 The 20th century has seen some of mankind's most remarkable inventions and discoveries. And yet future generations may justifiably label it as the century of strife, of war and conflict, of violence. And it is here that India's experience in successfully assimilating the influence of foreign cultures and of transforming them and of merging with them to find a new composite culture becomes invaluable. India is a cultural collage, distinctive parts comprising a beautiful whole. In their journey through the centuries in which human civilization has developed, evolved and flourished in India, the cultures of different times and climes have coexisted in a common sharing. The Mughal dynasty adopted India as their home. This led to an age of resurgence, a golden age, the flowering of a new and dynamic culture. Islam comes with also an imaginary idea, it's the Garden of Paradise because it came from Iran. And Islam is not, I mean the Garden of Paradise what we call the Charbar, the Four Gardens, are not essential to Islam but they are very much part of the cultural baggage, luggage that brought with it. So then you suddenly get another mythic idea of a wonderful pleasurable garden which you will go to after you die. The interactions between the Hindus and the Persians and the Mughal reign resulted in the birth of a new language, Urdu, which was used by the Sufi saints to evolve a new genre of literature and music. The Mughals also developed a unique cuisine which contained elements of Turkish, Persian and Indian cuisine. The establishment of the Syrian Christian Church in Kerala dates back to the first century A.D. but the widespread influence of Christianity in the country began with British rule. 400 years of British rule in India brought together two diametrically opposite cultures and lifestyles and left both vastly influenced and altered forever. India emerged from British rule with a different perspective. The western educational system helped bring about a desire for social reform and a feeling of national unity that had never before been part of the Indian psyche. It led to the formation of the largest democracy in the world. By 1961, the Portuguese had left India. St. Paul's Church is an example of Portuguese architecture. The Portuguese influence is most visible in Indian cuisine. Tomatoes, potatoes and red chilies. A part of the daily Indian diet came to India from South America via the Portuguese. This clock at Jutown Cochin in southern India has seen a distinct community flourish and grow. According to historians, Kerala is the first place where a community of Jews settled away from home. 350 Jews landed in the coast of Kerala in 1567. After the Second World War ended, trade slipped out of their hands and many Jews returned to Israel. But those who remain consider this land their home. Born and brought up here, they survive on memories of earlier times, loyal to the country that gave them succour and nourished their forefathers. It is said that when the Parsis first came to Gujarat in western India, the king there was reluctant to give them land to settle down. He called for a cup of milk and said, see the cup is full. At this an elderly Parsi took a lump of sugar and dissolved it in the milk saying, we shall sweeten the milk but not let it overflow. And thus the Parsis like innumerable other communities came to settle in India, became part of the multi-hued fabric that is the composite culture of India.