 The history of India is a remarkable tradition of tolerance. To this day there are Sufi shrines and churches and temples where people of all faiths gather to pray. The faith of the majority of Indians, Hinduism, is more a way of life, accommodating a wide spectrum of beliefs that enrich it and give it a vivid hue. Nowhere is this vividness more evident than in India's festival. Each festival is a riot of colour, and as the many shades and hues come together in a harmonious whole, the numerous communities of India too come together to celebrate its composite culture. Among the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, North India, is situated a small town, Dharamshala. Today known the world over as a microcosm of Tibetan culture and civilization. Buddhists from Tibet reached here 40 years ago when they were forced to flee their homeland. The Dalai Lama who also resides here is believed to be the 14th incarnation of the Lord Buddha. Tibetans have made this their home where they continue their simple way of life based on the values espoused by Buddha. Young monks are trained here in Buddhist living and belief that is best summed up in the words, truth and non-violence. The way study all these texts is through, let's say, dialectical method and try to find contradiction. And you have to try to overcome these contradictions or solve these contradictions. In this country we call Baharat or the Arya Bhumi, the land of Arya or the land of the sacred. The traditional is very close to this country. So one way we have the feeling, this also is our spiritual home. So I often describe our relation, Indian-Tibetan, like relation between Guru and Jaya. Emperor Akbar asked his court artist to make picture books for his son Jahangir's education. Using Indian folklore such as the Panchatantra and great mythological epics such as the Ramayana. These books use the Persian style of miniature painting with Indian ideas and imagination. Schools of miniature painting soon flourished all over western and northern India. The Indian artist borrowed freely from any and every source including the European. Traditionally, India used unstitched fabric for clothing. The women's saree, the men's lungi all draped around without stitches. The British influence brought in stitched clothes. But the unstitched fabric continued to be used as a dupatta with the contemporary Salwar Kameez. I was attracted to his Kathakali and I was completely taken by Kathakali. And from there I started to discover all the other arts of Kerala. Lubashil, a native of France today, runs the Vigyanakalavedi centre that accepts students of art from all over the globe. It is difficult to think of India without the contribution of the various communities that have settled here. India has taken in these influences, been enriched and changed and yet has retained its connection to its earliest roots. It is the strength of India's tradition that has allowed the absorption of influences to make this unique confluence of cultures that is modern India.