indian arts globally through exhibitions, performances, and collaborations with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum. The NMACC will present a grand Indian weekend at New York’s Lincoln Center this September, further amplifying India’s cultural presence on the world stage.
Her address resonated as both a celebration of India’s timeless heritage and a clarion call to harness culture as a diplomatic and unifying force amid rapid technological change. With India’s media and entertainment sector poised to become a $50 billion global market by 2029, WAVES 2025 and Ambani’s vision signal India’s confident emergence as a creative and cultural powerhouseIn sum, Nita Ambani’s passionate advocacy at WAVES 2025 highlights how India’s artistic and spiritual wealth is not just a reflection of the past but a dynamic asset shaping the future of global culture and connection.